PROCESS DESCRIPTION

Glass from a cross fired regenerative melter flows over a refractory spout on to the mirror-like surface of molten tin, entering at 1,100 °C and leaving the float bath as a solid ribbon at 600°C. Tin is suitable for the float glass process because it has a high specific gravity, is cohesive, and is immiscible with molten glass. Tin, however, oxidises in a natural atmosphere to form tin dioxide.