USO09522835B2

(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 9,522,835 B2

Kuhn (45) Date of Patent: Dec. 20, 2016
(54) FURNACE FOR MELTING BATCH 2205/72:C03B 5/16: C03B 5/0332: C03E3
MATERALS 5/0334; C03B 5/183; C03B 5/185; C03B
5/24: CO3B 7/06; C03E3 7/065
(75) Inventor: Wolf Stefan Kuhn, Fontenay le (Continued)
Vicomte (FR) (56) References Cited
(73) Assignee: FIVES STEIN (FR) U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

(*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 1,893,060 A * 1/1933 Peiler ........................ CO3B 7/OO
patent is extended or adjusted under 35 65/135.1
U.S.C. 154(b) by 22 days. 3.224,854 A * 12/1965 Badger ..................... CO3B 1.00
266/200
(21) Appl. No.: 13/388,323 (Continued)
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
(22) PCT Filed: Aug. 6, 2010
FR 288.8577 A1 1, 2007
(86). PCT No.: PCT/B2O1O/OS3565 SU 563363 A1 6, 1977
S 371 (c)(1), (Continued)
(2), (4) Date: Mar. 21, 2012
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
(87) PCT Pub. No.: WO2011/016007 W. H. Manring et al., Influence of Batch Preparation Process on the
PCT Pub. Date: Feb. 10, 2011 melting and fining of glass, The Glass Industry, Jul. 1964, p.
354-357.
(65) Prior Publication Data
Primary Examiner — Jodi C Franklin
US 2012/0167632 A1 Jul. 5, 2012 (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — The Belles Group, P.C.
(30) Foreign Application Priority Data (57) ABSTRACT
Furnace for melting batch materials comprising: a tank (3)
Aug. 7, 2009 (FR) ...................................... O9 O3898 covered by a crown (4); a combustion Zone (5) provided
with burners (6); an inlet (8) for charging it with the batch
(51) Int. Cl. materials; a downstream outlet for the melted materials, the
CO3B 5/04 (2006.01) tank containing a melt (7) when the furnace is operating and
CO3B 5/235 (2006.01) the batch materials forming a batch blanket (G) that floats on
(52) U.S. Cl. the melt and is progressively melted; the furnace includes,
CPC ................. C03B 5/04 (2013.01); C03B 5/235 near the charging inlet (8), an intense heating means (B),
(2013.01); Y02P 40/55 (2015.11) predominantly covering the width of the batch blanket, for
(58) Field of Classification Search melting a surface layer of the materials introduced and for
CPC ...... C03B 5/2353; C03B 5/2356; C03E3 5/235; increasing the emissivity of the batch blanket.
C03B 3/02: C03B5/04; C03B3/00; C03B 20 Claims, 1 Drawing Sheet
 US 9,522,835 B2
Page 2

(58) Field of Classification Search 5,795,363 A * 8, 1998 Pecoraro ............... CO3B 5/1672
USPC ............ 65/33.2, 134.1-136.4, 335-345, 347 65/1344
6,237,369 5/2001 LeBlanc ................... CO3B 5/04
See application file for complete search history. 65,134.1
6.253,578 T/2001 Kobayashi ............ CO3B 5/2353
65/1344
(56) References Cited 6,422,041 T/2002 Simpson ................. CO3B 5, 193
65/1344
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 6,519,973 2, 2003 Hoke, Jr. .............. CO3B 5/2353
110.297
3,574,585 A * 4, 1971 Robertson et al. ....... CO3B5/04 6,715,319 4, 2004 Barrow ................. CO3B 5/2353
65/135.8 65,134.1
3,592,623 A ck 7, 1971 Shepherd .............. CO3B 5/2353 6,789,396 9, 2004 Olin-Nunez ............ CO3B 5,235
65/1344 65,134.1
3,741,742 6, 1973 Jennings ................... CO3B 3.00 7,143,610 12, 2006 Cabrera-Llanos ...... CO3B 5,235
65,136.2 110,261
