A submerged combustion burner, a submerged combustion melter including the submerged combustion burner, and method of operating the submerged combustion burner are disclosed. The submerged combustion burner includes central burner tube and a heat pipe that surrounds and extends beyond a terminal end of the central burner tube. When received in a burner opening defined in a melting tank of a submerged combustion melter, the heat pipe of the submerged combustion burner is disposed between the central burner tube and the floor of the melting tank. The heat pipe transfers or pumps heat via a sealed working fluid to a cooling fluid that thermally communicates with the heat pipe exterior to the melting tank.

A submerged combustion melter and burner therefor. The burner may include a first tube having a scaled distal end and a second tube concentric to the first tube, the second tube having a partially sealed distal end with an opening for receiving the first tube, where an annular space is defined between the first and second tubes. The burner further includes a first gas port in the sealed distal end of the first tube, the first gas port supplying a first gas, a second gas port in a distal end of the second tube, the second gas port supplying a second gas to the annular space, and a nozzle on the proximate ends of the first and second tubes. The nozzle provides N first gas outlets and M second gas outlets where the N first gas outlets supply either the first or the second gas into a molten glass environment external the burner, and the M second gas outlets supply either the second or the first gas into the molten glass environment external the burner to thereby mix and combust the first and second gases together in the molten glass environment.

Methods of maximizing mixing and melting in a submerged combustion melter (SCM) are described. One method includes melting an inorganic feedstock in an SCM using an arrangement of two or more submerged combustion (SC) burners, the SCM having a length (L) and a width (W), a centerline (C), a north side (N) and a south side (S), and operating the arrangement of SC burners such that a progressively higher percentage of a total combustion flow from the SC burners occurs from SC burners at progressively downstream positions in the SCM. Other methods include operating the N and S SC burners with more combustion flow than the central burners. Other methods include strategic placement of fuel lean SC burners and fuel rich SC burners.

A submerged burner for a glass- or rock-melting furnace, including a plurality of in-line injectors, each injector including a cylinder-shaped mixing chamber, with an ejection orifice, a fuel-supply duct and an oxidant-supply duct opening into the mixing chamber at the cylinder jacket in a direction causing a tangential flow of the fuel and of the oxidant relative to the cylinder jacket, and a duct system making it possible for a coolant to flow inside the burner, and, preferably on either side of the alignment of injectors, placed parallel to and all along the latter, solid metal sides rising from the injectors, and protective partitions situated on the top of the solid metal sides.

Combustion burner panels, submerged combustion melters including one or more of the panels, and methods of using the same are disclosed. In certain embodiments, the burner panel includes a panel body having a first major surface defined by a lower fluid-cooled portion of the panel body, and a second major surface defined by an upper non-fluid cooled portion of the panel body. The panel body has at least one through passage extending from the first to the second major surface, the through passages accommodating a set of substantially concentric inner and outer conduits. The inner conduit forms a primary passage for fuel or oxidant, and the outer conduit forms a secondary passage between the outer conduit and the inner conduit for fuel or oxidant. A protective member is associated with each set. The burner panels promote burner life and melter campaign length.

Combustion burner panels, submerged combustion melters including one or more of the panels, and methods of making the same are disclosed. In certain embodiments, the burner panel includes a panel body having first and second major surfaces, at least one oxidant through-passage extending from the first to the second major surface, and at least one fuel through-passage extending from the first to the second major surface. Oxidant and fuel delivery conduits are positioned in the respective passages. The oxidant and fuel delivery conduits include proximal and distal ends, at least some of the distal ends positioned away from the first major surface of the panel body. In other embodiments the burner panels include a frame enclosing a porous material having through passages for fuel and oxidant. The burner panels may enable delaying combustion in a submerged combustion melter, and therefore promote burner life and melter campaign length.

A gas water heater includes a water tank, a combustion chamber, a burner, a heat exchanger tube at least partially within the water tank, and a fan. The burner receives fuel gas and primary air from a first air-supply channel to create a primary air-fuel mixture for combustion in the combustion chamber with secondary air. The primary air-fuel mixture has a gas concentration above the upper explosive limit of the fuel gas. Secondary air is supplied through a second air-supply channel to the combustion chamber. The secondary air creates a low excess air ratio (e.g., below 1.5) for combustion in the combustion chamber. A totally sealed channel is defined from the air inlet of the fan to the heat exchanger tube.

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 combustion burner employed in a submerged combustion vessel used to melt high index glass includes an arch positioned on a burner in the submerged combustion vessel. An amount of combustible gas flows through a first port disposed in a first haunch of the arch and through a second port disposed in a second haunch of the arch. Fuel is supplied through an end port in a fuel supply line. The end port is disposed under the arch. An amount of glass is fed into the submerged combustion vessel and is melted inside the submerged combustion vessel by igniting the burner. Some of the melted glass at least partially solidifies against a wall of the submerged combustion vessel such that the melted glass is contained in a vessel of itself.