Foreign Cooperating Institutions - Institute of Inorganic Chemistry ...

Laboratory-scale examination of foam formation and its stability
during E-glass melting
M. Liška, J. Kraxner, R. Klement
In the frame of the project APVV20-P06405 “Optimization of E-glass melting” the Joint
Glass Centre Vitrum Laugaricio developed experimental equipment for laboratory-scale
examination of foam formation and its stability during glass batch melting. In cooperation
with the glassworks Johns Manville Slovakia (JMS), Inc., Trnava the formation and stability
of foam during melting of E-glass batch was investigated. The essence of industrial scale
experiment performed in the glassworks JMS comprised the modification of the glass batch –
gradual replacement of boric acid with colemanite. Simultaneously, the stability of foam
during glass batch melting was investigated under reproducible and constant conditions in
laboratory, which facilitated separation of the influence of the replacement of boric acid with
colemanite from other process parameters. Laboratory tests indicated statistically significant
trend of decreasing of the foam stability when boric acid was replaced with colemanite. The
results allowed the increase of melting capacity without impairing the quality of produced Efibers.
Development of foam amount in dependence of time. Red line shows the surface of glass
melt.
Further information: M. Liška: Liska@tnuni.sk
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