3,885,945 5, 1975 Rees ......................... CO3B 5/03 8,707,738 4, 2014 Sakamoto ................. CO3B 3.00
373/29 65,136.2
4,029,489 6, 1977 Froberg .................. CO3B 5,235 2007/O1192.13 5/2007 Simpson ................. CO3B 5, 193
373/29 65/157
4,381.934 5, 1983 Kunkle ..................... CO3B 5/14 2007/O197366 8, 2007 Aoki ......................... CO3B 5/16
65/1344 501/11
4,432,780 2, 1984 Propster .................... CO3B 3.00 2008/0276648 11/2008 Leconte
1342 2010/0081103 4, 2010 Kobayashi .............. CO3B 5,235
4473,388 9, 1984 Lauwers ............... CO3B 5/2353 432/1
432/20 2010.0218558 9, 2010 Gross ........................ CO3B 5/03
4,496.387 1, 1985 Heithoff.................... CO3B 3.00 65/1356
266,219 2010/0224619 9, 2010 Schoenberger ......... CO3C 1/004
ck 8, 1986 Demarest, Jr. .......... CO3B 3,023
4,604,121 219,443.1
65/1344 2011/OO79050 4, 2011 Douxchamps ............ CO3B 5/04
4,654,068 3, 1987 Kunkle ..................... CO3B 5/14 65/1344
266,213 2011/0098.171 4, 2011 Pedeboscq .............. CO3B 5, 193
4,973,346 ck 11, 1990 Kobayashi ............ CO3B 5/2353 5O1/32
65/1344 2013/011 1956 5, 2013 Douxchamps ........ CO3B 5/2353
ck 10, 1991 Nixon ....................... CO3B 3.00
5,057,140 65/1344
65/136.1 2014/0090423 4, 2014 Charbonneau ............ CO3B 5/04
ck 3, 1995 Martin .................... F23D 14/20
5,401, 167 65,134.5
239,132.3
ck 12, 1996 Argent ...................... CO3B 3.00
5,588,978 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
373/27
ck 8, 1997 Moreau ................. CO3B 5/2353
5,655,464 SU 1167155 A * 7, 1985 ............... CO3B 1.00
110,335 WO WO-99.31021 A1 6, 1999
5,713,977 ck 2, 1998 Kobayashi .............. C04E 7/432
65/1344 * cited by examiner
U.S. Patent Dec. 20, 2016 US 9,522,835 B2

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 US 9,522,835 B2
1. 2
FURNACE FOR MELTING BATCH extending above the batch blanket, in the direction perpen
MATERLALS dicular to the direction of flow of the batch materials.
As a variant, the intense heating means may be formed by
PRIORITY an electromagnetic radiation emitter extending above the
batch blanket, over the entire width of said blanket.
Priority is claimed as a national stage application, under According to the invention, the intense heating is applied
35 U.S.C. S371, to PCT/IB2010/053565, filed Aug. 6, 2010, over a limited length, in the direction of flow of the batch
which claims priority to French Application No. 09.03898, materials, of less than 50 cm and advantageously less than
15 cm.
filed Aug. 7, 2009. The disclosures of the aforementioned 10 The intense heating generates a net heat flux transmitted
priority applications are incorporated herein by reference in
their entirety. to the batch blanket of greater than 200 kW/m and advan
The invention relates to a glass furnace for melting batch tageously greater than 300 kW/m.
materials, of the kind of those that comprise: The moisture in the batch materials generates Steam when
they are heated. Melting the batch materials also generates
a tank covered by a crown; 15 gases, especially CO. To encourage these gases to escape
a combustion Zone provided with heating means, espe via the surface of the blanket, it is advantageous for the
cially with burners; overmelted Surface to be permeable. Thus, a pressure of gas
one or more ports for charging the furnace with the batch is prevented from being established beneath the overmelted
materials; and Surface.
