A glass fining system, glass fining device, and method are disclosed. The glass fining device in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes at least one heated orifice through which molten glass flows from a glass melter to produce at least one superheated glass stream; and a low-pressure chamber disposed downstream from the heated orifice, where the at least one superheated glass stream flows from the at least one heated orifice and into the low-pressure chamber, and where the low-pressure chamber surrounds the at least one superheated glass stream. In some embodiments, the low-pressure chamber may include at least one surface extender.

In a process for manufacturing glass, a mixture of solid glass-forming materials may be melted by application of heat from one or more submerged combustion burners to produce a volume of unrefined molten glass comprising, by volume, 20% to 40% gas bubbles. A refining agent may be introduced into the unrefined molten glass to promote gas bubble removal from the molten glass. The unrefined molten glass including the refining agent may be heated at a temperature in the range of 1200° C. to 1500° C. to produce a volume of refined molten glass. The refined molten glass may comprise, by volume, fewer gas bubbles than the unrefined molten glass. A colorant material may be introduced into the refined molten glass to produce a volume of molten glass having a final desired color.

A glass refining system, glass refining device, and method are disclosed. The apparatus in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes an objective having a laterally outer extremity, where a molten metal stream flows from an opening in the objective and over the objective, and separates from the objective at a molten metal separation location that is inboard of the extremity; and a molten metal receptacle disposed below the objective and configured to receive the molten metal stream, wherein a molten glass stream flows downwardly toward the objective and over the molten metal stream, and wherein the molten glass stream separates from the molten metal stream at a molten glass separation location that is laterally outboard of the molten metal separation location and flows into a molten glass receptacle.

A vitrifiable feed material for producing flint glass by way of a process that uses submerged combustion melting includes a base glass portion, an oxidizing agent, and a decolorant. The base glass portion includes an SiO.sub.2 contributor, an Na.sub.2O contributor, and a CaO contributor to provide SiO.sub.2, Na.sub.2O, and CaO, respectively, to a glass melt when melted therein. The oxidizing agent may be a sulfate compound in an amount ranging from 0.20 wt % to 0.50 wt % as expressed as SO.sub.3 based on the total weight of the vitrifiable feed material, and the decolorant may be selenium in an amount ranging from 0.008 wt % to 0.016 wt % or manganese oxide in an amount ranging from 0.1 wt % to 0.2 wt % based on the total weight of the vitrifiable feed material.

Processes and systems for producing glass fibers having regions devoid of glass using submerged combustion melters, including feeding a vitrifiable feed material into a feed inlet of a melting zone of a melter vessel, and heating the vitrifiable material with at least one burner directing combustion products of an oxidant and a first fuel into the melting zone under a level of the molten material in the zone. One or more of the burners is configured to impart heat and turbulence to the molten material, producing a turbulent molten material comprising a plurality of bubbles suspended in the molten material, the bubbles comprising at least some of the combustion products, and optionally other gas species introduced by the burners. The molten material and bubbles are drawn through a bushing fluidly connected to a forehearth to produce a glass fiber comprising a plurality of interior regions substantially devoid of glass.

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.

The invention relates to a submerged combustion burner (1) and to a melter comprising submerged combustion burners (1). The burner comprises at least one oxidant feeding tube, at least one fuel feeding tube, a burner head having a peripheral envelope, the fuel and oxidant feeding tubes abutting against the burner head, at least two, preferably at least three, peripheral outward directed nozzles, each of the nozzles having a nozzle outlet, the nozzle outlets being arranged on a peripheral line on the peripheral envelope of the burner head, the nozzle outlet axis being inclined by an angle of 5 to 30° to the horizontal, and the nozzles practiced in the burner head being connected to the oxidant feeding tube and to the fuel feeding tube.

A furnace for melting vitrifiable material, in particular glass, employs a submerged burner, the furnace including a wall cooled by a cooling fluid, the face of the wall facing toward the interior of the furnace having, before vitrifiable material is melted in the furnace, an attachment texture for so-called self-crucible devitrified vitrifiable material.

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.

A method of fining glass is disclosed that includes flowing a molten glass bath through a fining chamber. The molten glass bath has an undercurrent that flows beneath a skimmer that is partially submerged in the molten glass bath. One or more fining agents are introduced into the undercurrent of the molten glass bath directly beneath the skimmer from a dissolvable fining material component. In this way, the fining agent(s) may selectively target the gas bubbles drawn under the skimmer within the undercurrent of the molten glass for removal. The method may be employed to fine molten gas produced in a submerged combustion melter. A fining vessel for fining molten glass is also disclosed that includes a housing, a skimmer, and a dissolvable fining material component disposed directly beneath the skimmer.