The glass industry is a very energy-intensive and investment-driven industry which is facing great challenges. These challenges include energy costs, international competition, digital change, but also demographic change with issues relating to working conditions and the need for skilled workers. The development of new glasses and production processes with ecological, economical and technical demands in cooperation with technology partners is the main focus of the Technology Application Center. Under the scientific direction of the Keylab Glastechnologieder University of Bayreuth, the focus of the melting technology is primarily on the development of new types of glass and semi-finished glass products, which can be adapted with regard to their processability, fusibility, corrosion resistance as well as mechanical, optical properties and colour.

Our expertise:

• Development of new types of glass and production processes
• Glass development: adaptation to fully electric melting, coloration/de-colouration, replacement of critical components, functional glass
• Feasibility studies on fusibility
• Process development hot forming
• Studies to improve the melting behaviour of the feedstock
• Shaping close to the final contour and avoidance of post-processing steps
• Proof of the feasibility of new processes and products
• Recycling and closing material cycles: development of processes for the processing of EOL glass, e.g. Pb-containing glass, glass dust etc.
• Development and production of innovative semi-finished glass products such as micro glass plates and micro hollow glass spheres for use in the automotive industry, batteries and building materials
• Development and test of electrical melting processes adapted to fluctuating energy flows

Comprehensive analysis is just as important in glass development as in process development. Through continuous quality assurance, development times can be shortened and reproducibility can be increased even for experiments in the early stages of development. In addition to the chemical composition of glasses and their optical properties, the surface properties of both particles and complex components can be analysed.

Our expertise:

• Spatially resolved qualitative and quantitative element analysis
• Detection range: boron to uranium (Oz5 -Oz92)
• Suitable for solids and powders of glass, ceramics, metals, alloys, plastics, etc.
• Determination of dispersion and Abbe number
• Quality control of glass and plastic components as well as pastes and dispersions (paints, varnishes, oils, etc.)
• Particle analysis by scanning electron microscopy

The glass industry is one of the most energy-intensive industries with considerable savings potential. Considerable amounts of energy are also required in the steps before and after the actual melting process. The infrastructure at the TAZ enables the investigation and optimization of the process and production efficiency of glass production and processing on a technical scale.

Our expertise:

•     Improvement of existing manufacturing processes
•     Investigations to increase the product yield
•     Automation of the plants
•     Process monitoring
•     Process simulation and modelling
•     Application of existing AI systems to processes