a downstream outlet for the melted materials, the tank According to the invention, the intense heating is carried
containing a melt when the furnace is operating, the out discontinuously, either parallel or perpendicular to the
batch materials introduced forming a batch blanket that direction of flow of the batch materials, so as to maintain, on
floats on the melt and is progressively melted. the Surface of the blanket, regions permeable to the gas
The invention relates preferably to furnaces in which the coming from the blanket. Advantageously, the permeable
energy for melting the batch materials is predominantly 25 regions are not covered with an overmelted layer.
transmitted by thermal radiation onto the surface of the The invention consists, apart from the abovementioned
blanket. It applies to oxy-fuel combustion and air-fuel arrangements, of several other arrangements which will be
combustion furnaces, but it may also apply to other types of more explicitly discussed below in respect of exemplary
furnace, especially hybrid furnaces, that is to say furnaces embodiments described with reference to the appended
operating partially with Oxy-fuel combustion. In the case of 30 drawing, although these are in no way limiting. In the
a hybrid furnace, it is advantageous to use the flue gas of the drawing:
oxy-fuel combustion section to preheat the batch materials. FIG. 1 is a partial longitudinal vertical section through a
It has been observed that the spectral emissivity of the furnace for melting batch materials,
batch materials containing little cullet, especially sand, in FIG. 2 is a partial longitudinal vertical section through a
the unmelted state is low, around 0.2 in the 0.5 to 3.0 um 35 furnace for melting batch materials that includes a recovery
wavelength range. As a result, the energy arriving by thermal Zone, according to the invention.
radiation on the surface of the blanket is largely reflected. In FIG. 1 of the drawings may be seen a furnace 1 for
Thus, over the length of the unmelted blanket surface, the heating and melting batch materials 2, which comprises a
thermal efficiency of the furnace is low. Once the batch tank 3 covered by a crown 4. The terms “upstream” and
blanket Surface has reached the melting point, its emissivity 40 "downstream” are to be understood as meaning along the
greatly increases, to beyond 0.6, and therefore the heat direction of advance of the batch materials, that is to say
transfer is improved. Depending on the size and the design along the direction going from the left to the right in FIG. 1.
of the furnace, the length of the unmelted surface may be up The furnace includes a combustion Zone 5 provided with
to 2 to 3 meters. heating means, generally formed by burners 6. So that the
The object of the invention is, above all, to improve the 45 tank 3 contains a melt 7 when the furnace is in operation. An
absorption by the batch blanket of the thermal radiation entrance is provided upstream of the furnace, for charging it
coming from the crown, from the flames and from the with the batch materials 2. An outlet for the molten glass is
combustion flue gas by Suppressing the length of the located at the downstream end of the combustion Zone 5.
unmelted batch blanket surface so as to improve the thermal The connection of the crown between the combustion Zone
efficiency of the furnace. The invention also makes it pos 50 5 and the entry Zone 8 is made by means of a gable wall 9.
sible to shorten the length of the batch blanket, or to increase The materials introduced at the entry point 8 form a batch
the output of an existing furnace. blanket G that floats on the melt 7 and is progressively
According to the invention, a glass furnace for melting melted. The upper level of the melt 7 is denoted by the letter
batch materials of the kind defined above is characterized in S.
that it includes, near the point of entry of the batch blanket 55 According to the invention, the furnace includes, near the
into the furnace, upstream of the point of entry or at said point of entry of the blanket into the furnace, an intense
point of entry, at least one intense heating means predomi heating means B for melting a Surface layer of the materials
nantly covering the width of the blanket in order to melt a introduced, so as to increase the emissivity of the batch
surface layer of the batch materials introduced and to blanket right from the point of entry into the furnace and
increase the emissivity of the batch blanket. 60 thus to improve the radiative heat transfer between, on the
Advantageously, the overmelting is carried out just one hand, the batch blanket and, on the other hand, the
upstream of the start of exposure of the batch materials to the flames, the flue gas and the crown. This solution is particu
thermal radiation of the furnace. larly advantageous for all furnaces having a low cullet
The average thickness of the melted surface layer is content, such as furnaces for float glass, table glass, glass
preferably at least 0.5 mm and may be a few millimeters. 65 fiber, Solar glass, etc.
