Submerged combustion glass melting systems and methods of use

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9731990-B2
Application number	US-201314785328-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2013
Priority date	May 30, 2013
Publication date	Aug 15, 2017
Grant date	Aug 15, 2017

Abstract

Submerged combustion glass manufacturing systems and methods include a melter having a floor, a roof, a wall structure connecting the floor and roof, and one or more submerged combustion burners mounted in the floor, roof, and/or wall structure discharging combustion products including water vapor under a level of material being melted in the melter and create turbulent conditions in the material. The floor, roof, or wall structure may include fluid-cooled refractory material and an optional metallic external shell, or the metallic shell may include coolant passages. One or more conduits drain water condensed from the water vapor from regions of refractory material substantially saturated with the water, and/or from burner supports.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A submerged combustion glass manufacturing system comprising:
a melter comprising a floor, a roof, a wall structure connecting the floor and roof;
one or more submerged combustion burners mounted in the floor, roof and/or wall structure, the submerged combustion burners configured to discharge combustion products including water vapor under a level of material being melted in the melter and create turbulent conditions in substantially all of the material;
one or more of the floor, roof, and wall structure comprising fluid-cooled refractory material and an optional metallic external shell, the fluid-cooled refractory material comprising one or more coolant passages; and
one or more drain conduits configured to drain at least some water condensed from the water vapor from one or more regions of refractory material substantially saturated with the water away from the melter.

2. The system of claim 1 comprising one or more other drain conduits configured to drain at least some of the water away from at least one substantially concentric burner holder supporting one or more of the submerged combustion burners.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein at least one of the drain conduits comprise a manually operated valve.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein at least one of the drain conduits comprise an automatically operated valve.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the melter floor is sloped to be non-horizontal and form one or more low points in the melter floor where water condensate can form said one or more regions of refractory material substantially saturated with the water, and wherein at least one of the drain conduits is configured to drain said water condensate from said one or more low points away from the melter.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein one or more burners is positioned at corresponding one or more low points and supported by corresponding one or more substantially concentric burner holders, one or more of the burner holders comprising drain conduits.

7. A submerged combustion glass manufacturing system comprising:
a melter comprising a floor, a roof, a wall structure connecting the floor and roof;
one or more submerged combustion burners mounted in the floor, roof and/or wall structure, the submerged combustion burners configured to discharge combustion products including water vapor under a level of material being melted in the melter and create turbulent conditions in substantially all of the material, the burners supported by one or more substantially concentric burner holders;
one or more of the floor, roof, and wall structure comprising fluid-cooled refractory material and an optional metallic external shell, the fluid-cooled refractory material comprising one or more coolant passages; and
one or more drain conduits configured to drain at least some water condensed from the water vapor from the one or more substantially concentric burner holders away from the burner holder.

8. The system of claim 7 comprising one or more other drain conduits configured to drain at least some of the water away from one or more regions of refractory material substantially saturated with water.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein at least one of the drain conduits comprise a manually operated valve.

10. The system of claim 8 comprising wherein at least one of the drain conduits comprise an automatically operated valve.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein at least a portion of the melter floor is sloped to be non-horizontal and form one or more low points in the floor where water condensate can form said one or more regions of refractory material substantially saturated with water, and wherein at least one of the drain conduits is configured to drain said water condensate away from the melter.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein one or more burners is positioned at corresponding one or more low points, and one or more of the substantially concentric burner holders comprise drain conduits to drain water away from the burner holder.

13. A submerged combustion glass manufacturing system comprising:
a melter comprising a floor, a roof, a wall structure connecting the floor and roof;
one or more submerged combustion burners mounted in the floor, roof and/or wall structure, the submerged combustion burners configured to discharge combustion products including water vapor under a level of material being melted in the melter and create turbulent conditions in substantially all of the material, the burners supported by one or more substantially concentric burner holders;
one or more of the floor, roof, and wall structure comprising refractory material and a fluid-cooled external metallic shell, the fluid-cooled external metallic shell comprising one or more coolant passages; and
one or more drain conduits configured to drain at least some water condensed from the water vapor from one or more regions of refractory material substantially saturated with the water away from the melter.

14. The system of claim 13 comprising one or more other drain conduits configured to drain at least some of the water away from at least one substantially concentric burner holder supporting one or more of the submerged combustion burners.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein at least one of the drain conduits comprise a manually operated valve.

16. The system of claim 14 comprising wherein at least one of the drain conduits comprise an automatically operated valve.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein at least a portion of the melter floor is sloped to be non-horizontal and form one or more low points in the floor where water condensate can form said one or more regions of refractory material substantially saturated with water, and wherein at least one of the drain conduits is configured to drain water from one or more of the low points away from the melter.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein one or more burners is positioned at corresponding one or more low points and supported by corresponding one or more substantially concentric burner holders, one or more of the burner holders comprising drain conduits to drain water away from the burner holder.

19. A submerged combustion glass manufacturing system comprising:
a melter comprising a floor, a roof, a wall structure connecting the floor and roof;
one or more submerged combustion burners mounted in the floor, roof and/or wall structure, the submerged combustion burners configured to discharge combustion products including water vapor under a level of material being melted in the melter and create turbulent conditions in substantially all of the material, the burners supported by one or more substantially concentric burner holders;
one or more of the floor, roof, and wall structure comprising refractory material and a fluid-cooled external metallic shell, the fluid-cooled external metallic shell comprising one or more coolant passages; and
one or more drain conduits configured to drain at least some of the water condensed from the water vapor away from at least one substantially concentric burner holder supporting one or more of the submerged combustion burners.

20. The system of claim 19 comprising one or more other drain conduits configured to drain at least some water condensed from the water vapor from one or more regions of refractory material substantially saturated with the water away from the melter.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein at least one of the drain conduits comprise a manually operated valve.

Assignees

• Johns Manville

Inventors

• Baker John Wayne

Classifications

• C03B5/193

  using gas, e.g. bubblers · CPC title

• C03B5/43

  Use of materials for furnace walls, e.g. fire-bricks · CPC title

• C03B2211/23

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

• C03B2211/70

  Skull melting, i.e. melting or refining in cooled wall crucibles or within solidified glass crust, e.g. in continuous walled vessels · CPC title

• C03B2211/60

  oxy-fuel burner construction · CPC title