ABSTRACT
The glass industry is divided into broad sectors for the manufacture of containers (bottles and jars), flat glass (for architecture and transport glazing), glass fibre (for reinforcement and insulation), domestic glass (kitchen and tableware) and technical glasses (for a host of scientific and industrial uses). Manufacturing processes differ from sector to sector [1, 2]. Technical and commercial developments in glass manufacture over the past, say, forty years have yielded new products, and methods of manufacture have changed dramatically in terms of speed of production, the quality of glass produced and the number of peripheral processes for treating glass. There are many different glass compositions but they fall into a limited number of types which simplifies classification [3]. A composition is developed to meet the requirements of the manufacturing process, the properties required in the use of the end product and the economics of production. Manufacturers’ catalogues show a wide range of products, with compositions which vary from product to product. In the large tonnage sectors (container, flat and domestic) compositions tend to be similar within each sector but there are differences of detail. Glass is manufactured in most technically advanced countries and there is a good deal of international trade. Since glass is a highly durable material, products can remain in use for long periods of time, with church windows providing an extreme example. Samples of glass arising from a particular site or event may therefore possess an easily determined composition be it ancient or modern, domestic or foreign.
