Chemical changes of float glass surfaces induced by different sand particles and mineralogical phases

Abstract Particles play an important role in the storage, transportation and natural weathering of glasses, but their influence on glass degradation is little studied. In this work, the influence of main sand components is investigated. Feldspar exhibits the strongest leaching rate for the network former Na, while quartz has the lowest. The leaching rate of natural sands is in between. Based on these findings, a model describing the leaching mechanism was developed: Hereby, hydroxyl groups adhering on sand grains adsorb network modifiers by substituting their hydrogen by network formers from the glass surface. The amount of available hydroxyl groups determines the leaching rate. This model is supported by loss on ignition performed for the sands, which might be a suitable method to roughly estimate their leaching rates. The adsorption of network modifiers suppresses carbonate formation, dendritic growth and Mg diffusion in the glass surface region. Pimple-like crystal growth is observed.