A melter apparatus includes a floor, a ceiling, and a substantially vertical wall connecting the floor and ceiling at a perimeter of the floor and ceiling, a melting zone being defined by the floor, ceiling and wall, the melting zone having a feed inlet and a molten glass outlet positioned at opposing ends of the melting zone. The melting zone includes an expanding zone beginning at the inlet and extending to an intermediate location relative to the opposing ends, and a narrowing zone extending from the intermediate location to the outlet. One or more burners, at least some of which are positioned to direct combustion products into the melting zone under a level of molten glass in the zone, are also provided.

Disclosed is a thermochemical regenerative combustion method in which a mixture of fuel components that can, and cannot, undergo endothermic reaction is passed through a heated regenerator to obtain improved heat recovery efficiency.

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.

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 method of producing flint glass using submerged combustion melting is disclosed. The method includes operating a submerged combustion melter such that combustion products are discharged from one or more submerged burners combusting a combustible gas mixture that comprises fuel and oxygen. An oxygen-to-fuel ratio of the combustible gas mixture ranges from stoichiometry to 30% excess oxygen relative to stoichiometry, a temperature of a glass melt in the submerged combustion melter is between 1200 C. and 1500 C., a residence time of the glass melt is maintained between 1 hour and 10 hours, and a specific throughput rate of molten glass discharged from the submerged combustion melter ranges from 2 tons per day per meter squared of cross-sectional area of the submerged combustion melter [tons/day/m.sup.2] to 25 tons/day/m.sup.2. A method of forming glass containers from the molten glass discharged from the melter is also disclosed.

A method for melting vitrifiable materials to produce flat glass, including: providing a furnace including: a melting tank, a fining tank, a neck, at least one inlet means located at the melting tank, an outlet means located downstream of the fining tank, and at least one extraction means of a flue gas located at the at least one upstream zone; charging the vitrifiable materials comprising raw materials and cullet in the melting tank with the at least one inlet means; melting the vitrifiable materials in the melting tank, fining the melt in the fining tank; flowing the melt from the fining tank to a working zone through the outlet means; and capturing CO.sub.2 from the flue gas.

A method for melting vitrifiable materials to produce flat glass, including: providing a furnace including: a melting tank, a fining tank, a neck, at least one inlet means located at the melting tank, an outlet means located downstream of the fining tank, and at least one extraction means of a flue gas located at the at least one upstream zone; charging the vitrifiable materials including raw materials and cullet in the melting tank with the at least one inlet means; cullet pre-heating; melting the vitrifiable materials in the melting tank; fining the melt in the fining tank; flowing the melt from the fining tank to a working zone through the outlet means; and capturing CO.sub.2 from the flue gas.

The invention relates to a method for heating flowable molten glass in a feed channel which is enclosed by lateral walls and a cover and into which a plurality of fuel lances and oxidizing agent lances that are mutually spaced in the flow direction of the molten glass open above the molten glass, fuel or an oxidizing agent being supplied through said lances and being brought into reaction with each other in the feed channel. The invention is characterized in that in order to combust the fuel with the oxidizing agent, a flame is produced in front of the opening of each fuel lance, said flame being designed such that adjacent or opposite flames do not contact one another.

Disclosed herein are glass-ceramics that may include a phase assemblage including: 35 wt % to 60 wt % of a petalite crystalline phase; 20 wt % to 60 wt % of a lithium disilicate crystalline phase; and 5 wt % to 20 wt % of a residual amorphous glass phase. The glass-ceramics may further include copper metal nanoparticles dispersed in the residual amorphous glass phase. The glass-ceramics may appear red in color and comprises transmittance color coordinates in CIE LAB color space of: L* greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 100; a* greater than or equal to 23 and less than or equal to 62; and b* greater than or equal to 10 and less than or equal to 60.5 at an article thickness of 0.55 mm for a CIE illuminant D65 under SCI UVC conditions and a 10 degree observer angle.

The present invention concerns a process for melting vitrifiable materials to produce flat glass, comprising the steps of (i) providing a furnace with a specific segmented design; (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 and the raw materials comprising less than 25% in weight of carbonate compounds; (iii) melting the vitrifiable materials in said melting tank; (iv) fining melt in the fining tank by heating with the oxy-combustion heating means alimented with gas and/or hydrogen; (v) flowing the melt from the fining tank to a working zone trough the outlet mean; (vi) capturing CO.sub.2 from flue gas, said flue gas has a CO.sub.2 concentration of at least 35%; the electrical input fraction ranging from 30% to 85% and the step of capturing CO.sub.2 comprising step(s) of compression and/or dehydration.