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

The issue of funding for research and development is of great concern. Fear of failure and aversion to risk
by a single manufacturer in an industry threatened by a shrinking market sector could hamper
collaborative efforts. A public-private partnership could provide the resources with which to research and
develop new energy-efficient technologies that would benefit the whole industry. The needed investments
are too costly and the risk too great for individual glass companies
to fund these technologies alone. Investment decisions consistent with public goals and private business
criteria could be based on proven technology developed cooperatively between industry and government.
Advancing glass melting technology
To improve the process of glass melting, an emphasis on research of methods for preheating batch and
cullet, rather than melting itself, could hold the most potential. Preheating is a means to accelerate
dissolution in the fusion process and reduce refining time. Energy and capital efficiencies of the glass
melting process could be improved by a host of promising technologies in new materials, combustion and
control systems. Glass industry professionals increasingly believe that radically different ways to melt
glass, rather than gradual improvements, will realize the vision of the DOE “Roadmap” for 2020.
Glass manufacturing is one of mankind’s oldest industries. Yet glass manufacturers must continue to
seek dramatic ways to improve combustion techniques, develop refractories compatible with advanced
technologies, regulate quality of raw materials, and develop glass formation process controls. Industrywide
solutions must be developed in the immediate future if glass manufacturing in the United States is to
remain a viable industry.
In the six chapters of this report, the state of the glass industry in the United States is assessed from a
number of viewpoints. Current technical issues are presented via an overview and an account of melting
practices. Economic issues are reviewed from the perspective of glass manufacturers. Innovations in glass
technology that have been researched and developed are presented in sufficient detail to evaluate their
feasibility for review. The collective recommendations by glass manufacturing authorities and the
findings of the study are presented for future consideration. The extensive appendices provide the basics
of glass melting, details of automation control systems, technology innovations in research and
development stage, literature and patent references, a glossary, and contributor references. This
comprehensive document has been designed from the outset to serve as a major reference resource for
industry, government and academe on the status of glass melting technology at the start of the twenty-first
century.
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