Back To The Future: New Refractory Concepts In Glass Furnace Design

Evolution of refractory products for the glass industry has been relatively slow in recent decades, due to the inherent stringent requirements of long campaigns and therefore, low risk taking. Even with these constraints, however, new products have emerged which provide additional reliability, capability, and in more recent times, a lower capital cost, as explained in this paper. In particular, environmental concerns have been a major driving force behind low NOx glass melter and this has provided a new impetus for refractory development. Low NOx systems tend to be like oxy-fuel; this means higher temperatures and increased alkali concentration; both of which place great demands on refractory superstructures.