Johns Manville gained invaluable experience with oxy-fuel combustion when they converted two fiberglass furnaces in Cleburn, Texas. In order to improve the performance beyond oxy-fuel firing, Johns Manville implemented Oscillating Combustion (OC) on one of their borosilicate wool fiberglass furnace in April 1999. The OC technology was tested continuously for ten months and it provided a 55% NOx reduction; a 10-12% reduction in specific oxygen consumption: a 4% fuel saving; and a 30-50%F reduction in hot-spot crown temperature without reduction in glass temperatures. The Oscillating Combustion has been transparent to the furnace operation and high quality glass is produced at maximum production capacity of the downstream machines. Air Liquide is currently in the process of granting a site-specific license to Manville to practice the OC on a regular basis.
