Industries / Glass Manufacturing
Aragonite for Glass Manufacturing.
Natural oolitic aragonite as a calcium-oxide source for container, flat, solar, fiberglass and specialty glass batches.
The offered grade
GL-CAL for the calcium oxide in a glass batch.
Grade and sizing
GL-CAL, below 0.1 mm (published range), screened from the natural commercial gradation. Process-specific batch sizing is available across 100–325 mesh (150–45 µm) to customer specification. Technical data sheet TDS-GL-001.
Who it serves
Batch houses and raw-material buyers replacing some or all of the limestone in an existing batch, for:
- soda-lime container glass
- flat glass
- fiberglass and mineral wool
- specialty, optical, laboratory and pharmaceutical glassware
Qualification data
Representative analysis · ASTM C 25, Bowser-Morner report 124914A
- CaCO3
- 96.17%
- CaO
- 53.88%
- Fe2O3
- 0.01%
- SiO2
- below 0.01%
- Al2O3
- 0.10%
- MgCO3
- 0.24%
- SrCO3
- 1.43%
Published ranges
- Loss on ignition
- 43.50–45.00%
- SO3
- 0.10–0.20%
- Moisture as received
- 5–10%
Lot certificate: a certificate of analysis is issued for each dispatched lot per TDS-OA-001.
Known limits
- Iron and sulfur. The 0.01% Fe2O3 result is a representative analysis of one tested sample. It is not a supplied maximum: an iron or sulfur limit for a colorless or optical batch is a specification to be agreed at order and confirmed on the lot certificate.
- Moisture. Moisture is published as received at 5–10%, so dried feed must be specified at order.
- Strontium. Strontium carbonate at 1.43% is the largest non-calcium carbonate present.
- Batch and furnace energy. No reduction in batch or furnace energy is claimed against calcitic limestone: calcium carbonate decomposes at approximately 825 °C (published reference) and aragonite converts to calcite on heating before it decomposes. Any thermal effect is established in the buyer’s own batch trial.
Next step
Send the glass type, the batch specification with its iron and sulfur limits, the sizing required, the annual volume and the destination.
AragoCor reviews the limits against the analysis, confirms the sizing, and quotes against confirmed volume, packaging and destination. Sample availability is confirmed after review.
What carbonate does in the glass batch.
Calcium carbonate is a standard raw material in the soda-lime glass batch — the source of calcium oxide (CaO), one of the three principal ingredients alongside silica sand and soda ash.
- Durability stabilizer. In the finished glass, CaO acts as a stabilizer that improves chemical durability — the reason calcium is a core batch constituent.
- Decomposes in the melt. The carbonate decomposes on heating and releases CO2, leaving the calcium oxide behind in the melt.
What matters to a glass buyer
The specs that decide fit — iron first.
These documented properties define performance for a glass-grade carbonate.
Iron content (Fe2O3)
- Why it matters. Iron oxide is the impurity of greatest consequence in glass raw materials because it causes coloration, particularly in clear/flint, optical and solar glass.
- Published result. Fe2O3 0.01% by ASTM C 25 — a representative analysis of one tested sample, not a guaranteed maximum.
- Batch limit. An iron limit for a batch is agreed as a specification at order and confirmed on the lot certificate.
Purity & particle sizing
Composition is 96.17% CaCO3 with CaO 53.88% (representative analysis), and GL-CAL is sized below 0.1 mm (published range). Moisture is published as received at 5–10%; dried feed is specified at order.
Batch consistency
Product specifications and analytical documentation organize chemistry, sizing and moisture for repeatable batch preparation.
Request a GL-CAL quote, a sample or the data sheet.
Tell us the glass type and batch formulation and we will provide the technical documentation, including trace-metal data.