A method for manufacturing glass includes the melting of a mixture of raw materials constituting a melting bath including a source of silicon, a source of sodium, a source of boron and at least one source of calcium selected from a mixed oxide of calcium and at least one element selected from Si, Mg, Al, in particular a calcium silicate and/or a calcium aluminium silicate, and/or at least one source of magnesium selected from a mixed oxide of magnesium and at least one element selected from Si, Ca, in particular a magnesium silicate and optionally a source of aluminium selected from a mixed oxide of aluminium and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Si, Ca, Na, K, wherein the sources of calcium and/or of magnesium and/or of aluminium are natural mineral materials, that is to say are obtained from a natural geological medium and are unprocessed.

The present invention relates to a method for producing phase-separated glass, sequentially including a melting step of melting a glass, a phase separation step of separating phases in the glass, and a shaping step of shaping the glass, and to the phase-separated glass obtained by the production method.

An electronic component includes a base body including a plurality of voids, a protective material covering a part or a whole of an outer surface of the base body, and an external electrode covering a part of an outer surface of the protective material. The protective material is glass containing a silane compound having a carbon chain with 3 or more carbon atoms. The protective material includes a filling portion occupying at least some of the voids, and a film portion covering the outer surface of the base body.

A process for cullet beneficiation by precipitation. A mass of cullet is melted to form a body of molten glass having a heavy metal con ration of greater than 100 ppm. A precipitate agent is introduced into the body of molten glass to form a heavy metal-containing precipitate phase and a liquid beneficiated glass phase within the body of molten glass. The precipitate phase may have a density greater than that of the liquid beneficiated glass phase. Thereafter, the liquid beneficiated glass phase is physically separated from the precipitate phase. The separated liquid beneficiated glass phase has a reduced concentration of heavy metals, as compared to the concentration of heavy metals in the body of molten glass.

A fiber and a fiber manufacturing method are provided, in which an integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) slag constitute a component of raw materials of the fiber. The fiber can be fabricated stably from the melt of the raw materials by the method in which the raw materials are preheated up to 1300 C. or higher; the raw materials are maintained at the same temperature for certain period of time; subsequently, the temperature of the raw materials are raised further to cause the melted materials are spun into fiber.

An aspect of the present invention relates to optical glass, which is oxide glass including cation components in the form of 10 to 40 cation % of P.sup.5+, equal to or more than 50 cation % of a combined quantity of Ti.sup.4+, Nb.sup.5+, W.sup.6+, Bi.sup.3+, and Te.sup.4+, with a cation ratio of a combined content of Ti.sup.4+ and Nb.sup.5+ to a combined content of W.sup.6+ and Bi.sup.3+ being equal to or less than 1.3, a combined quantity of B.sup.3+, Li.sup.+, Na.sup.+, K.sup.+, Rb.sup.+, Cs.sup.+, Mg.sup.2+, Ca.sup.2+, Sr.sup.2+, Ba.sup.2+, and Zn.sup.2+ which amounts to equal to or less than of a combined content of Ti.sup.4+, Nb.sup.5+, W.sup.6+, Bi.sup.3+, and Te.sup.4+, and more than 0 % of Li.sup.+, Na.sup.+, K.sup.+, Rb.sup.+, and Cs.sup.+ combined, and which has a refractive index of equal to or higher than 2.02.

An aspect of the present invention relates to optical glass, which is oxide glass including cation components in the form of 10 to 40 cation % of P.sup.5+, equal to or more than 50 cation % of a combined quantity of Ti.sup.4+, Nb.sup.5+, W.sup.6+, Bi.sup.3+, and Te.sup.4+, with a cation ratio of a combined content of Ti.sup.4+ and Nb.sup.5+ to a combined content of W.sup.6+ and Bi.sup.3+ being equal to or less than 1.3, a combined quantity of B.sup.3+, Li.sup.+, Na.sup.+, K.sup.+, Rb.sup.+, Cs.sup.+, Mg.sup.2+, Ca.sup.2+, Sr.sup.2+, Ba.sup.2+, and Zn.sup.2+ which amounts to equal to or less than of a combined content of Ti.sup.4+, Nb.sup.5+, W.sup.6+, Bi.sup.3+, and Te.sup.4+, and more than 0 % of Li.sup.+, Na.sup.+, K.sup.+, Rb.sup.+, and Cs.sup.+ combined, and which has a refractive index of equal to or higher than 2.02.

The present invention relates to a briquette used for the production of rock wool and method for the production of said briquette, wherein the briquette contains a raw material comprising rock wool waste having a fiber morphology; contains a non-fibrous inorganic binder, such as sodium silicate, to bind the raw material; and an activating agent accelerating the curing process of the briquetted raw material.

The present invention relates to a briquette used for the production of rock wool and method for the production of said briquette, wherein the briquette contains a raw material comprising rock wool waste having a fiber morphology; contains a non-fibrous inorganic binder, such as sodium silicate, to bind the raw material; and an activating agent accelerating the curing process of the briquetted raw material.

Glass particles comprise glass microbubbles. The glass particles have a size distribution with a d.sub.50 in the range of from 15 to 100 microns, and have a true density of less than 0.7 g/cm.sup.3. The glass particles comprise, on an equivalent weight basis: from 50 to 70 weight percent silica; from 2 to 7 weight percent of boria; from 0.5 to 4 weight percent of weight zinc oxide; from 8 to 17 weight percent of calcia; from 0.8 to 7 weight percent of phosphorus pentoxide; and from 2 to 9 weight percent of sodium oxide.