Overcoming Challenges in the Glass Industry with Refectory Services

Glassmakers will increasingly choose refractory providers with a low carbon energy mix and a high use of secondary raw materials.

FREMONT, CA: Besides the traditional constraints of producing high-quality glass at the lowest possible cost, the glass industry faces two additional paradigm-shifting issues: carbon neutrality and circularity. The glass industry's top aim will be to achieve low-carbon glass manufacturing in the coming years. Many governments and businesses have set specific goals to achieve carbon neutrality in the next decades. The glass industry must contribute.

The second major problem for the glass sector is the circular economy. Aside from increasing cullet consumption, the furnace's lifespan, including end-of-life and refractory recycling, must be addressed. Glass furnaces and their performance rely on refractory solutions. As a result, they serve an important role in assisting glassmakers as they face these new issues.

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Sustainability: The road to industrial manufacturing of carbon-neutral glass is still fraught with difficulties. The most significant is the transition to renewable energy sources. Many industry participants are testing and developing two key contenders: electricity and hydrogen. Biogas and biofuels are also being researched as alternatives. Despite this uncertainty, we know that switching fuels will affect glass furnace refractories and that additional flexibility in the energy mix will be required, particularly during the transition phase. Numerical simulation services based on specialist refractory expertise will be critical in anticipating and making the optimum refractory selections to reduce threats to furnace safety and longevity.

Corrosion models examine how several factors, including the composition of the refractory, cooling effectiveness, glass temperature and velocity profiles, and glass temperature profiles, affect the lifetime of the refractory. These numerical simulation services aids in the selection of the appropriate refractory solutions for certain glass furnace settings. The variations in operating circumstances, which have never been observed on this magnitude previously, will also highlight the need for furnace monitoring in real-time. Instrumenting refractories with sensors to track the evolution of furnace wear in real time would safeguard furnace operations, trigger appropriate modifications to operating conditions, and, if necessary, prompt maintenance or repair operations before a major event occurs.

Technology: Technologies and measures enabling the shift to carbon neutrality – such as electrical boosting, greater insulation at both glass contact and superstructure, and hydrogen combustion technology - demand higher refractory performance. In superstructure applications, oxy-combustion technology and higher thermal insulation increase exudation and corrosion. Several high-quality products in the refractory portfolio meet these requirements. Using low exudation fused cast AZS combined with high alumina and high zirconia fused cast materials has proven to be highly suitable to cope with more soliciting furnace conditions.

Overcoming corrosion:More corrosive atmospheres will affect superstructures and stuck stones in particular. High zirconia tuck stones provide greater corrosion resistance but are often more vulnerable to thermo-mechanical stress. Associating a composite ceramic barrier with high compression resistance and low heat conductivity to a high zirconia tuck stone protects it against fractures caused by these pressures. As a result, the insulated tuck stone will be able to contribute to the reduction of heat losses. The superstructure's stability and the thermal shielding of the soldier blocks positioned underneath improve and contribute to a longer furnace lifetime. Although not a novel technology, oxyfuel combustion is regaining significance for hybrid and hydrogen furnaces.

This technique generates relatively high operating temperatures, high water vapors, and alkaline concentrations in the fumes. Refractories, notably in the crown, must tolerate these new circumstances. Fused cast refractory solutions, such as low exudation-AZS materials or fused cast high alumina, are the primary option for crowns in oxyfuel combustion. The furnace crown's requisite corrosion and creep resistance capabilities are ensured by an assembly with very strict specifications.

Circular economy: Reduce the number of materials required to get the same performance as a first step toward a circular economy. Extending furnace lifetime and maximizing refractory asset utilization through high-grade refractories and focused maintenance service operations can help achieve this goal. All glass furnaces confront the same problem after their manufacturing lifecycle: a high-quality product becomes garbage and, in some cases, dangerous waste. Several market-leading companies provide demolition and waste-evacuation services. Some valorize waste resources by transforming and recycling them into new raw materials.

Carbon neutrality and circularity are paradigm-shifting problems for the glass industry. This voyage will mobilize all industry partners to collaborate to meet ambitious aims. As part of the glass industry, specialist and refractory service providers may help glassmakers adapt using their refractory experience, innovative capabilities, and customer-centric attitude.

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