Hydrogen-fueled submerged combustion melter and glass melting system including the same

A method of making glass, the method comprising:

• (a) discharging combustion products directly into a glass melt contained within a submerged combustion melter, the combustion products agitating the glass melt and resulting from the combustion of a mixture of hydrogen gas and an oxidant gas;
• (b) exhausting a flue gas that comprises water vapor from the submerged combustion melter;
• (c) heating a batch feedstock material with the flue gas, the batch feedstock material comprising at least 40 wt % cullet;
• (d) introducing the batch feedstock material into the glass melt contained within the submerged combustion melter;
• (e) condensing the flue gas after the flue gas is used to heat the batch feedstock material in step (c) to form a water condensate that includes liquid water;
• and
• (f) supplying the liquid water to the submerged combustion melter to cool the melter.

A glass-melting system comprising:

• a submerged combustion melter comprising a housing that includes an enclosed shell, which interiorly defines an internal cooling flow path, and further comprising at least one submerged combustion burner configured to introduce a mixture of hydrogen gas and an oxidant gas directly into the melter, and wherein each of a batch inlet and an exhaust outlet is defined through the housing of the submerged combustion melter;
• a batch feedstock material preheater in fluid communication with the submerged combustion melter and configured to heat batch feedstock material with a preheater gas flow that includes flue gas exhausted from the submerged combustion melter through the exhaust outlet, the preheater gas flow exiting the batch feedstock material preheater as a condenser gas flow;
• a condenser in fluid communication with the batch feedstock material preheater and configured to condense the condenser gas flow exiting the batch feedstock material preheater into a water condensate;
• and
• a cooling water reservoir in fluid communication with the condenser and the submerged combustion melter, the cooling water reservoir being configured to receive the water condensate from the condenser and to deliver an inflow of cooling water to the internal flow path of the enclosed shell of the submerged combustion melter.