Submerged Combustion Melter Fining Chamber Phase Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The process of producing well-fined molten glass using submerged combustion melters is hindered by the slow removal of bubbles, which form a stable foam layer that retards the fining mechanism and heat penetration, requiring multiple skimmers that are prone to failure.
Innovation Solution
A method and system involving a specially designed transition section and fining chamber to separate the foamy upper glass layer from the lower molten glass phase, with the transition section having inlet apertures positioned below the phase boundary to allow only molten glass to pass through, and routing it to a temperature homogenizing chamber for further refinement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple skimmers are used to remove foam layers, then the fining process is improved, but the device complexity and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the foam layer separately from the molten glass stream by introducing a gas stream that selectively entrains foam bubbles, carrying them away from the molten glass. This eliminates the need for multiple skimmers while achieving effective fining.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a gas stream (pneumatic approach) introduced into the molten glass to create a two-phase flow that selectively transports foam bubbles away from the molten glass. This pneumatic mechanism replaces the mechanical skimmer system with a more reliable and simpler gas-driven separation process.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple skimmers are installed to hold back foam layers, then the foam-free glass layer is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to skimmer failure
Solution Approach 1:
The gas stream system operates autonomously to separate foam from molten glass without requiring mechanical moving parts that can fail. The system uses the natural buoyancy of foam bubbles combined with gas entrainment to achieve separation, eliminating mechanical wear and failure modes associated with skimmers.
Solution Approach 2:
By using a gas stream to create a two-phase flow that selectively transports foam, the invention replaces unreliable mechanical skimmers with a pneumatic system that has no moving parts, significantly improving reliability while maintaining foam-free glass quality.
3Manufacturing precision
If a long residence time is provided for bubble removal, then the fining quality is improved, but the productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gas stream creates a two-phase flow that actively and rapidly transports foam bubbles away from the molten glass, dramatically accelerating the fining process. This pneumatic separation mechanism reduces the residence time required for effective fining while maintaining high production rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention rushes through the fining process by using gas entrainment to quickly separate and remove foam bubbles from the molten glass stream. This rapid separation approach achieves effective fining in a short residence time, maintaining high productivity without sacrificing fining quality.
4Manufacturing precision
If the foam layer is allowed to form on the molten glass surface, then the natural fining mechanism is improved, but the heat penetration deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gas stream penetrates through the foam layer and interacts with the molten glass beneath, creating turbulence and enhancing heat transfer. This pneumatic agitation disrupts the insulating foam layer while maintaining the fining mechanism, improving heat penetration to the molten glass.
Solution Approach 2:
The introduction of gas creates turbulence and mechanical agitation in the molten glass and foam layer, disrupting the stable foam structure and enhancing heat transfer. This mechanical disturbance maintains fining effectiveness while improving heat penetration to the molten glass.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively separates bubbles from molten glass without the need for multiple skimmers, enhancing the fining process and heat penetration, leading to the production of well-fined, temperature-homogenized molten glass.
Implementation Method 1
separating the foamy upper glass layer or layers, and the glass foam layer floating thereon, from the fined glass
Implementation Method 2
allowing the lower, less foamy layers to pass through to later sections
Implementation Method 3
passing oxygen, oxygen-enriched mixtures, or air along with a liquid, gaseous and/or particulate fuel (some of which may be in the glass-forming materials), directly into a molten pool of glass
Implementation Method 4
The introduction of high flow rates of products of combustion of the oxidant and fuel into the molten glass
Implementation Method 5
The introduction of high flow rates of products of combustion of the oxidant and fuel into the molten glass, and the expansion of the gases cause rapid melting of the glass batch and much turbulence and foaming
Implementation Method 6
allowing a long enough residence time in one or more apparatus downstream of the SCM for the bubbles to rise to the surface and burst
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems produce a molten mass of foamed glass in a submerged combustion melter (SCM). Routing foamed glass to a fining chamber defined by a flow channel fluidly connected to and downstream of the SCM. The flow channel floor and sidewalls have sufficient glass-contact refractory to accommodate expansion of the foamed glass as fining occurs during transit through the fining chamber. The foamed glass is separated into an upper glass foam phase and a lower molten glass phase as the foamed glass flows toward an end of the flow channel distal from the SCM. The molten glass is then routed through a transition section fluidly connected to the distal end of the flow channel. The transition section inlet end construction has at least one molten glass inlet aperture, such that the inlet aperture(s) are positioned lower than the phase boundary between the upper and lower phases.