Ongoing research aimed at improving glass product quality coupled with implementation of increasingly restrictive environmental legislation has resulted in significant changes in both the design and the operating conditions of flame-fired furnaces. Given this context, the choice of a refractory best adapted to the superstructure of this new type of furnace will have a decisive influence on obtaining glass with the lowest possible level of defects, attaining high production rates, and achieving extended furnace campaigns. The technological changes underway will likely have a significant impact on the wear exerted on these refractories, thus increasing the risk of glass defects and intensifying the wear on refractory materials that make up the furnace superstructure. One promising solution is the use of a fused cast AZS refractory with a low glassy phase content. This refractory exhibits improved corrosion resistance to aggressive species produced in glass manufacturing and can play a role in obtaining low levels of glass defects as well as increased furnace life. This low glassy phase fused AZS will not be required in the port necks or exhaust flues. Here, a second new fused cast refractory product may be considered, one that has been specifically designed for this application. More about this will be offered later. The use of low glassy phase fused AZS, in addition to the fused cast alumina products that are traditionally used in the forward part of the melter, constitutes a new global solution for the superstructure of flame-fired melters that will suit the technological evolution that is currently taking place in glass making furnaces.
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