A submerged combustion melting system (90) includes a submerged combustion melter (100) having a housing with one or more side walls (104), a floor (106), and a ceiling (108) which at least partially define a melt chamber (110). The melter has one or more main burners (128) positioned along the floor of the housing and an oxygen/gas burner in a preheat burner system (300) removably attached to one of the sidewalls or the ceiling, the oxygen/gas burner arranged such that a flame from the oxygen/gas burner is directed downward into the melt chamber.

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.

A receiver front end capable of receiving and processing intraband non-contiguous carrier aggregate (CA) signals using multiple low noise amplifiers (LNAs) is disclosed herein. A cascode having a common source input stage and a common gate output stage can be turned on or off using the gate of the output stage. A first switch is provided that allows a connection to be either established or broken between the source terminal of the input stage of each cascode. Further switches used for switching degeneration inductors, gate/sources caps and gate to ground caps for each legs can be used to further improve the matching performance of the invention.

A receiver front end capable of receiving and processing intraband non-contiguous carrier aggregate (CA) signals using multiple low noise amplifiers (LNAs) is disclosed herein. A cascode having a common source input stage and a common gate output stage can be turned on or off using the gate of the output stage. A first switch is provided that allows a connection to be either established or broken between the source terminal of the input stage of each cascode. Further switches used for switching degeneration inductors, gate/sources caps and gate to ground caps for each legs can be used to further improve the matching performance of the invention.

A process for melting vitrifiable materials to produce flat glass, including (i) providing a furnace having at least one melting tank with electrical heating means, a fining tank with oxy-combustion heating means, a neck separating melting tank and fining tank, inlet mean(s) located at the melting tank and outlet mean(s) located downstream of the fining tank; (ii) charging the vitrifiable materials including raw materials and cullet in the melting tank, the amount of cullet being at least 10% in weight of the total amount of vitrifiable materials and the raw materials including less than 25% in weight of carbonate compounds; (iii) melting the vitrifiable materials in the melting tank; (iv) fining melt by heating with the oxy-combustion heating means; (v) flowing the melt from the fining tank to a working zone through the outlet mean(s); and (vi) capturing CO.sub.2 from flue gas having a CO.sub.2 concentration of at least 35%.

A process for melting vitrifiable materials to produce flat glass, including (i) providing a furnace having at least one melting tank with electrical heating means, a fining tank with oxy-combustion heating means, a neck separating melting tank and fining tank, an inlet located at the melting tank and an outlet located downstream of the fining tank; (ii) charging the vitrifiable materials including raw materials and cullet in the melting tank, the amount of cullet being at least 10% in weight of the total amount of vitrifiable materials; (iii) cullet pre-heating; (iv) melting the vitrifiable materials in the melting tank by heating with the electrical heating means; (v) fining melt in the fining tank by heating with the oxy-combustion heating means; (vi) flowing the melt from the fining tank to a working zone through the outlet; and (vii) capturing CO.sub.2 from flue gas.

A process for melting vitrifiable materials to produce flat glass, including (i) providing a furnace that includes at least one main melting tank with an electrical heater, at least one auxiliary melting tank, a fining tank with oxy-combustion heating, a neck separating main melting tank and fining tank, an inlet located at the main melting tank and an outlet located downstream of the fining tank; (ii) charging the vitrifiable materials comprising raw materials; (iii) pre-melting at least a part of the cullet in the auxiliary melting tank and flowing the pre-melted cullet to the main melting tank, (iv) melting the vitrifiable materials in main melting tank; (v) fining melt in the fining tank; (vi) flowing the melt from the fining tank to a working zone through the outlet; and (vii) capturing CO.sub.2 from flue gas, the flue gas having a CO.sub.2 concentration of at least 35%.

A process for melting vitrifiable materials to produce flat glass, including (i) providing a furnace having at least one melting tank with electrical heating means, a fining tank with oxy-combustion heating means, a neck separating melting tank and fining tank, inlet mean(s) located at the melting tank and outlet mean(s) located downstream of the fining tank; (ii) charging the vitrifiable materials comprising raw materials and cullet in the melting tank with the inlet mean(s), the amount of cullet being at least 10% in weight of the total amount of vitrifiable materials; (iii) melting the vitrifiable materials in the melting tank; (iv) fining melt in the fining tank by heating with the oxy-combustion heating means; (v) flowing the melt from the fining tank to a working zone; and (vi) capturing CO.sub.2 from flue gas, the flue gas having a CO.sub.2 concentration of at least 35%.

Submerged combustion glass manufacturing systems include a melter having a floor, a roof, a wall structure connecting the floor and roof, and an exhaust passage through the roof. One or more submerged combustion burners are mounted in the floor and/or wall structure discharging combustion products under a level of material being melted in the melter and create turbulent conditions in the material. The melter exhausts through an exhaust structure connecting the exhaust passage with an exhaust stack. The exhaust structure includes a barrier defining an exhaust chamber having an interior surface, the exhaust chamber having a cross-sectional area greater than that of the exhaust stack but less than the melter. The barrier maintains temperature and pressure in the exhaust structure at values sufficient to substantially prevent condensation of exhaust material on the interior surface.

The invention relates to a method of making a mineral melt comprising providing a circulating combustion chamber (1) which comprises an upper zone (2), a lower zone (3) and a base zone (4), injecting particulate fuel, particulate mineral material and primary combustion gas which has optionally an oxygen level of at least 25% by volume into the upper zone of the circulating combustion chamber so that the fuel undergoes pyrolysis in the upper zone to produce char, thereby melting the particulate mineral materials to form a mineral melt and generating exhaust gases, injecting secondary combustion gas which has optionally an Oxygen level of at least 25% by volume into the lower zone of the circulating combustion chamber so that the char combusts, thereby completing combustion of the fuel, and separating the mineral melt from the hot exhaust gases so that the hot exhaust gases pass though an outlet in the circulating combustion chamber and the mineral melt collects in the base zone. The melt is optionally fiberized. The invention also relates to apparatus suitable for use in the method.