3 ms·
Most "aggressive of chemicals" doesn´t sound too good...
by kwanbix 7y ago
Most "aggressive of chemicals" doesn´t sound too good...
- layoutIfNeeded 7y agoI meant to point out that glass is inert in most conditions, be it chemicals, heat, UV radiation, etc. Meanwhile, plastic containers are easily damaged by heat or UV light, and contaminate their contents.
- dsfyu404ed 7y agoDepends, are you the kind of person who considers "this product is not for sale in California" to be a feature or a warning?
- logfromblammo 7y agoWell... not THE most aggressive of chemicals, fluoroantimonic acid (H2F[SbF6]), the acid designed by top chemists to be the best acid that ever forcibly protonated a carbon atom into pentavalent carbonium. That will dissolve the glass. (It can only be stored in PTFE.) It doesn't even have a pH, as it can't exist in aqueous solution, because it explosively destroys water. Strong bases, like 50% or higher NaOH, also attack silicate glass. You can clean glass with less aggressive chemical solutions that can still dissolve all organic materials and salts on the surface, without damaging the glass, and then remove those solutions completely, if the glass geometry permits. Or you can clean it well enough for commerce by inverting the bottle and blowing steam into it, something that would alter the geometry of a polyethylene bottle. But a glassblowing robot can easily make a completely new bottle, that isn't going to have any unknown contaminants in it. Recycling glass doesn't save enough money to make it good business.