GE's Lighting Division produces borosilicate glass. During production, each day more than 650 pounds of mostly borax and salt dust are collected. GE uses the recovered dust as a minor ingredient in making new glass, but working with the dust is difficult. GE initially used a pelletizing process to prepare the dust for recycling. But after each batch, the equipment had to be washed to prevent salty residue from corroding the pelletizer which was fairly labor intensive. Plus, the process introduced water into the dry material handling system, which meant the pellets had to be dried before they could join the production cycle. After seeing briquetters in action at a nearby Kingsford charcoal plant, GE saw the potential for briquetters in their own operation.

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