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Shawn Matt
10/28/2015
MSE 2044
The Usage of Borosilicate Glass in the Tobacco Pipe Industry
Introduction:
Borosilicate glass was discovered by German Chemist, Otto Schott in the late nineteenth
century [B]. Borosilicate glass was used a few small scale applications in the early twentieth
century, but in 1915 it was introduced by Corning Glass under the brand Pyrex [B]. Although
originally marketed as cookware, Corning began manufacturing borosilicate glass beakers,
flasks, and glass tubing in 1916 [B]. Corning was the first company to take advantage of
borosilicate glasss superior thermal properties on a large scale [B].
Like all soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass is made with a base of soda (Na2O), lime
(CaO), a silica (SiO2) and some alumina (Al2 O3) [A]. But unlike traditional soda-lime glass, it
has an added ingredient called borax (B2O3) that is substituted for nearly all the lime. [A].
Borosilicate glass has a low expansion coefficient and a high resistance to thermal shock, which
aids in making it an excellent material in applications that will be exposed to heat such as
cooking, scientific glassware, and tobacco pipes [A].
Structure
Although the specific composition of borosilicate glass may vary slightly, it is generally
around 81% SiO2, 2.5% Al2O3, 13% B2O3, and 3.5% Na2O [D]. Like all glass, it does not have
long range order, meaning that the structure does not form repeating lattice patterns that fit nicely
on top of one another, which is depicted in Figure 1 [E]. Borosilicate glass is an amorphous solid
with short range order on the atomic scale [E]. During formation, borosilicate glass separates into
two different phases, a silica-rich phase and a borax-rich phase which also contains tiny droplets
of the silica-rich phase, depicted in figure 2 [F,G].

Figure 1: The amorphous structure of Glass [E]

Figure 2: The phases of borosilicate glass [F]

The silica droplets in the borax-rich phase strengthens the glass, and lowers the thermal
expansion coefficient [G]. This two phase system differentiates the strength and resistivity to
thermal shock of borosilicate glass from traditional soda-lime glass, which makes borosilicate
glass the most desired glass in the tobacco pipe industry.
Processing
Because glass is an amorphous solid, it does not solidify in a manner that at a unique
temperature it transforms from liquid to solid [D]. Rather, as its temperature decreases it
becomes increasingly viscous until it no longer can flow [D]. When the temperature is plotted
against the viscosity on a log graph, many unique points on the plot can be observed [D]. The
point where glass is fluid enough to show liquid characteristics, also known as the melting point,
is when the viscosity is equal to 10 Pa*s [D]. The softening point is the temperature where glass
can be dealt with without disrupting the integrity of the glass; the viscosity is equal to 4x106 Pa*s
[D]. The working point is the temperature where glass can be warped without difficulty; the
viscosity is equal to 103 Pa*s [D]. Nearly all glass-working is done within the working range, the
temperatures between the working point and the softening point [D].
Glass forming starts with combining the components of the glass, in this case 81% SiO2,
2.5% Al2O3, 13% B2O3, and 3.5% Na2O, at a high temperature [D]. In tobacco pipes, the
importance of aesthetics of the pipe contribute to the quality and price of the pipe. If the glass
has flaws or is not transparent, then the quality of the tobacco pipe usually goes down. This is
important in the forming of the glass because if the glass mixture is not homogenous, then the
transparency of the final product will be compromised [D]. For the mixture of ingredients to
reach homogeneity they must be completely melted [D]. Once the glass mixture is fully melted it
is ready for the glass blower to work his or her magic [D]. The glass blower sticks the blowpipe
into the molten glass and blows it into the shape of a tobacco pipe [H].
Now that the tobacco pipe has been shaped, it is time to cool the pipe [H]. Since glass is
an amorphous solid, it must be cooled at a slow rate to avoid causing any excess stress from
uneven surface and interior cooling [D, H]. The glass pipe must be annealed to ensure that the
cooling process occurs slowly [D, H].
The final steps in the processing of borosilicate glass tobacco pipes includes polishing,
sanding and detailing [H]. Once these final steps are complete, the pipe is ready to be sold to the
consumer.

Properties
Borosilicate glass and soda-lime have the same tensile strength of 69 MPa, meaning they
both will break at when a stress of 69 MPa is applied [D]. Since both materials have the same
tensile strength, borosilicate glass offers no added benefit over soda-lime glass if stress is
applied.
Borosilicate glass has a density of 2.23 g/cm3 where soda-lime glass has a density of 2.5
g/cm [D]. This difference in density will allow a tobacco pipe made of borosilicate glass to be
slightly lighter than a tobacco pipe of the same dimensions made out of soda-lime glass which
may be desirable for the tobacco pipe user.
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Fracture toughness is a materials ability to resist cracks from propagating, measured in

