A method of producing glass using submerged combustion melting includes supplying a combustible gas mixture to one or more submerged burners of a submerged combustion melter, combusting the combustible gas mixture supplied to the submerged burner(s) to produce combustion products, and discharging the combustion products from the submerged burner(s) directly into a glass melt contained within the submerged combustion melter to agitate and heat the glass melt. The glass melt is comprised of soda-lime-silica glass and has a redox ratio. Additionally, the disclosed method involves controlling one or more operating conditions of the submerged combustion melter selected from (1) an oxygen-to-fuel ratio of the combustible gas mixture supplied to each of the submerged burners, (2) a residence time of the glass melt, and (3) a gas flux through the glass melt.

Microsphere comprising an outer shell enclosing a substantially hollow inner space, the outer shell comprising a fluid permeable porous structure, the fluid permeable porous structure comprising interconnected pores, the microsphere being capable of maintaining a vacuum in its substantially hollow inner space when its outer shell is sealed.

Submerged combustion burner panels, submerged combustion melters including one or more of the panels, and methods of using the same. The burner panel includes a panel body including a fluid-cooled portion and a protective non-fluid cooled portion. An exterior surface defined by the fluid-cooled portion, and an interior surface defined by the protective non-fluid cooled portion, exterior and interior referring to an SCM in which the panel is installed. The fluid-cooled portion has at least one burner support passage of diameter (d1) extending from the exterior surface to a seam where the fluid-cooled and protective non-fluid cooled portions meet supporting at least one fluid-cooled SC burner having a fluid-cooled burner tip attached to a burner body protruding away from the seam. The protective non-fluid-cooled portion has a combustion products flow passage of diameter (d2)<(d1). The burner panels promote burner life and melter campaign length.

Submerged combustion burners having improved fuel and oxidant mixing characteristics. Submerged combustion melters including the burners. Methods of using submerged combustion melters to melt glass-forming materials and produce molten glass.

A method for removing gaseous inclusions from a viscous liquid in which a viscous liquid stream having gaseous inclusions is introduced into a refining chamber, resulting in a flowing viscous liquid layer. The viscosity of a bottom portion of the viscous liquid layer is reduced in a first refining zone in the refining chamber so as to produce an upwardly mobile reduced viscosity portion of the viscous liquid layer. Heat is introduced into the viscous liquid layer from above the viscous liquid layer in a second refining zone in the refining chamber downstream of the first refining zone, reducing the gaseous inclusions in said viscous liquid layer. Thereafter, the viscous liquid layer having substantially reduced gaseous inclusions is discharged from the refining chamber.

A prefiner (28) is described and includes a chamber (34) for receiving molten glass exiting a submerged combustion melter. The prefiner (28) also includes a foam breaker (36) and an exit conduit (38). The molten glass holding chamber includes a top portion (42), a bottom portion (40), and an enclosing sidewall (44). The top portion (42) includes an opening to accommodate the foam breaker (36), which is positioned to break the glass bubbles within the chamber. The exit conduit (38) resides within the chamber (34) and is in fluid communication with an outlet (68) in the sidewall (44). The exit conduit (38) is positioned to permit molten glass to flow from the lower section of the chamber to the outlet (68) and to the next stage of processing, typically a finer.

A method of forming a rope material from a loose feed scrap includes a number of operations to mechanically bind the loose feed scrap. The feed scrap is collected. The feed scrap is twisted and compressed, operations that may be performed simultaneously. This twisted and compressed feed scrap, now in the form of a rope material, is then fed into a melter system.

A method of producing glass includes receiving unrefined molten glass in a stilling chamber of a stilling tank at a fluctuating flow rate. The unrefined molten glass merges with an intermediate pool of molten glass being held within the stilling chamber. The intermediate pool of molten glass is heated in the stilling chamber by one or more non-submerged burners. Molten glass flows from the intermediate pool of molten glass to a transfer pool of molten glass held in a spout chamber of a feeding spout that is appended to the stilling tank. Additionally, a molten glass feed is delivered out of the feeding spout from the transfer pool of molten glass at a controlled flow rate.

A feed assembly having a hollow tubular body and a batch charger disposed within the hollow tubular body is disclosed. The hollow tubular body extends along a central axis from a first end to a second end and, further, comprises a port that tapers from a first port end to a second port end at the second end of the tubular body. The batch charger includes a first charger end proximate the first end of the tubular body and a second charger end proximate the second end of the tubular body. The second charger end is spaced away from the second end of the tubular body to provide a port space within the port. An apparatus that includes a melting chamber and a feed assembly is also disclosed along with a method of feeding batch materials into a melting chamber.

Primary inorganic feedstock material is introduced into the melting region of an SCM melter. The material is heated with a burner to form a turbulent melt matrix. The burner exit is disposed below the top surface of the turbulent melt matrix. A mixture of secondary inorganic material and organic material is introduced into the melting region below the top surface of the turbulent melt mixture. The mixture is heated with the burner to incorporate the secondary inorganic material into the turbulent melt matrix and combust at least some of the organic material to produce heat.