Method of manufacturing glass and compositions thereof

A glass batch material in a solid state particle agglomerate form comprising:

• a plurality of granules, each granule comprising an alkaline earth metal source material, an aluminum source material and a silicon source material, wherein the alkaline earth metal source material, the aluminum source material and the silicon source material are uniformly distributed and in close proximity within each of the granules, enabling the solid state particle agglomerate to form glass in a more energy efficient manner when heated, wherein each granule further comprises a binder selected from the croup consisting of alkaline earth metal sulfates and alkaline earth metal nitrates for holding the alkaline earth metal source, the aluminum source and the silicon source together in the granule form.