Amorphous silica products, articles, and particles and methods of producing amorphous silica products, articles, and particles from concrete

Abstract

Concrete may be melted to form a glass product. Methods and batch compositions including concrete may be used to produce amorphous silica materials including, but not limited to, glass, container glass, fiber glass, glass bead, glass spheres, sheet or plate glass, glass aggregate, glass sand, abrasives, proppants, foamed glass, and manufactured glass articles. The initial processing steps include preparing a melt batch comprising concrete and, optionally, other components, melting the melt batch, and cooling the melted melt batch. Further processing steps may be utilized to produce the glass article.

1 . A method of producing an amorphous silica material, comprising:
 preparing a batch comprising concrete;   melting the batch in a furnace to melt effluent; and   cooling the melt effluent to form a glass container or other molded glass article.   
     
     
         2 .- 4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the batch comprises glass cullet. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the batch comprises at least one flux. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the glass cullet is in a concentration range from 1 wt. % to 95 wt. %. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the glass cullet is in a concentration range from 1 wt. % to 80 wt. %. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the glass cullet is in a concentration range from 1 wt. % to 50 wt. %. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the glass cullet is in a concentration range from 10 wt. % to 50 wt. %. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the flux is in a concentration range from 1 wt. % to 30 wt. %. 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the batch comprises at least one of at least one of a metal oxide, a metal silicate, and a metal. 
     
     
         16 .- 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the batch comprises at least one of limestone and calcium oxide. 
     
     
         24 .- 29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the batch comprises cullet, flux, and a decolorizer. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the cullet is in a concentration range from 25 wt. % to 50 wt. %. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the flux is a sodium flux and the sodium flux is in a concentration range from 2 wt. % to 15 wt. % 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the decolorizer is manganese, manganese dioxide, selenium, or cerium oxide and is in a concentration range from 0.25 wt. % to 5 wt. %. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the batch comprises at least one of colorants, decolorants, fining agents, oxidizers, and reducers. 
     
     
         37 .- 134 . (canceled)