A device for melting glass includes a furnace equipped with electrodes in contact with the mass of vitrifiable materials. The furnace includes a side opening connected to a feeder channel for the molten glass, a removable barrier dipping into the glass in or before the opening so that a vertical plane passing through the upstream face of the barrier touches the biggest horizontal circle which can be inscribed the furthest downstream in the furnace, barrier excluded, the biggest circle being at the height of the highest side of the bottom of the channel. The device delivers a glass of good quality which can feed a fiberizing device.

A device for melting glass includes a furnace equipped with electrodes in contact with the mass of vitrifiable materials. The furnace includes a side opening connected to a feeder channel for the molten glass, a removable barrier dipping into the glass in or before the opening so that a vertical plane passing through the upstream face of the barrier touches the biggest horizontal circle which can be inscribed the furthest downstream in the furnace, barrier excluded, the biggest circle being at the height of the highest side of the bottom of the channel. The device delivers a glass of good quality which can feed a fiberizing device.

A glass melt production apparatus, which comprises a melting vessel, a vacuum degassing apparatus, a first conducting pipe structure connecting the melting vessel and the vacuum degassing apparatus, and a second conducting pipe structure to introduce a glass melt to a forming means, provided downstream the vacuum degassing apparatus; the vacuum degassing apparatus having an uprising pipe through which the glass melt from the melting vessel ascends, a vacuum degassing vessel, and a downfalling pipe through which the glass melt from the vacuum degassing vessel descends; the flow path of the glass melt in the uprising pipe, the vacuum degassing vessel and the downfalling pipe being made of a refractory material; the first conducting pipe structure having an upstream pit to supply the glass melt to the uprising pipe; and the second conducting pipe structure having a downstream pit containing the glass melt from the downfalling pipe; the glass melt production apparatus further comprising a third conducting pipe structure connecting the upstream pit and the downstream pit; and the third conducting pipe structure having a closing means to shut off a flow of the glass melt in the third conducting pipe structure; the third conducting pipe structure or the closing means having a glass melt flow path for emergencies, which allows the glass melt to pass therethrough, depending on the height of a liquid level of the glass melt in the third conducting pipe structure in the vicinity of the closing means.

The invention relates to a process and a device for manufacturing molten glass comprising from upstream to downstream a furnace for melting and fining glass equipped with cross-fired overhead burners, then a conditioning basin supplied with glass by the furnace, the dimensions of this manufacturing device being such that K is higher than 3.5, the factor K being determined from the dimensions of the device. The invention makes it possible to dimension a device for melting glass so that it is smaller and consumes less energy while producing high quality glass.

A submerged combustion melter includes first, second, third, and fourth side walls extending upwardly from a bottom wall, a crown extending inwardly with respect to the side walls and over the bottom wall to establish a melting chamber, an exhaust port configured to exhaust gas from the melting chamber, a baffle coupled to and extending inwardly from the third side wall to divide the melting chamber into melting sub-chambers that share the exhaust port and having an end spaced away from the fourth side wall, an inlet configured for introducing a glass batch into the melter, and an outlet configured to remove molten glass from the melting sub-chambers, which direct product flow in a laterally undulating flow path from the inlet to the outlet.

A submerged combustion melter includes first, second, third, and fourth side walls extending upwardly from a bottom wall, a crown extending inwardly with respect to the side walls and over the bottom wall to establish a melting chamber, an exhaust port configured to exhaust gas from the melting chamber, a baffle coupled to and extending inwardly from the third side wall to divide the melting chamber into melting sub-chambers that share the exhaust port and having an end spaced away from the fourth side wall, an inlet configured for introducing a glass batch into the melter, and an outlet configured to remove molten glass from the melting sub-chambers, which direct product flow in a laterally undulating flow path from the inlet to the outlet.