Fining submerged combustion glass

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11919799-B2
Application number	US-202217742929-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2022
Priority date	Oct 1, 2019
Publication date	Mar 5, 2024
Grant date	Mar 5, 2024

Abstract

A method of of fining low-density submerged combustion glass includes introducing unfined molten glass produced in a submerged combustion melter into a fining chamber of a fining tank and, further, introducing additive particles into the fining chamber that comprise a glass reactant material and one or more fining agents. The one or more fining agents are released into the molten glass bath upon consumption of the additive particles in the molten glass bath to chemically fine the molten glass bath and the glass reactant material includes one or more materials that integrate into the molten glass bath upon melting. Additionally, the method includes discharging fined molten glass out of the fining chamber of the fining tank. The discharged fined molten glass has a volume percentage of gas bubbles that is less than the volume percentage of gas bubbles in the unfined molten glass introduced into the fining chamber.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of fining low-density submerged combustion glass, the method comprising:
providing a fining tank having a housing that defines a fining chamber as well as a glass inlet and a glass outlet, the fining chamber containing a molten glass bath therein that flows in a flow direction from the glass inlet to the glass outlet, and wherein the fining tank further includes a first partition wall, a second partition wall, and a third partition wall, each of the first, second, and third partition walls extending downwardly from a roof of the housing towards a floor of the housing to define, together with corresponding portions of the floor and opposed sidewalls of the housing, a first submerged passageway, a second submerged passageway, and a third submerged passageway, respectively, the first partition wall and an inlet end wall of the housing located proximate the glass inlet defining a glass receiving zone of the fining chamber, the second partition wall being positioned downstream of the first partition wall in the flow direction of the molten glass bath to define an upstream fining zone of the fining chamber in conjunction with the first partition wall, and the third partition wall being positioned downstream of the second partition wall in the flow direction of the molten glass bath to define a downstream fining zone of the fining chamber in conjunction with the second partition wall and a glass delivery zone of the fining chamber with an outlet end wall of the housing located proximate the glass outlet;
introducing unfined molten glass produced in a submerged combustion melter into the fining chamber of the fining tank;
introducing additive particles into the molten glass bath in the fining chamber of the fining tank, the additive particles comprising a mixture of a glass reactant material and one or more fining agents, the one or more fining agents being released into the molten glass bath upon consumption of the additive particles in the molten glass bath to chemically fine the molten glass bath, and the glass reactant material comprising one or more materials that integrate into the molten glass bath upon melting, each of the unfined molten glass and the additive particles being introduced into the glass receiving zone of the fining chamber; and
discharging fined molten glass out of the fining chamber of the fining tank through the glass outlet, the fined molten glass having a volume percentage of gas bubbles that is less than the volume percentage of gas bubbles in the unfined molten glass introduced into the fining chamber.

2. The method set forth in claim 1 , wherein the additive particles include a concentration of the one or more fining agents that ranges from 1 wt % to 30 wt %.

3. The method set forth in claim 2 , wherein the one or more fining agents contained in the additive particles includes at least one of sulfates, carbon, nitrates, carbonates, metal oxides, reactive metals, nitrides, carbides, or water vapor.

4. The method set forth in claim 1 , wherein the one or more fining agents contained in the additive particles includes at least one of sodium sulfate or carbon.

5. The method set forth in claim 1 , wherein the glass reactant material comprises at least one of crystalline SiO 2 , Na 2 CO 3 , or CaCO 3 .

6. The method set forth in claim 5 , wherein the glass reactant material further comprises cullet.

7. The method set forth in claim 1 , wherein the glass reactant material comprises sodium silicate.

8. The method set forth in claim 7 , wherein the glass reactant material further comprises at least one of crystalline SiO 2 , Na 2 CO 3 , CaCO 3 , or cullet.

9. The method set forth in claim 1 , wherein the fining tank further includes one or more heat emitting devices that heat the molten glass bath within the glass receiving zone of the fining chamber.

10. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the first partition wall is positioned a distance from the inlet end wall that ranges from 20% to 45% of a length of the fining chamber of the fining tank.

11. The method set forth in claim 1 , further comprising:
mixing together the glass reactant material and the one or more fining agents to provide a powder mixture;
adding water to the powder mixture to form a slurry;
compacting the slurry to produce a compacted green form;
heating the compacted green form to dry the preform;
breaking the dried compacted preform to form the additive particles.

12. The method set forth in claim 11 , further comprising:
capturing additive particles of a select particle size.

13. The method set forth in claim 1 , wherein the unfined molten glass is introduced into the fining chamber of the fining tank through the glass inlet, and wherein the additive particles are introduced into the fining chamber of the fining tank through an auxiliary access passage that is defined in the housing of the fining tank and is separate from the glass inlet.

14. A method of fining low-density submerged combustion glass, the method comprising:
providing a fining tank having a housing that defines a fining chamber as well as a glass inlet and a glass outlet, the fining chamber containing a molten glass bath therein that flows in a flow direction from the glass inlet to the glass outlet and which is comprised of soda-lime-silica glass, and wherein the fining tank further includes a first partition wall, a second partition wall, and a third partition wall, each of the first, second, and third partition walls extending downwardly from a roof of the housing towards a floor of the housing to define, together with corresponding portions of the floor and opposed sidewalls of the housing, a first submerged passageway, a second submerged passageway, and a third submerged passageway, respectively, the first partition wall and an inlet end wall of the housing located proximate the glass inlet defining a glass receiving zone of the fining chamber, the second partition wall being positioned downstream of the first partition wall in the flow direction of the molten glass bath to define an upstream fining zone of the fining chamber in conjunction with the first partition wall, and the third partition wall being positioned downstream of the second partition wall in the flow direction of the molten glass bath to define a downstream fining zone of the fining chamber in conjunction with the second partition wall and a glass delivery zone of the fining chamber with an outlet end wall of the housing located proximate the glass outlet;
producing unfined soda-lime-silica glass in a submerged combustion melter, the soda-lime-silica glass having a glass chemical composition that includes 60 wt % to 80 wt % SiO 2 , 8 wt % to 18 wt % Na 2 O, and 5 wt % to 15 wt % CaO;
introducing the unfined soda-lime-silica glass into the fining tank located downstream of the submerged combustion melter, the unfined soda-lime-silica glass being introduced into, and combined with, the molten glass bath in the fining chamber of the fining tank;
introducing additive particles into the molten glass bath in the fining chamber of the fining tank, the additive particles comprising a mixture of a glass reactant material and one or more fining agents, the one or more fining agents being released into the molten glass bath upon consumption of the additive particles in the molten glass bath to chemically fine the molten glass bath, and the glass reactant material comprising one or more materials that integrate into the molten glass bath upon melting, each of the unfined soda-lime-silica glass and the additive particles being introduced into the glass receiving zone of the fining chamb

Assignees

• Owens Brockway Glass Container

Inventors

• Wang Zhongming
• Iddings Earnest
• Schoenrock Nicholas A

Classifications

• C03B5/2356 Primary

  Submerged heating, e.g. by using heat pipes, hot gas or submerged combustion burners (bubblers C03B5/193) · CPC title

• C03B5/1672

  Use of materials therefor · CPC title

• C03B5/225 Primary

  Refining (C03B5/18 takes precedence {; Refining agents C03C1/004}) · CPC title

• C03C1/004

  Refining agents (refining C03B5/225) · CPC title

• C03B2211/23

  using oxygen, i.e. pure oxygen or oxygen-enriched air · CPC title