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.
Melting for Glass
State-of-the-art solutions for your glass melting operations
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.
Hydrogen Trials Help Decarbonise the Glass Industry
Air Products supported a large-scale pioneering hydrogen test at Saint-Gobain (Germany).
Saint-Gobain successfully conducted a trial at its flat glass production plant in Herzogenrath to test how hydrogen can be used as a fuel for the glass furnace instead of natural gas. Thirty percent of the total energy consumed by the furnace was replaced by pure hydrogen/air combustion. Air Products supplied the necessary hydrogen and provided the corresponding gas supply from the trailer to the plant.
Oxy-fuel Glass Melting
- Lower capital cost
- Higher fuel efficiency
- Reduced NOₓ, SOₓ and particulate emissions
- Improved glass quality
Hydrogen for Combustion
Hydrogen, a practical path to decarbonise and reduce the carbon footprint of industrial production. In this video, you will discover how Air Products is using hydrogen combustion in the industry to generate a cleaner future.
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 system enables real-time participation in testing via the Internet.
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.
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.
Proven Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Services
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.