Owens Corning and other glass manufacturers have used oxy-fuel combustion technology successfully in furnaces to reduce emissions, increase throughput, reduce fuel consumption and, depending on the costs of oxygen and fuel, reduce energy costs. The front end of a fiberglass furnace is the refractory channel system that delivers glass from the melter to the forming process. After the melter, it is the second largest user of energy in a fiberglass plant. A consortium of glass companies and suppliers, led by Owens Corning, was formed to develop and demonstrate oxy/fuel combustion technology for the front end of a fiberglass melter, to demonstrate the viability of this energy saving technology to the U.S. glass industry, as a D.O.E. sponsored project. The project goals were to reduce natural gas consumption and CO2 green house gas emissions by 65 to 70% and create net cost savings after the purchase of oxygen to achieve a project payback of less than 2 years. Project results in Jackson, TN included achieving a 56% reduction in gas consumption and CO2 emissions. A subsequent installation in Guelph ON, not impacted by unrelated operational changes in Jackson, achieved a 64% reduction.
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