Glass melting furnace

Abstract

The present invention relates to a glass meting furnace comprising a channel-shaped melting tank, the batch materials being introduced at an upstream end, the molten glass being recovered at the downstream end, said furnace being heated by means of burners, in which the combustion energy is produced by oxy-fuel combustion in respect of at least 65% thereof, the burners being distributed on the walls along the length of the furnace, in which flue gas discharge is mostly localized close to the upstream end near the openings through which the batch materials are introduced, the rest of the flue gas being removed close to the downstream part so as to maintain dynamic sealing with respect to the surrounding atmosphere.

1 . A glass melting furnace comprising a channel shaped melting tank, wherein
 batch materials are introduced at an upstream end, and molten glass is recovered at the downstream end,   said furnace being heated by burners,   at least 65% of total combustion energy is produced by oxy fuel combustion,   the burners are distributed on walls along a length of the furnace,   discharge of flue gas is mostly localized close to the upstream end near openings through which the batch materials are introduced,   a remainder of the flue gas is removed close to the downstream part so as to maintain dynamic sealing with respect to the surrounding atmosphere in which the burners are distributed so that at least 40% of power for the furnace is delivered in a melting zone.   
     
     
         2 . The furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein the power delivered into the melting zone does not exceed 80% of the total power of the furnace. 
     
     
         3 . The furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein active burners are placed at a certain distance from a batch material charging zone and from flue gas discharge points. 
     
     
         4 . The furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein first active burners i.e. the first active burners along a direction in which the molten glass progresses, are located along the length of the furnace above a zone where supernatant materials are present. 
     
     
         5 . The furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein maximum power is delivered along the length of the furnace at a boundary between melting and refinement zones. 
     
     
         6 . The furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein the power to operate first burners and last burners is less than that to operate other burners. 
     
     
         7 . The furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein the burners open into an enclosure of the furnace at a distance, above the molten glass, which is not less than 0.25 m. 
     
     
         8 . The furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein the burners open into an enclosure of the furnace at a distance, above the molten glass, which is not more than 1.0 m. 
     
     
         9 . The furnace according to  claim 1 , which comprises, in a charging zone, electrodes for supplying a limited amount of energy in the charging zone. 
     
     
         10 . The furnace according to  claim 9 , wherein an amount of energy supplied by electrodes does not exceed 10% of the total amount of energy employed in the furnace. 
     
     
         11 . The furnace according to  claim 2 , wherein active burners are placed at a certain distance from a batch material charging zone and from flue gas discharge points. 
     
     
         12 . The furnace according to  claim 2 , wherein first active burners, i.e. the first active burners along a direction in which the molten glass progresses, are located along the length of the furnace above a zone where supernatant materials are present. 
     
     
         13 . The furnace according to  claim 3 , wherein first active burners, i.e. the first active burners along a direction in which the molten glass progresses, are located along the length of the furnace above a zone where supernatant materials are present. 
     
     
         14 . The furnace according to  claim 11 , wherein first active burners, i.e. the first active burners along a direction in which the molten glass progresses, are located along the length of the furnace above a zone where supernatant materials are present. 
     
     
         15 . The furnace according to  claim 2 , wherein maximum power is delivered along the length of the furnace at a boundary between melting and refinement zones. 
     
     
         16 . The furnace according to  claim 3 , wherein maximum power is delivered along the length of the furnace at a boundary between melting and refinement zones. 
     
     
         17 . The furnace according to  claim 11 , wherein maximum power is delivered along the length of the furnace at a boundary between melting and refinement zones. 
     
     
         18 . The furnace according to  claim 4 , wherein maximum power is delivered along the length of the furnace at a boundary between melting and refinement zones. 
     
     
         19 . The furnace according to  claim 12 , wherein maximum power is delivered along the length of the furnace at a boundary between melting and refinement zones. 
     
     
         20 . The furnace according to  claim 13 , wherein maximum power is delivered along the length of the furnace at a boundary between melting and refinement zones.