Since the beginning of the 20th century, major steps have been realised in improving energy efficiency of glass melting furnaces. During this period, energy consumption values for container glass melting decreased from a typical value of around 10 GJ/ton to about 4 GJ/ton (normalised at 50% cullet). Although the largest share of potential energy savings have been accomplished, the majority of glass furnaces still operate at energy levels more than 40% higher than what is practically feasible. This paper discusses some components of CelSian's "energy efficiency improvement platform" with emphasis on energy benchmarking, industrial assessment of glass furnace energy balances and use of in-situ sensors enabling the reduction of energy by means of near-stoichiometric combustion.
