Method of boosting a glass melting furnace using a roof mounted oxygen-fuel burner
AssigneeThe BOC Group, Inc.
InventorsNeil George Simpson, Greg Floyd Prusia, Stephen McDonald Carney, Thomas G. Clayton, Andrew Peter Richardson, John R. LeBlanc
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In an industrial glass furnace which contains recuperators, regenerators, electric boost or other devices for providing heat to glass batch material an oxy-fuel burner mounted in the roof of the furnace provides additional heat to melt the batch material. A method of mounting and using such a roof-mounted oxy-fuel burner including the operating parameters to maximize heat transfer while minimizing the disturbance of the batch material is disclosed.
Claims22
A method of melting batch material in a glass furnace having at least one regenerator or at least one recuperator, and at least one existing end-fired air-fuel burner or at least one pair of existing cross-fired air-fuel burners, said furnace having sidewalls, a back wall, a front wall and a roof, and including an upstream melting zone and a downstream fining zone, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing at least one burner disposed at the roof of said furnace over said batch material in the melting zone;
- reducing fuel and combustion air flow to the at least one existing end-fired burner or the at least one existing pair of cross-fired burners;
- providing a flow of gaseous oxidant to said at least one roof burner;
- providing a flow of gaseous fuel to said at least one roof burner;
- generating a flame from at least said one roof burner to replace energy reduced from the existing burner or burners and to provide additional energy;
- and,
- controlling said flame to have a velocity sufficient to maximize transfer of heat from said flame to said batch material during which transfer said batch material remains substantially undisturbed.
A method of melting batch material in a glass furnace having at least one regenerator or at least one recuperator, and at least one existing end-fired air-fuel burner or at least one pair of existing cross-fired air-fuel burners, said furnace having sidewalls, a back wall, a front wall and a roof, and including a melting zone and a fining zone downstream of the melting zone, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing at least one burner disposed at the roof of said furnace over said batch material in the melting zone;
- reducing fuel and combustion air flow to the at least one existing end-fired burner or the at least one existing pair of cross-fired burners;
- providing a flow of gaseous oxidant to said at least one roof burner;
- providing a flow of gaseous fuel to said at least one roof burner;
- generating a flame from said at least one roof burner to replace energy reduced from the existing burner or burners and to provide additional energy, said flame impinging the surface of said batch material;
- and,
- controlling said flame to have a length and a velocity sufficient to maximize transfer of heat from said flame to said batch material during which transfer said batch material is not entrained and remains substantially undisturbed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.