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Submerged Combustion Melting The Next Generation Melting System

DOE. Submerged Combustion Melting The Next Generation Melting System. David Rue Gas Technology Institute 66 th Glass Problems Conference U. Of Illinois, Champaign, IL Oct. 26, 2005. Submerged Combustion Melting Principle.

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Submerged Combustion Melting The Next Generation Melting System

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  1. DOE Submerged Combustion Melting The Next Generation Melting System David Rue Gas Technology Institute 66th Glass Problems Conference U. Of Illinois, Champaign, IL Oct. 26, 2005

  2. Submerged Combustion Melting Principle • Air-fuel or oxygen-fuel mixture is fired directly into a pool of hot melt • intense combustion • direct contact heat transfer - combustion products bubble through the melt • reduced NOx formation • reduced CO and unburned hydrocarbon emissions • High rate of heat transfer and rapid mass transfer • High thermal efficiency • Reduced melter size

  3. Submerged Combustion Melting Features • Melting and mixing in a single device • No external device needs to contact the melt • Short residence time from forced convective heating and mixing • Melter is simple, robust, and reliable • Small size – low capital cost • SCM is easily started and stopped in a few hours • No hot repair work required • Compatible with other segmented melting process steps • Charging • Conditioning • heat recovery

  4. GTI and GI SCM History • Gas Institute (Ukraine) developed SCM for mixed nuclear waste vitrification and industrial melting – not deployed • Process simplified and commercial, air-fired units operating more than 10 years for other applications • two 3-ton/h rockwool SCM units in Kiev, Ukraine • three 3-ton/h rockwool SCM units in Byarosa, Belarus • One SCM cement aggregate unit in Noril’sk Russia • GTI licensed SCM for applications outside former Soviet Union • GTI has patents and background IP in melting, submerged firing, and heat recovery • 500-lb/h SCM unit fabricated and operated at GTI • Multiple melts including basalt and sodium silicate • First use of oxy-gas burners

  5. SCM 3 ton/h Mineral Wool SCM in Belarus SCM Furnace Loading Feed Hopper SCM Interior

  6. From Melt to Mineral Wool Molten Slag Channel Blow Chamber Product Fiber Mat 4 Wheel Fiber Spinner

  7. SCM Advantages • Energy savings >20% vs. oxy-gas melters • >55% capital cost reduction • Compact with very little refractory – 80% refractory reduction • Melt area is 15% of tank melter area (0.6 ft2/ton/day) • Reduced emissions • NOx >50% below oxy-gas melters • CO and unburned hydrocarbons reduced >20% • Rapid switching of melt composition • Short residence time - rapid heat transfer • Reliable, proven melting technology • Feed flexibility lowers batch and feeder cost • Mates with conditioning and heat recovery steps • Excellent redox and color control

  8. Approaches to Glass Melting • Single tank • Compromise simple and reliable, but non-optimized approach • Holding furnaces, fining, and conditioning are needed after the melter for many glass products • Staged or ‘segmented’ • Melting, mixing, refining, conditioning, heat recovery, etc. are optimized as needed for the glass product • highly flexible with many potential process advantages • Requires eloquent design for reliability and to avoid over-complexity and high capital cost

  9. NGMS Project Underway at GTI • Demonstrate melting and homogenization stage of low capital cost, energy efficient NGMS process for all industrially produced glass • Sponsors • DOE • NYSERDA • Gas industry • Consortium actively supporting development and commercialization of SCM fro NGMS • Corning Incorporated - PPG Industries, Inc. • Johns Manville - Schott North America • Owens Corning

  10. Batch-Scale SCM at GTI

  11. Lab-Scale SCM • Industry batch melted to glass • Full glass range melted • Low-temp. soda-lime glass • High-temp ‘hard’ LCD glass • Borosilicate glass • Scrap reinforcing fiberglass • Batch feed • Continuous discharge • Evaluation of glass product before pilot SCM fabrication • Components scaled for 0.5-1.0 ton/h pilot SCM • Product glass is fully melted and homogeneous

  12. Special Tap Designed for Glass Melts Soda-Lime Glass

  13. Scrap Fiberglass – Melt Sampling

  14. Pilot-Scale SCM Unit • Objective – continuous feed and discharge – made easier with • Larger capacity melter (0.5-1.0 ton/h)\ • Demonstrated platinum discharge tap • Most components are in place and tested • Melter, burners, cooling water chiller needed • Added instrumentation into data acquisition system • Multiple burners spaced to create • Uniform temperature profile • Desired mixing and residence time distributions • Elimination of poor mixing zones in corners and along walls • Flexibility built into the unit • Changeable burner patterns • Provisions for two or more discharge locations • Provisions for two feed locations

  15. Glass Quality Varies Dramatically Acceptable Bubble Count • Lower-cost glass making must have BOTH • High intensity melting • Rapid refining • Quality varies over 5 orders of magnitude • SCM alone – • Makes fully melted homogeneous glass • Only makes lowest quality glass • SCM works well with all external refining methods

  16. NGMS (SCM AND Rapid Refining) • If refining is slow, the capital cost benefits of low-cost, high-intensity melting are lost • Potential refining approaches include

  17. Toward Commercialization • Already completed • SCM concept • Pilot-scale oncept validation, including combustion system • Initial commercial use for low-quality products (mineral wool, aggregate) • Current activities – through 2006 • Lab-scale melting of full range of industrial glass and fiberglass scrap • Batch feed and continuous discharge using oxy-gas burners • CFD and physical modeling of SCM • Design, fabrication, and operation of continuous 0.5-1.0 ton/h pilot-scale SCM • Preparations for first industrial demo-scale SCM • Design, construction of first commercial SCM making abrasives from steel industry waste and cullet (northern IN)

  18. Next Steps • 2006-2008 • Plan first glass industry plant demo-scale 1-4 ton/h SCM • Fiberglass or scrap fiberglass • Test unit not replacing existing melter • Rapid conditioning work to develop NGMS for all industrial glass compositions • 2009+ • Demo-scale SCM and NGMS units in consortium member plants • Initial replacement of current melters with NGMS • 2012+ • Fully developed and commercially demonstrated NGMS using SCM • Licensing of NGMS to non-consortium member glass companies

  19. Commercialization Pathway • Expected order of market entry • Scrap fiberglass • Fiberglass • Specialty glass (pressed and blown) • Specialty glass (optical fiber, LCD, etc.) • Container glass • Flat glass • Consortium agreement lays out company access priority to the NGMS technology • Consortium member companies • GMIC member companies • Non-GMIC glass companies

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