The intense heating means may be formed by a curtain of According to FIG. 1, the intense heating means B is
flames that are downwardly directed from a line of burners located just upstream of the entry point 8. The entry point 8
 US 9,522,835 B2
3 4
of the furnace is understood to mean the position of the start addition, by limiting the amount of batch material fly-off, it
of exposure of the batch materials to the thermal radiation of is possible to shorten the distance L between the suspended
the furnace. or gable wall 9 and the first burner 6.
The intense heating means B advantageously consists of In FIG. 2 may be seen the tank 3a of a furnace 1a
a curtain of flames 10 that are downwardly directed from a 5 operating in Oxy-fuel combustion mode and provided with a
line of burners 11 extending above the batch blanket, over recovery Zone 12 located in the furnace between the entry
the entire width of said blanket. The burners 11 are distrib point 8 and the combustion Zone 5a. The height of the crown
uted over the entire width of the port for charging the 13 in the recovery Zone 12 is less than the height of the
furnace. The burners are fixed to a cross member above the crown 4 in the combustion Zone. An opening 4 for the flue
batch blanket, being downwardly oriented. 10 gas to escape is provided at the charging-side end of the
The burners may be of the type for air-fuel combustion, recovery Zone 12. In the recuperation Zone, heat exchange
oxy-fuel combustion or air-fuel combustion with the oxidant takes place between the flue gas and the batch blanket G,
enriched with oxygen. It is important to ensure that the causing the blanket to heat up.
intense heating means do not cause batch material fly-off. In this recovery Zone 12, the batch blanket G has a surface
Advantageously, the fuel is hydrogen and the oxidant is 15 of low emissivity (about 0.2 for a low cullet content),
oxygen so as to limit the Volume of gas generated by the thereby attenuating the radiative heat transfer.
combustion for a given power. According to the invention, an intense heating means B
The heating means B may also be formed by an electro formed by a curtain of flames 10a is installed, the flames
magnetic radiation emitter (not shown) extending above the being downwardly directed from a line of burners 11a
batch blanket, over the entire width of said blanket, such as installed above the batch blanket, or by any other intense
an infrared radiation, CO laser or microwave device. heating means. A high heat flux is produced at the point of
The intense heating means B, located between the port for entry of the batch blanket G in the recovery Zone 12 so as
charging the batch materials 2 and the point of entry 8 into to increase the emissivity of the blanket surface by rapid
the furnace, causes rapid overmelting of the Surface layer of overmelting. The thermal efficiency of the recovery Zone is
the batch blanket G. The thickness of the melted surface 25 thus improved. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the intense
layer is of the order of a few millimeters, preferably at least heating means B is located just at the point of entry 8,
0.5 mm, and must allow an average emissivity of greater upstream of the recovery Zone 12.
than 0.4 to be achieved. Advantageously, the flames 10a are directed slightly
This arrangement, which causes rapid overmelting of the toward the interior of the furnace so that the flue gas
surface layer of the batch blanket, substantially improves the 30 resulting from these flames is recovered inside the furnace.
emissivity of the blanket and the radiative heat transfer A device for capturing the flue gas from these flames may
between the flue gas and the blanket. also be placed outside the furnace, especially if the flames
To evaluate the improvement made by the intense heating are not directed toward the interior of the furnace. The
means B, causing rapid overmelting of the Surface layer of curtain of flames also has the advantage of creating an
the batch blanket, a numerical simulation was carried out, in 35 aeraulic Seal limiting exchange between the atmosphere
the case of a float glass furnace in air-fuel combustion mode, inside the furnace and that outside the furnace.
