Liquid flame spraying for glass coloring

The liquid flame spraying process has been developed to uniformly color hot glass objects. A solution consisting of a metal nitrate dissolved in alcohol or water is fed to an oxyfuel torch and atomized in the flame. The liquid evaporates from the droplet, and subsequent reactions produce metals or metallic oxides that impact the hot glass surface. Flame spraying of Co, Cu, and Ag solutions onto soda-lime silica glass at 900 to 1000 °C have produced blue, blue-green, and yellow colors. Typical spraying times are 5 to 20 s. Other colors have been produced by using a combination of transition metal ions. This method has found application in studio production and in volume manufacturing of glassware.