Glass Melting Technology: A Technical and Economic ... - OSTI

IV.9.2. Fusion et Affinage Rapide (FAR) (Saint-Gobain, 1974)
The Fusion et Affinage Rapide (FAR) system combines flame fusion and electrical refining.
(Mattmuller, R., et. al. FP 2 281 902 [197]; Barton, 1993) Preheated by furnace gases that have
passed through a recuperator, an agglomerated batch with caustic soda as a binder drops onto an
inclined hearth. Rough melted by flames from a set of intensive burners, the melt falls into an
electrically heated refining compartment where a permanent state of convective foaming is
maintained by the presence of solids and bubbles. The strongly heated melt contains sulfate.
Any remaining large bubbles rise to the surface in the second refining compartment.
Barriers to further development of FAR were materials of construction, reliability of the method,
and glass quality.
IV.9.3. Fusion et Affinage Rapide Electrique (FARE) (Saint-Gobain, 1984) The Fusion et
Affinage Rapide Electrique (FARE) system replaces the flame melter of FAR with a single
stirred electric melter. (Barton, J.L., et al. Euro PO 135 446 (1984)) Total residence time for
melting, “boiling,” and clearing compartments is about one hour. Except for the position of the
exit, FARE works on principles similar to FAR and RAMAR systems. All gases from the melter
and foaming zone escape through the batch charger, which doubles as a heat exchanger and SOx
scrubber.
Development barriers of FARE were materials of construction, scale-up, and reliability.
IV.9.4. Cyclonic melters
Cyclone furnaces with their short residence time and rapid heat exchange have been proposed for
use in preheating the batch materials of sand, lime and dolomite before they are brought into
contact with fused sodium carbonate. In a cascade of cyclones at a temperature well above the
melting point of soda ash, the components are melted separately and mixed with hot solids in an
original venturi system that projects the mixture downward into a separation chamber. Hot gases
escape from this chamber through the cyclones and the recuperator, preheating the air for the
main burner, which is placed in a refractory-lined cyclone. (Battelle’s Pyroflex, 1991) ( Anon.
Glass Intern. (1991), [6] 39–41); Barton, 1993).
Development barriers to cyclonic melters have been materials of construction, scale-up, limited
glass compositions, and glass quality.
IV.9.5.VORTEC Cyclone Melting System (Vortec CMS, 1991)
The Vortec cyclone melting system, a preheating/melter design, injects fuel, batch and air into a
first cyclone, a counter-rotating vortex combustion-preheater. Solids suspended in hot gases are
ejected into a horizontal cyclone melter. The material is ejected with the combustion gases into a
separation chamber on which the recuperator that heats the combustion air is mounted. For this
technology, coal might be used as a fuel, or gas produced by a cyclone gasifier may be used.
[Glass Production Technology Int’l, Sterling Publications Ltd. (1991) (Barton, 1993)]
These cyclone melter devices are frequently noted in the Russian glass technology literature.
(Chubinize, 1989) A sophisticated system, the vertical vortex combustor is similar to that used
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