What is the Difference Between Soda Lime Glass and Borosilicate Glass?

Soda lime glass is the most common form of glass which mainly contains silicon dioxide whereas the borosilicate glass is a form of glass that contains silicon dioxide and boron trioxide. They differ from each other according to the chemical composition. Thus, the soda lime glass contains mainly silica, and there are no boron-containing compounds while the borosilicate glass mainly contains silica and boron trioxide. This is the key difference between soda lime glass and borosilicate glass.Moreover, the raw materials that we use to make soda lime glass are sodium carbonate, lime, dolomite, silicon dioxide, aluminium oxide, etc. while the raw material for the production of borosilicate glass are boric oxide, silica sand, soda ash and alumina. Another significant difference between soda lime glass and borosilicate glass is their thermal resistance. The thermal resistance of soda lime glass is low compared to borosilicate glass, which has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion; therefore, it is resistant to thermal shock. Thus, the thermal resistance determines the applications of each type of glass.