with the following assumptions: To evaluate the improvement provided by the intense
temperature of the laboratory in the initial portion of the heating means B, an example formed by a furnace operating
furnace kept constant at 1300° C.; in oxy-fuel combustion mode was considered, having an
laboratory having an emissivity of 0.5, emitting radiation 40 output of 400 metric tons per day, the batch materials
arriving on the batch blanket; containing 20% cullet by weight, the recovery Zone having
output: 400 metric tons per day: a length of 3.7 m and a width of 6.4 m, and the oxy-fuel
cullet, 20% by weight; combustion power of the furnace being 16 MW.
batch blanket width: 10 m; and 1. Numerical simulation of the recuperation with no over
average batch blanket speed at point of entry: 11 cm/min. 45 melting, that is to say without the line of burners 11a.
An intense heating means B was considered that injects a flue gas energy recovered by the blanket in the recovery
heat flux density of 300 kW/m over a distance of 5 cm, Zone: 1.06 MW.
which amounts to 150 kW as total injected net heat flux. 2. Recovery simulation with overmelting, that is to say with
Such a heat flux may for example be obtained by a line of a line of burners 11a.
oxy-fuel combustion burners. With an efficiency of around 50 flue gas energy recovered by the blanket in the recovery
60%, the total power of the burner line is 250 kW. The aim Zone: 1.3.6 MW.
is for the surface of the batch blanket to be rapidly over In this example, the overmelting is obtained by a row of
melted so as to increase its emissivity. The assumption made oxy-fuel combustion flames 10a of about 250 kW power, for
is that an emissivity of 0.6 is thus obtained. a heat flux transmitted to the blanket of 150 kW.
The heat flux received at the surface of the blanket, over 55 Comparison of the two cases, with and without overmelt
the first four meters from the entry point 8, is evaluated as: 1ng:
2.6 MW in the conventional case, i.e. with no overmelt The energy of the line of burners is recovered by the
ing, with an average heat flux density of 65 kW/m; and blanket. Assuming that the combustion efficiency is similar
3.8 MW with overmelting, with a average heat flux for the two systems, burners in the furnace and overmelting
density of 95 kW/m. 60 burners, the overmelting therefore makes it possible to
The overmelting therefore significantly increases the heat reduce the combustion consumption in the furnace by about
flux at the surface of the batch blanket in the furnace. 250 kW.
The overmelting also has the advantage of limiting batch The net gain by solution 2 is therefore about 1.36
material fly-off, carried away by the combustion flue gas of MW-106 MW=0.3 MW.
the furnace. In the case of a float glass furnace operating in 65 The efficiency of the recovery Zone therefore increases by
air-fuel combustion mode, the result is a reduction in the 28% and the furnace consumption drops by about 2% (i.e.
amount of fouling of the regenerator of the first port. In 0.3/16).
 US 9,522,835 B2
5 6
The invention claimed is: 10. The furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second
1. A glass furnace for melting batch materials, the furnace heating means is formed by an electromagnetic radiation
comprising: emitter extending above the batch blanket, over the entire
a tank covered by a crown; width of said blanket.
