Methods of using a submerged combustion melter to produce glass products

• US 9,481,593 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2015
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• 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, Nesti, Bryan Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): FRANKLIN, JODI COHEN
• Application Number:
  US14/606,234
• Publication Number:
  US 20150135775A1
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 19/08 by foaming
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2211/22 by direct combustion in the melt
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2211/23 using oxygen, i.e. pure oxygen or oxygen-enriched air
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 37/02 by drawing or extruding, e.g. direct drawing of molten glass from nozzles; Cooling fins therefor C03B37/04 takes precedence; sizing of the fibres C03C25/00
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 37/06 by blasting or blowing molten glass, e.g. for making staple fibres
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 37/07 Controlling or regulating C03B37/0253 takes precedence ; controlling or regulating in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 5/04 in tank furnaces C03B5/02 takes precedence
• 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 5/24 Automatically regulating the melting process
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 40/50 Glass production, e.g. reusing waste heat during processing or shaping

Abstract

A method comprises flowing an oxidant and a fuel into a submerged combustion burner in a glass tank furnace, the glass tank furnace receiving a feed of glass forming material and producing molten glass, the burner and furnace comprising a melting system. The melting system has a variable system vibration and/or oscillation due to the nature of submerged combustion. One method includes predicting a value of at least one property, such as viscosity, of the molten glass using the variable system vibration and/or oscillation.

Claims

1. A method including feeding glass forming material into a melter, flowing an oxidant and a fuel into a submerged combustion burner positioned in the melter, the burner and melter defining a submerged combustion glass melting system producing molten glass, at least the melter having a variable vibration, the method comprising:

a) measuring frequency and/or amplitude of the variable vibration of the melter;

b) measuring oxidant flow rate, fuel flow rate, and glass forming material flow rate to the submerged combustion burner, and molten glass flow rate from the melter; and

c) predicting a value of density of the molten glass using at least the measured frequency and/or amplitude of the variable vibration of the melter and the measured oxidant, fuel, glass forming material, and molten glass flow rates.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising measuring the depth or level of molten glass in the glass tank furnace, and using the measured depth or level in the predicting.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising feeding forward the predicted value of the at least one property to a controller controlling a process or component downstream of the glass tank melter into which at least a portion of the molten glass flows.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising using the predicted value of the at least one property to control the glass tank furnace.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising feeding forward the predicted value of the at least one property to a controller controlling a process or component downstream of the glass tank melter into which at least a portion of the molten glass flows and using the predicted value of the at least one property to control the glass tank furnace.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the predicting comprises using a technique selected from the group consisting of linear regression, non-linear modeling, and neural net modeling.

7. A method of producing molten glass using submerged combustion, including feeding glass forming material into a melter, flowing an oxidant and a fuel into a submerged combustion burner positioned in the melter, the burner and melter defining a submerged combustion glass melting system producing molten glass, at least the melter having a variable vibration, the method comprising:

a) measuring frequency and/or amplitude of the variable vibration of the melter;

b) measuring oxidant flow rate, fuel flow rate, and glass forming material flow rate to the submerged combustion burner, and molten glass flow rate from the melter;

c) predicting a value of viscosity of the molten glass using at least the measured frequency and/or amplitude of the variable vibration of the melter and the measured oxidant, fuel, glass forming material, and molten glass flow rates; and

d) predicting a value of density of the molten glass using at least the predicted value of viscosity.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising measuring the depth or level of molten glass in the glass tank furnace, and using the measured depth or level in the predicting.

9. The method of claim 7 comprising feeding forward the predicted value of the at least one property to a controller controlling a process or component downstream of the glass tank melter into which at least a portion of the molten glass flows.

10. The method of claim 7 comprising using the predicted value of the at least one property to control the glass tank furnace.

11. The method of claim 7 comprising measuring at least one other system property selected from the group consisting of glass tank furnace pressure, height or depth of molten glass in the glass tank furnace, and combinations thereof.

12. A method of making glass objects using submerged combustion, including feeding glass forming material into a melter, flowing an oxidant and a fuel into a submerged combustion burner positioned in the melter, the burner and melter defining a submerged combustion glass melting system producing molten glass, at least the melter having a variable vibration, the method comprising the steps of:

a) measuring frequency and/or amplitude of the variable vibration of the melter;

b) measuring oxidant flow rate, fuel flow rate, and glass forming material flow rate to the submerged combustion burner, and molten glass flow rate from the melter; and

c) predicting a value of density of the molten glass using at least the measured frequency and/or amplitude of the variable vibration of the melter and the measured oxidant, fuel, glass forming material, and molten glass flow rates; and

d) feeding forward the predicted value of the density to a controller controlling a process or component downstream of the melter for making glass objects.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the process or component downstream of the glass tank melter is selected from the group consisting of a continuous glass fiber production system, a staple fiber attenuation system, and a system for producing shaped glass objects.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the system for producing shaped glass objects comprises a system for producing foamed glass objects.