Technical improvements in 19th-century Belgian window glass production

Leen Lauriks; Quentin Collette; Ine Wouters; Jan Belis

doi:10.1117/12.974589

7 November 2012 Technical improvements in 19^th century Belgian window glass production

Leen Lauriks, Quentin Collette, Ine Wouters, Jan Belis

Proceedings Volume 8422, Integrated Approaches to the Study of Historical Glass; 84220E (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.974589
Event: Integrated Approaches to the Study of Historical Glass - IAS12, 2012, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract

Glass was used since the Roman age in the building envelope, but it became widely applied together with iron since the 19th century. Belgium was a major producer of window glass during the nineteenth century and the majority of the produced window glass was exported all over the world. Investigating the literature on the development of 19th century Belgian window glass production is therefore internationally relevant. In the 17th century, wood was replaced as a fuel by coal. In the 19th century, the regenerative tank furnace applied gas as a fuel in a continuous glass production process. The advantages were a clean production, a more constant and higher temperature in the furnace and a fuel saving. The French chemist Nicolas Leblanc (1787-1793) and later the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay (1863) invented processes to produce alkali out of common salt. The artificial soda ash improved the quality and aesthetics of the glass plates. During the 19th century, the glass production was industrialized, influencing the operation of furnaces, the improvement of raw materials as well as the applied energy sources. Although the production process was industrialized, glassblowing was still the work of an individual. By improving his work tools, he was able to create larger glass plates. The developments in the annealing process followed this evolution. The industry had to wait until the invention of the drawn glass in the beginning of the 20th century to fully industrialise the window glass manufacture process.

Citation Download Citation

Leen Lauriks, Quentin Collette, Ine Wouters, and Jan Belis "Technical improvements in 19^th century Belgian window glass production", Proc. SPIE 8422, Integrated Approaches to the Study of Historical Glass, 84220E (7 November 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.974589

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