a combustion Zone; 11. A glass furnace for melting batch materials, the
first heating means disposed within the combustion Zone; furnace comprising:
one or more ports for charging the furnace with the batch a tank covered by a crown; a combustion Zone;
materials at an entry point of the furnace; and first heating means disposed within the combustion
a downstream outlet for the melted materials, 10
Zone; one or more ports for charging the furnace with
the tank containing a melt when the furnace is operating, the batch materials; and a downstream outlet for the
the batch materials introduced forming a batch blanket melted materials, the tank containing a melt when
that floats on the melt and is progressively melted, the furnace is operating, the batch materials intro
wherein the furnace further includes: duced forming a batch blanket that floats on the melt
aheat recovery Zone disposed between the entry point and 15 and is progressively melted, wherein near a point of
the combustion Zone, the heat recovery Zone including entry of the batch blanket into the furnace, the
a flue gas escape positioned nearer the entry point than furnace further includes:
the first heating means, second heating means extending the width of the blan
second heating means disposed between the one or more ket, the second heating means configured to generate
charging ports and the entry point above the batch a net heat flux transmitted to the batch blanket of
blanket, the second heating means distributed over the greater than 200 kW/m to melt a surface layer of the
entire width of the batch blanket, the second heating batch materials introduced and to increase emissivity
means configured to generate a net heat flux transmitted of the batch blanket; and
to the batch blanket of greater than 200 kW/m to melt a recuperation Zone disposed between the second heat
a surface layer of the batch materials introduced and to 25 ing means and the combustion Zone, with a flue gas
increase emissivity of the batch blanket to an average escape positioned nearer the second heating means
emissivity of greater than 0.4, and than the first heating means within the recuperation
wherein a height of the crown throughout the heat recov Zone, wherein a height of the crown in the recupera
ery Zone is less than a height of the crown in the 30
tion Zone is less than a height of the crown in the
combustion Zone, so that the crown is closer to the combustion Zone, so that the crown is closer to the
batch blanket in the heat recovery Zone; and batch blanket in the recuperation Zone; and
wherein the first and second heating means are placed wherein the first and second heating means are placed
outside of the heat recovery Zone so that heat exchange outside of the recuperation Zone so that heat
takes place between flue gas and the batch blanket 35 exchange takes place between flue gas and the batch
within the heat recovery Zone. blanket within the recuperation Zone.
2. The furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least 12. The furnace as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
one of the first heating means and the second heating means second heating means comprise burners.
comprise burners. 13. The furnace as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
3. The furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second 40 second heating means is configured to create a melted
heating means is configured to create a melted Surface layer Surface layer of the batch blanket having an average thick
of the batch blanket having an average thickness of at least ness of at least 0.5 mm.
0.5 mm. 14. The furnace as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
4. The furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second second heating means is configured to create a melted
heating means is configured to create a melted Surface layer 45 Surface layer of the batch blanket having an average thick
of the batch blanket having an average thickness of a few ness of a few millimeters.
millimeters. 15. The furnace as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
5. The furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second second heating means applies intense heating over a limited
heating means applies intense heating over a limited length, length, in the direction of flow of the batch materials, of less
in the direction of flow of the batch materials, of less than 50
than 50 cm.
50 cm.
16. The furnace as claimed in claim 15, wherein the
6. The furnace as claimed in claim 5, wherein the limited limited length is less than 15 cm.
length is less than 15 cm. 17. The furnace as claimed in claim 11, wherein the net
7. The furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein the netheat heat flux transmitted to the batch blanket is greater than 300
flux transmitted to the batch blanket by the second heating 55
kW/m.
means is greater than 300 kW/m. 18. The furnace as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
8. The furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second
heating means is configured to apply heat to the batch second heating means is configured to apply heat to the
blanket discontinuously, either parallel or perpendicular to batch blanket discontinuously, either parallel or perpendicu
the direction of flow of the batch blanket, so as to maintain, 60 lar to the direction of flow of the batch blanket, so as to
on the surface of the batch blanket, regions permeable to the maintain, on the Surface of the batch blanket, regions
gas coming from the batch blanket. permeable to the gas coming from the batch blanket.
9. The furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second 19. The furnace as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
heating means is formed by a curtain of flames that are second heating means is formed by a curtain of flames that
downwardly directed from a line of burners extending above 65 are downwardly directed from a line of burners extending
the batch blanket in the direction perpendicular to the above the batch blanket in the direction perpendicular to the
direction of flow of the batch materials. direction of flow of the batch materials.
 US 9,522,835 B2
7
20. The furnace as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
second heating means is formed by an electromagnetic
radiation emitter extending above the batch blanket, over the
entire width of said blanket.
k k k k k