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Refractories for Glass Making
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 November 2013
Extract
Glass melting has changed very little in general principles since the earliest times, still being produced in fireclay pots or crucibles—even up to the present day. In Europe, experiments to melt glasses in tank furnaces began about 1700 A.D., but this became an important form of glass manufacture after Siemens introduced the regenerative furnace in 1870. This design was the basis for the development of modern furnaces and there is still a considerable similarity to the original.
Until the late 1920s the glass contact refractories used in tank furnaces were based on fireclay or sandstone blocks. About this time important changes began when sillimanite and fusion-cast mullite refractories became available. However, because of the higher cost of fusion-cast refractories the introduction of these materials was delayed and they did not come into general use for lining the glass melting tank until the late 1940s.
The high performance of tank furnaces today is related to a number of factors such as improved furnace design and regeneration, but the most significant has been an improved melting rate brought about by the use of higher temperatures. This has only been achievable as a result of the improved quality of fusion-cast and other refractory materials, such as those used in the furnace superstructure and regenerators. Garstang showed that there has been a steady increase in melting temperatures in the container glass industry. In data going back to 1920, there has been an increase from about 1300°C to some 1590°C. Bondarev showed that the increase in production achieved by using higher temperatures reduces the specific consumption of fuel.
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- Copyright © Materials Research Society 1989
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