Glass melting furnaces:a new application for flameless oxidation

摘要

This article discloses the results of an ongoing research project [1] running under the acronym"Glas-FLOX~R".The aim of the project is the improvement of process parameters in glass melting furnaces with recuperative air preheat,so-called"unit melters".These improvements are to be attained by means of the use of burners operating on the flameless oxidation principle.Radiated heat transmission,and energy efficiency,are to be enhanced by means of appropriate top coverage of the melting tank vault by the flame.In addition,the excellent NO_x-reduction characteristics of the FLOX~R-burner achieve improve emissions data simultaneously.The results obtained from burner development and intensive tests at the GWI's high-temperature experimental installation were adapted to and scaled for a glass melting furnace using a form of numerical simulation known as Computational Fluid Dynamics,or"CFD".A number of the glass tank burners were then replaced,with detailed measurements being performed prior to and after the modification work,in order to verify the suitability of the burners for this application.This article describes the background to the work already completed and the special boundary conditions needing to be taken into account.The article ends with a survey of initial results and a preview of future activities.