Field evaluation of oxygen-enriched air staging at anchor glass. Topical report, December 1991-July 1994

The glass industry in the United States is reportedly the fourth largest industrial energy consumer. The majority of the glass -- representing container, flat, pressed, and blown -- is produced in relatively large (100 to 1000 ton/d) regenerative glass tanks, which operate continuously for up to 10 years. Although there are currently no national regulations on NOx emissions in the United States, this could change in light of the 1990 Clean Air Act. There is a need to develop advanced cost-effective low-NOx technologies for retrofit to natural gas-fired regenerative glass melters. The objective of this phase of the program was to field evaluate an oxygen-enriched air staging technique on an endport glass tank for a 35% or higher NOx reduction. Data collected during this operation show 35% to 50% NOx reduction to below 2.5 lb/ton of glass produced.