Soda-lime glass vs borosilicate | Detailed Explanation

For the consumer, there are various characteristics of the glass, including heat-resistant non-heat-resistant, crystal, and tempered. Specifically how to separate as well as how to use it, we do a detailed introduction. Overall our daily contact with glassware is divided into two raw materials of glass, soda-lime glass, a high borosilicate glass. Before we get closer to a detailed comparison: soda lime glass vs borosilicate. Let’s start by understanding the definitions of soda lime glass and borosilicate.

What is soda lime glass?

Before we explore a comparison of soda lime glass vs borosilicate, let’s see the definition of soda lime glass first.

Sodium calcium glass is commonly referred to as ordinary glass. It is mainly composed of about 70 percent SiO₂, 15 percent Na₂O, and 15 percent CaO. The material is low-cost, easy to form, and suitable for mass production. Ordinary sodium glass often contains impurities, such as iron impurities, so often a light green. Without deep processing (such as toughening, heat treatment, etc.) soda-lime glass strength is not high, fragile, easy to crack, no impact resistance, but the hardness is very high. Currently on the market glass products are heat-treated, so it has a certain strength to meet the needs of daily use.

Calcium soda-lime glass is not heat-resistant, this point should be kept in mind, Calcium soda-lime glass due to raw material problems in the resistance to temperature changes is not very good, generally can only withstand 55 degrees of rapid temperature changes, so in the use of calcium soda-lime glass products poured into the high temperature of the water can be poured into the container first with warm water to properly heat the container and then poured into the high temperature of the water, so you can avoid cracking.

What is borosilicate?

Before we explore a comparison: of soda lime glass vs borosilicate, it is also necessary to explore the definition of borosilicate.

With its good heat resistance and chemical stability, borosilicate is an excellent choice for the manufacture of glass cooking utensils. This material is thermally stable and resistant to high temperatures; it has good chemical stability, good mechanical properties, and good process and optical properties. With its outstanding performance borosilicate glass has been widely used and developed, its application areas from the laboratory with instrument glass to the construction of fireproof glass; from daily life with utensils and cookware glass to special display glass; from the general chemical field to the field of precision optoelectronics, the field of the wide range of the depth of the other varieties of glass is unparalleled. Along with the improvement of glass melting technology and the progress of glass forming and processing technology, borosilicate glass will get greater development and application.

A detailed comparison: soda lime glass vs borosilicate

In the following, we will give a detailed comparison of soda lime glass vs borosilicate based on ingredients and functions.

Daily glass cups and bowls are made of soda lime glass, which is characterized by a small temperature difference over a rapid change. For example, if boiling water is injected into a glass that has just been taken out of the freezer, it is likely to burst. In addition, it is not recommended that soda-lime glass products be heated in a microwave oven because of the same safety risks.

Borosilicate glass is raw glass produced by a float or calendering process with an alkali borosilicate system. Compared with ordinary sodium calcium silicate system glass, it has a low coefficient of expansion, high softening point, good resistance to cold and thermal shock, and can be applied to utensil glass, instrument glass, and fireproof glass. This material, borosilicate glass, is heat-resistant glass, and the common glass crisper sets on the market are made of it. It is characterized by good chemical stability, high strength, and a sharp temperature difference of more than 110℃. In addition, this type of glass has good heat resistance and can be safely placed in the microwave or electric oven to heat.

Conclusion

This article mainly gives a detailed comparison: soda lime glass vs borosilicate. You need to choose which type of glass according to your actual needs. Through the article, we can discover that borosilicate glass has a huge development prospect that is incomparable to ordinary soda-lime-silica glass. In the future, borosilicate glass will move towards the direction of multi-specification, large size, multi-function, high quality, and large scale.