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Show SOME INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES IN THE GLASS INDUSTRY R. A. Freeman Stordy Combustion Engineering Ltd. Wombourne, Wolverhampton, UK ABSTRACT SOME INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES IN THE GLASS INDUSTR Y A. Heat Treatment Lehrs & In-Line Exhaust Machines. Virtually all manufactured Glass material has to be heat treated to remove structural tensions within the glass. Good examples of this are container Lehrs for bottles and containers of all types. Specialist versions of such glass treatment Lehrs include T.V. screen processing. New simple techniques and control functions will be demonstrated where electrical heating on 2 T.V. In-Line Exhaust Machines have been replaced by direct gas firing with multi-purpose burner systems which cater for all control requirements and reduce energy costs. B. New Firing Techniques on Specialist Applications The availability of new materials has enabled new burner concepts to be developed. Gas fired Ceramic Fibre Matrix Burners have been successfully applied to a wide range of applications since their introduction. A novel and innovative extension of these Ceramic Fibre Matrix Burners has been their application to a continuous production Conveyor Oven treating/processing fluorescent tube internal coatings. Comparisons between previous techniques and the advantages of the ceramic fibre burners will be discussed. C. Regenel'ati ve Burner Systems on Glass Tanks The use of the Regenera.ti ve Burner Systems is now growing rapidly in Europe with 273 successful utilisation on such versions as Steel Processing Applications, Aluminium Melting and Holding Furnaces and Ladle Heating. Energy savings are dramatic with combustion air preheat temperatures being achieved far in excess of any other economic heat recovery system. The applications of Regenerati ve Burners to Glass Tanks poses di fferent problems and such an application will be discussed illustrating the potential savings and operating conditions which have to be considered. INTRODUCTION THE DICTIONARY TELLS US the word Innovate means 'to bring in novelty' and 'to make changes'. Change and novelty are not always welcomed in Industry, particularly where long established practices tend to deter Management, and Staff, . from accepting new ideas and developments. In the quest to remain competitive, various vital factors influence any manufacturing Company's operation. In this paper I will illustrate three ' typical Industrial Combustion Applications that demonstrate how innovative principles are rapidly changing the Combustion Engineering activity. The three examples are all in the Glass Industry but the new equipment and techniques apply across all Industries. The major factors influencing Combustion System Efficiency and Acceptability include:Effective Air Fuel Ratio Controls High Turn Down Capability for:- (a) Large Product load variations (b) Wide Operating Temperature variations Reliable operation from:- (a) Equipment and Controls (b) Simple but Efficient Heat Recovery Devices |