Abstract
AbstractWith an overall collection and recycling rate of 74%, the material cycle for glass packaging is well established in the European Union. However, knowledge of the composition of the recycled glass cullet is necessary to avoid creeping accumulation of undesirable contaminants into the material cycle. Due to their toxic properties, this applies in particular for heavy metals, for example, lead. The state‐of‐the‐art technology for detection of lead in recycling glass sorting is X‐ray fluorescence (XRF). Due to lower regulatory demands, as well as increasingly economical hardware, laser‐based detection techniques, like Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) may provide an alternate approach in industrial glass sorting to reach comparable detection limits and rates. In our work, CO2‐LIBS was investigated as an alternative tool for the determination of lead in glass cullet. Instead of usually utilized spectrometers, a combination of spectral filters and photodiode was employed to facilitate a fast detection rate. Glass samples with different lead content were investigated in two spectral ranges with respect to detection limits, detection speed, and accuracy. The results are compared to a commercial XRF‐sorting machine for glass cullet. It was found that comparable speeds and accuracies for lead detection in glasses can be reached.
Highlights
The material cycle for glass packaging is well established in the European Union, proofing that an almost closedloop-economy is possible for the valuable raw material glass.[1]
There is the risk of a longterm creeping accumulation of undesirable contaminants, in particular heavy metals
The results are compared to a commercial X-ray fluorescence (XRF)-sorting machine for glass cullet
Summary
The material cycle for glass packaging is well established in the European Union, proofing that an almost closedloop-economy is possible for the valuable raw material glass.[1]. There is the risk of a longterm creeping accumulation of undesirable contaminants, in particular heavy metals. Such unwanted contaminants most likely enter the glass material cycle accidentally, for example, by wrong throws in container glass collection. Lead oxide is known for a lowering of the melting temperature and providing a glass with increased density, refractive index, and brilliance, respectively.[5] Intensified by the worldwide decline of usage of lead glass products, especially in the field of CRT-monitors, and insufficient collection and recycling strategies, the accumulation of lead in container glass is a challenge to be encountered. Even if migration of lead from glasses in food-contact applications is generally considered very low, a long-term accumulation as well as the release of heavy metals during the manufacturing process of recycled glass cullet may still bear risks for the human body.[6,7,8,9] several efforts have been made to regulate content and migration of lead and other heavy metals in and from glass and ceramics, for example, an upper limit for heavy metal concentration (Pb, Cd, Hg, Cr6+) of 250 ppm in glass packaging.[10,11] In future, legal thresholds might become even stricter.[12,13]
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