German designer Benedikt Peirotén proposes using waste streams to replace the energy-intensive ingredients in a glass.
When you factor in energy use during the production of glass and the impact mining for its ingredients has on the planet. The case for glass gets weaker and weaker, prompting designers to explore new and more sustainable ways to produce it.
Called ‘From the Ashes, the project explores the potential of renewable raw materials as an alternative to soda (sodium carbonate) and (limestone) calcium carbonate, the two main components of glass. “The availability of these ingredients is changing dramatically due to climate change and human production methods,” explains the studio’s founder Benedikt Peirotén.
He proposes waste streams as possible solutions. Including wood ash collected from pizzerias and shells from seafood restaurants, which we typically throw away. “Potassium Carbonate can be extracted from wood ash with little effort,” says Peirotén.
Like Sodium Carbonate in the traditional production of glass, Potassium Carbonate acts as a flux, lowering the high melting point of the main glass-forming constituents. Usually, silica and alumina, which we use to prevent crystallization. When experimenting with the material, Peirotén also discovered that it creates intense color tones that give the glass a unique character.
Meanwhile, ground seashells are used to give the glass its usual hardness, taking the place of calcium carbonate. This is usually mined from limestone using energy-intensive processes. In the end, only the sand remains.
Moreover, once melted, the glass is in an endless recycling cycle with no by-products or waste. “We can use it again and again, or we can ground it to sand again,” says Peirotén. “So it can be back into nature if the ingredients are harmless.”
Glass is harmful to the environment
The discussions around the glass and its impact on the planet are intensifying. Last month we published a project by Snohetta and Studio Plastique, which highlighted the scarcity of sand. This is one of the key components in the production of glass.
Studio Peipei might not tackle that ingredient but it does propose solutions to its other, energy-intensive components. Peirotén has taken underexplored waste streams and found a clever solution with wide-ranging applications in these glass vases.