MPa*m1/2. As one can imagine, in a tobacco pipe the highest possible fracture possible is
desired. Glass, like all ceramics, is highly susceptible to cracks which lead to fractures.
Borosilicate glass has a fracture toughness of 0.77 MPa*m1/2, where soda-lime glass has a
fracture toughness of 0.75 MPa*m1/2[D].
Hardness is a materials resistance to surface flaws caused by the abrasion of another
material [D]. In ceramics and all brittle materials, if a crack is formed, the fracture strength of the
material is reduced. In a tobacco pipe, a higher hardness is ideal because if a crack cannot form,
then the fracture strength will not be jeopardized. Borosilicate glass has a Vickers Hardness of
8.21*108 Pa and soda lime glass has a Vickers Hardness of 4.3*109 Pa [A]. Since soda-lime glass
has a higher hardness value, its actually more resistant to scratches than borosilicate glass.
A glass tobacco pipe, like all tobacco pipes, will be subjected to lots of heat. While the
mechanical properties listed above are important, the real distinction between borosilicate glass
and soda-lime glass are their thermal properties. Unless the tobacco pipe is dropped, its primary
stress will be from the expansion and contraction due to heat being applied. The thermal
expansion coefficient of a material is exactly as it sounds; it is the ratio of change in length and
change in temperature of a material [D]. Borosilicate glass has a thermal expansion coefficient of
3.2*10-6 strain/C [A]. Soda-lime glass has a thermal expansion coefficient of 9.1*10-6 strain/C
[A]. Soda-lime glass will have three times as much strain on it than borosilicate glass when
applied any increase in temperature. Since the primary stress on a tobacco pipe is from the heat
being applied, its large thermal expansion coefficient make it a better alternative to soda-lime
glass in the tobacco pipe industry.
Performance
Compared to other glass alternatives, borosilicate glass really has no competition in terms
of tobacco pipe quality. Because of its large thermal expansion coefficient, borosilicate glass
makes for a much more durable pipe than a pipe made out of alternatives [A]. Although its
thermal properties make for the ideal glass tobacco pipe, there are some drawbacks to
borosilicate glass. It is more difficult to work and blow borosilicate glass into the complex
shapes and designs of tobacco pipes, and the cost of borosilicate glass is much more expensive
than soda-lime glass [A]. Borosilicate glass costs anywhere between $4.50 per kilogram to $7.48
per kilogram, where soda-lime glass only costs anywhere between $1.41 per kilogram and $1.66
per kilogram [A]. Borosilicate glass makes a much higher quality tobacco pipe, but at a higher
price. The idiom You get what you pay for very much applies to glass tobacco pipes.
Green Engineering
To determine the impact borosilicate glass has on the environment, a few different things
need to be taken into consideration. The amount of energy it takes to produce one unit mass of a
material is known as the embodied energy [A]. The embodied energy is the amount of energy it
takes to gather necessary ingredients, transport the ingredients, and process the ingredients into
the final product [A]. The embodied energy to produce borosilicate glass is between 27 MJ/kg
and 32 MJ/kg [A]. Although someday there is hope for an entirely green power grid, currently
most of the energy used to power machines and factories comes from the burning of fossil fuels.
When a product is manufactured, the embodied energy comes from the burning of fossil fuels
which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere [A]. This carbon dioxide has an adverse effect

on the global climate because it is a greenhouse gas that traps radiation from the Sun and warms
up the atmosphere. The carbon footprint, the amount of CO2 produced per unit mass, of the
production of borosilicate glass is about 1.7 kg of carbon dioxide for every kilogram of
borosilicate glass produced [A].
All materials have a life cycle of production, manufacturing, use of the product, and end
of life [A]. When borosilicate glass breaks or is no longer in use, it has reached the end of its life
cycle. Borosilicate glass is recyclable; all it has to do is be melted back down and formed to start
the life cycle of another product.
Although the production of borosilicate glass is not totally environmentally friendly, its
carbon footprint is fairly low when compared to the production of other materials, which can be
seen in Figure 3 [A]. Fortunately, recycled borosilicate glass helps cut down unnecessary carbon
emission from the production of new glass.

Figure 3: CO2 footprint of Borosilicate glass compared to other materials in Edu Level 1 of CES EduPack 2015 [A]

Word Count: 1614

Bibliography
[A] CES Edupack 2015. Granta Material Intelligence, 2015.
[B] W. Jenson, 'The Origin of Pyrex', Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 83, no. 5, pp. 692693, 2006.
[C] I skipped C, whoops
[D] W. Callister Jr. and D. Rethwisch, Material Science and Engineering, An Introduction, 9th
ed. United States of America: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2015, pp. 512-513, 527-529, 885, 893,
898, 932.
[E] Www2.warwick.ac.uk, 'Research', 2015. [Online]. Available:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/condensedmatt/nmr/members/phriab/researc
h/. [Accessed: 27- Oct- 2015].
[F] Glassproperties.com, 'Phase Separation in Glasses', 2015. [Online]. Available:
http://glassproperties.com/phase-separation/. [Accessed: 28- Oct- 2015].
[G] R. Brow, Immiscibility/Phase Separation, 2015, section. 4-1 - 4-9.
[H] J. Toothman, 'How Glassblowing Works', HowStuffWorks, 2008. [Online]. Available:
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/artwork/glassblowing3.htm. [Accessed: 28- Oct2015].

[F] and [H] are .com sites.

[F] has a lot of information on glass properties and microstructure. All the information has
diagrams to back up the claims and the sources used on the website were credible.
[H] is an article on a website called how stuff works. The material science textbook (reference
[D]) currently used in the MSE 2044 class had information on how glass is processed, but it only
gave a procedure for glass being made in a factory. Tobacco pipes are generally blown by a glass
blower, so the factory process for borosilicate glass is not all the way accurate. Most of the
process is the same minus a small few details, but the science of the glass blowing process found
in reference [H] seemed to be backed up by the textbook, so I feel it is a credible source.