Packaging Glasses: From Containers to Encapsulation Composition, Performance, and Sustainability Pathways.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Sustainability Studies

Background:

• Glass is a leading material for inert, transparent, and recyclable packaging.
• Its applications have broadened from traditional containers to advanced functional and electronic encapsulation.
• Four decades of scientific and industrial progress are synthesized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and integrate packaging glass developments over 40 years.
• To analyze structural, technological, and sustainability advancements.
• To classify and compare packaging glass families.

Main Methods:

• Classification of packaging glasses into five families: soda-lime, borosilicate, aluminosilicate, recycled (cullet-rich), and functional/electronic.
• Comparison across key performance domains: mechanical, thermal, chemical, optical, barrier, and hermetic properties.
• Analysis of compositional and processing trends influencing structure and performance.

Main Results:

• Quantitative data illustrate how composition and processing affect glass properties.
• Advances in forming, surface engineering, and melting contribute to lightweighting, durability, and decarbonization.
• Sustainability is enhanced through cullet utilization and reduced energy demand.

Conclusions:

• Packaging glass is a circular, stable, and traceable material system.
• High-integrity glass formulations enable hermetic encapsulation for devices.
• Future pathways focus on circularity and low-carbon production.