Systems and methods for glass manufacturing

• US 9,021,838 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2011
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johns Manville Corporation (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Johns Manville Corporation (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Inventors: Charbonneau, Mark William, Huber, Aaron Morgan, Shock, Jeffrey M., Borders, Harley Allen
• Primary Examiner(s): Szewczyk, Cynthia
• Application Number:
  US13/268,130
• Publication Number:
  US 20130086951A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• Field of Search: 651/349, 653/46, 653/47
• US Class Current: 65/347
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 5/20 Bridges, shoes, throats, or other devices for withholding dirt, foam, or batch
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 5/202 Devices for blowing onto the melt surface, e.g. high momentum burners
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 5/2257 by thin-layer fining
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 5/235 Heating the glass C03B5/02, C03B5/18, C03B5/225 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 5/2353 by combustion with pure oxygen or oxygen-enriched air, e.g. using oxy-fuel burners or oxygen lances
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 5/2356 Submerged heating, e.g. by using heat pipes, hot gas or submerged combustion burners bubblers C03B5/193
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 7/06 Means for thermal conditioning or controlling the temperature of the glass
• CPC Class Codes: F23C 5/08 Disposition of burners
• CPC Class Codes: F23D 14/22 with separate air and gas feed ducts, e.g. with ducts running parallel or crossing each other
• CPC Class Codes: F23D 14/32 using a mixture of gaseous fuel and pure oxygen or oxygen-enriched air F23D14/38 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F27B 14/14 Arrangements of heating devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 20/34 Indirect CO2mitigation, i.e. by acting on non CO2directly related matters of the process, e.g. pre-heating or heat recovery
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 40/50 Glass production, e.g. reusing waste heat during processing or shaping

Abstract

Submerged combustion systems and methods of use to produce glass. One system includes a submerged combustion melter having a roof, a floor, a wall structure connecting the roof and floor, and an outlet, the melter producing an initial foamy molten glass. One or more non-submerged auxiliary burners are positioned in the roof and/or wall structure and configured to deliver combustion products to impact at least a portion of the bubbles with sufficient force and/or heat to burst at least some of the bubbles and form a reduced foam molten glass.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a submerged combustion melter comprising a floor, a roof, and a wall structure connecting the floor and roof, the wall structure comprising a feed end wall, a discharge end wall opposite the feed end wall, and first and second side walls connecting the feed end wall and the discharge end wall, the melter comprising one or more submerged combustion burners positioned in the floor to discharge combustion products vertically upward, and a molten glass outlet positioned in the discharged end wall; and

one or more substantially vertical roof-mounted non-submerged auxiliary burners positioned in the roof to discharge combustion products substantially vertically downward, and two or more wall-mounted non-submerged auxiliary burners positioned in the first side wall to discharge combustion products substantially horizontally and substantially perpendicularly toward the second side wall, the one or more substantially vertical roof-mounted non-submerged burners positioned offset horizontally between the second side wall and a vertical line through a centerline of the one or more submerged combustion burners that is positioned furthest from the first side wall.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more of the non-submerged burners are liquid-cooled pipe-in-pipe burners.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the pipe-in-pipe burner comprises a first conduit and a second conduit concentric with and outside of the first conduit, the first conduit fluidly connected at one end to a source of fuel, and the second conduit fluidly connected to a source of oxidant.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the two or more wall-mounted non-submerged auxiliary burners comprise a fuel inlet conduit having an exit nozzle, the conduit and nozzle inserted into a cavity of a ceramic burner block, the ceramic burner block in turn inserted into the first side wall.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more of the non-submerged auxiliary burners is adjustable with respect to direction of flow of the combustion products.

6. The system of claim 1 comprising a downstream component fluidly connected to the melter, the downstream component comprising a flow channel, a downstream component roof, and a downstream component wall structure connecting the flow channel and downstream component roof.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the downstream component comprises one or more non-submerged downstream component auxiliary burners positioned in the downstream component roof and/or downstream component wall structure.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein at least one of the downstream component auxiliary burners is adjustable with respect to direction of flow of the combustion products from the downstream component auxiliary burner.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the downstream component auxiliary burners have a fuel velocity ranging from about 150 ft./second to about 1000 ft./second (about 46 meters/second to about 305 meters/second) and an oxidant velocity ranging from about 150 ft./second to about 1000 ft./second (about 46 meters/second to about 305 meters/second).

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the downstream component is selected from the group consisting of a distribution channel, a conditioning channel, and a forehearth.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the auxiliary burners have a fuel velocity ranging from about 150 ft./second to about 1000 ft./second (about 46 meters/second to about 305 meters/second) and an oxidant velocity ranging from about 150 ft./second to about 1000 ft./second (about 46 meters/second to about 305 meters/second).

12. A system comprising:

a submerged combustion melter comprising a floor, a roof, and a wall structure connecting the floor and roof, the wall structure comprising a feed end wall, a discharge end wall opposite the feed end wall, and first and second side walls connecting the feed end wall and the discharge end wall, the melter comprising one or more submerged combustion burners positioned in the floor to discharge combustion products vertically upward, and a molten glass outlet positioned in the discharged end wall;

one or more substantially vertical roof-mounted non-submerged auxiliary burners positioned in the roof to discharge combustion products substantially vertically downward, and two or more wall-mounted non-submerged auxiliary burners positioned in the first side wall to discharge combustion products substantially horizontally and substantially perpendicularly toward the second side wall, the one or more substantially vertical roof-mounted non-submerged burners positioned offset horizontally between the second side wall and a vertical line through a centerline of the one or more submerged combustion burners that is positioned furthest from the first side wall; and

a downstream component fluidly connected to the melter, the downstream component comprising a flow channel, a downstream component roof, and a downstream component wall structure connecting the downstream component flow channel and downstream component roof, the downstream component comprising one or more non-submerged downstream component auxiliary burners positioned in the downstream component roof but not in the downstream component wall structure.