Glass furnace off gases are at elevated temperatures and carry a cocktail of pollutants. The pollutants in glass furnace off gases are dust particles, oxides of sulphur and oxides of nitrogen. Well-established techniques exist for treating these pollutants, either individually or in combination notably electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). Each technique has its limitations to effectively and economically clean up the mixture of pollutants present in the gas stream. An emerging technology for glass furnace off gas clean up is the employment of low density ceramic filter elements. Ceramic filter elements are extremely efficient and work well in combination with a dry scrubbing agent for acid gas remove. Furthermore, the filtration temperature can be maintained at a suitable level for catalytic treatment of NOx. The Clear Edge catalytic ceramic filter element, registered trade name Cerafil TopKat, offers deNOx functionality as well as efficient particulate and acid gas removal. Thus, the major pollutants emitted by a glass furnace can be treated in a single piece of equipment. The technology, apart from major environmental performance benefits, offers the possibility of substantial savings both in monetary terms and space utilisation. The issue of available space is of paramount importance for many existing glass manufacturing sites. The use of ceramic filter technology also offers the potential for phased implementation of pollution abatement equipment and the ability to meet abatement requirements without unnecessary or premature expense.
