Melting for Glass

Oxygen-enhanced combustion technologies can help improve furnace performance by displacing combustion air with oxygen. Even a small increase in oxygen concentration can have a dramatic impact on furnace operations, especially when using fuels with low heating values, and/or improving operations or regaining control of furnaces with failing heat recovery devices. By reducing or eliminating the introduction of inert nitrogen into the furnace, oxygen-enhanced combustion technologies have proven to increase production, decrease fuel consumption, and reduce emissions, while maintaining or even increasing product quality. With a range of proprietary Cleanfire® burners, melting technologies, and modeling services, our global team can use their skills and experience to help you with design, start-up, and ongoing operation of the optimal system for your furnace.

2022: Celebrating the International Year of Glass

By formal resolution, the United Nations General Assembly has declared the year 2022 as the International Year of Glass to celebrate the importance of this transformative material. As an essential part of everyday human life, glass has changed the ways we see the world, communicate, treat disease, create energy, fabricate our homes, and more. Air Products is proud to be part of the glass industry's rich history and integral to its bright future. For more than 70 years, we have been innovating and evolving our portfolio of oxygen solutions to improve combustion, and enable primary glass and frit producers to increase production, reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and enhance quality. We celebrate this important industry and look forward to ongoing advancements in glass melting technology.

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Oxy-fuel Glass Melting

Lower capital cost
Higher fuel efficiency
Reduced NOₓ, SOₓ and particulate emissions
Improved glass quality

A Wide Range of Oxygen-Enhanced Glass Melting Options

A variety of oxygen enrichment and oxy-fuel combustion methods can be used to enhance glass melting

Oxygen Enrichment

Oxygen is injected into the main combustion air system well ahead of the delivery point to the furnace. This pre-mix of oxygen is most common on recuperative furnaces or unit melters that have many such delivery points or on regenerative melters where it is desirable to use the oxygen to enhance the entire combustion process in a consistent manner.

Oxygen Lancing

This method has historically been the most cost-effective way to use oxygen to supplement air-fuel combustion. The strategic injection of oxygen beside, beneath or through air-fuel flames has allowed glass melters to reach campaign objectives in terms of pull rate, fuel efficiency and glass quality. The benefits of oxygen lancing accrue from having the oxygen mix with fuel where it is most needed.

Oxygen Boosting

The boosting concept uses oxy-fuel burners positioned within the air-fuel melter to increase production, quality, efficiency and furnace stability. Oxy-fuel boosting is typically used to increase pull rate on a furnace that is at capacity or that has been crippled due to a failure or loss of effectiveness of the air-fuel combustion system.

Full Oxy-fuel Conversion

Oxy-fuel glass melting furnaces provide the most flexible and efficient means for melting glass in large tonnage production operations. Operational benefits provided by oxygen are maximized with full conversion: increased production, decreased fuel consumption, decreased emissions, improved glass quality, reduced maintenance, and extended furnace campaign life.

ADVANCED CLEAN ENERGY LABORATORY—VIRTUAL DEMONSTRATIONS TO GLOBAL LOCATIONS

The Advanced Clean Energy Laboratory is our newest demonstration facility, capable of facilitating development and full-scale testing of combustion systems using actual customer fuels. Plus a remote video imaging systems enables real-time participation in testing via the Internet.

Download Advanced Clean Energy Laboratory brochure

"It was clear from day one that Air Products was deploying a team of genuine combustion engineering experts who knew the glass industry intimately."
Lee KeunHaeng, Project Manager, Techpack Solutions

PRISM® VSA Oxygen Generators

Air Products' PRISM® VSA Oxygen Generators provide dependable oxygen supply to meet a broad range of flow requirements. Our robust generators offer a highly reliable oxygen supply at an overall cost savings compared to trucked-in liquid. The systems’ modular approach facilitates easy installation and maintenance, while the standard features enable the systems to meet the specific needs of glass producers.

PRISM® VSA Oxygen Generators—T Series

PRISM® VSA Oxygen Generator

OXYGEN-STAGED COMBUSTION IN OXY-FUEL FIRED MELTING FURNACES

The benefits of oxy-fuel combustion for glass melting relative to air-fuel combustion are fairly well-known. They include lower capital cost, higher fuel efficiency, reduced NOₓ emissions and improved glass quality.

Download Oxygen-Staged Combustion in Oxy-fuel Fired Melting Furnaces

Example CFD modeling representation of a glass furnace

Proven Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Services

We have extensive in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling service capabilities that can help when you are designing or investigating furnace performance. Our services help enable glassmakers to investigate and evaluate ways to increase productivity and cut costs without putting their production process at risk. Modeling studies provide quick, validated results along with recommendations for the type of system that is optimal for your operation.

Cleanfire® HRₓ™ oxy-fuel burner

Watch our short video to better understand how this burner can help you boost your performance and productivity for better glass.

To make glass better, put Air Products in the mix

Learn more about Air Products' melting solutions or request a demonstration in our pilot-scale Advanced Clean Energy lab.