The Society of Glass Technology is running a special conference devoted to ‘Raw materials for glassmaking’ in Cambridge, UK on 1-4 September 2019. The conference will feature dedicated sessions on particular glass ingredients, as well as the batch as a whole.

Confirmed speakers include Hans van Limpt (Sibelco), who will give an overview of the silica sand situation and future glass industry requirements; Tom Paterson (Fife Silica Sand) will discuss the company’s contribution to the UK glass sand market; Diego Zurolo (Loch Aline sand mine) will talk about the supply of Loch Aline quartz sand; Professor Chris Rayner (C-Capture, a spin off from the White Rose consortium, consisting of Leeds, York and both Sheffield Universities), will highlight the CO2 stripping trial being carried out at Drax Power Station; and Nicola Johnson (Appleby Calumite) will describe the history of Calumite use in the UK and Czech Republic and its role in reducing furnace emissions.

Further contributions are expected from British Glass, Glass Technology Services, Ardagh, Saint-Gobain and FIC, addressing the potential for electric melting representing the future of glassmaking, as well as associated implications for raw materials quality and specifications.

The raw materials conference will run in parallel with other sessions on glass science and technology and heritage and history as part of the SGT Annual Meeting. There is a call for papers on at www.sgt.org.