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

here. To remain vigorous and competitive, the industry should conduct new research and
technology development in these recommended areas:
l. Advanced melters and delivery system concepts to improve energy efficiency of
natural gas-fired combustion;]
2. More rugged, accurate, and affordable sensors for process control;
3. Combustion controls for increasing energy efficiency and reducing
environmental emissions;
4. User-friendly mathematical computer models/programs to stimulate glass
manufacturing processes from batch to forming and make it accessible to the glass
industry at modest cost.
Any solutions to economic problems of energy savings, environmental regulations, or
capital investment must be cost effective and practical for glass manufacturers. All
segments of the glass industry must collaborate to meet the present challenges if the
industry is to succeed.
In the long term, the most promising directions to explore as summarized from the
workshop participants are:
• Forced convection melters (via bubblers and/or mechanical stirrers);
• Melter designs for faster glass composition changes (lower residence time, less forward
mixing);
• Sub-atmospheric pressure fining to eliminate chemical fining agents (other than water);
• Refractories to allow higher melting temperatures without excessive corrosion or
blistering;
• Thermodynamic modeling of melting for which many measurements of thermodynamic
properties of glassmaking materials need to be made and analyzed.
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