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

Therefore, technological improvements in traditional glassmaking have been evolutionary, rather
than revolutionary, in the areas of combustion, refractories, raw materials, glass forming,
processing control, and product and application development. New technologies are needed to
achieve high-energy efficiency and high product quality by scaling down the size of melting
furnaces. If low-pressure bubble-removing technologies and homogenizing technologies using
stirrers can be implemented at lower temperatures and combined, a high-quality glass should be
obtainable and furnaces could be designed with a higher-energy efficiency on a smaller scale.
Low-temperature melting or use of other materials would control corrosion of refractory
materials and extend the life of the furnace. Scaling down furnaces while keeping the same
economies of scale would have a long-term effect of reducing equipment, natural resource
deployment, and exhaust gases, as well as reducing scrap when the furnace is dismantled.
Melting technologies are needed that will extend refractory life, improve melt injection, employ
more cooling technology, and facilitate partial repair of hot furnaces.
Limited funding for research and development due to small profit margins and low growth rates
is a major economic barrier to development of new melting technologies. Currently, R&D
investments have short-term goals and are narrowly focused on projects that lead to new
products with a higher profit margin potential. Garnering support for a large, collaborative
project that focuses on glass melting is challenged by the lack of common objectives within the
segmented industry and competition among individual companies. Vendors will continue to lead
development efforts for new melting technologies unless industry champions step forward to
guide the effort. The new Submerged Combustion Melter Project is a notable exception to this
disturbing situation, and pioneers a much-anticipated effort by the glass industry. (See Section
Two, Chapter 3.)
For the glass industry to improve melting technology in the US, many companies within the
glass industry must unite to collaborate, as the capital requirements for such research will be
beyond the means of any single company. They must place the highest priority on maximizing
their collective financial resources, energy and expertise, to minimize melting costs and resolve
these challenges simultaneously at low risk. If the financial parameters of emerging
revolutionary technologies were to be assessed in light of the financial parameters of current
technology, capital investments might be justified. Rejuvenation needs to be a priority of this
basic industry.
II.5. Marketing statistics and trends
Over the past several years, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the total glass industry
has slowed to less than 1 percent, reflecting the downturn in the US economy in 2001. Future
projected growth rate in a more normal economy is a modest 2 to 3 percent. Although furnace
rebuilds and improvements require considerable and continuous capital, the glass business
generates excellent cash flow in a company’s portfolio of businesses.
Consolidation of markets and producers
Much like the overall US economy, especially in the basic commodity markets, glass industry
sales are dominated by large, low-cost producers, which essentially squeeze out smaller, lessefficient
competitors. This glass industry consolidation has matched the consolidation within the
distribution and retail markets that are the major outlets for glass products. This trend towards
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