Rotary heat-exchanger for glass batch and/or cullet, comprising a stationary casing having a gas inlet and outlet, and an interior region between the gas inlet and outlet; a chamber positioned in the casing rotatable with respect to the casing and configured to receive batch material or a mixture with cullet; at least one heat exchange tube in the casing in fluid communication with the gas inlet and outlet; a feeder in communication with the chamber and comprising a feeder housing configured to discharge the batch material or mixture of batch material and cullet into the chamber along an infeed length and in contact with the at least one tube; wherein the infeed length is a length effective to heat the batch or mixture with cullet material up to at least 100° C. in the infeed length. A method of preheating glass batch is also disclosed.

Method of producing molten glass and system therefor, including providing a glass melting furnace configured to melt a glass sample, the glass sample including glass batch material including soda ash, or cullet or post-consumer cullet, or any combination of batch material, cullet and post-consumer cullet. The method includes introducing glass sample into a chamber of a rotary drum heat exchanger having at least one heat exchange tube; introducing the exhaust gas into the tube; causing a transfer of heat from the exhaust gas in the tube to the glass sample in the chamber to volatilize any organic impurities in the glass sample, heat the glass sample and evaporate water from the glass sample to dry it, the evaporated water forming water vapor in the chamber; contacting the dried sample with the water vapor; and discharging the dried sample from the rotary drum heat exchanger and introducing it into the furnace.

Installation including an industrial glass furnace (1) including a tank (2) for molten glass (3), a combustion heating chamber (4) situated above the tank (2), and a duct for evacuation of flue gases in communication with said heating chamber (4), and a stone furnace including a firing zone (21) for stone to be fired, the flue gas evacuation duct including a flue gas outlet that is connected to the firing zone (21) of stone to be fired and supplying the firing zone (21) of stone to be fired with flue gases at high temperature.

The invention provides a method to form a melt for making man-made vitreous fibres, in which mineral raw material is melted in a gas-fired cyclone furnace and the mineral charge comprises a material that comprises metallic aluminium.

An apparatus and method for melting raw batch materials into molten glass includes feeding raw batch materials into a chamber through a feed port, heating the chamber with a plurality of plasma torches positioned above a predetermined level, each plasma torch emitting a plasma flame into the chamber, and melting the raw batch materials into molten glass up to the predetermined level.

Methods and apparatus for producing fibers from igneous rock, including basalt include heating igneous rock by electrical conductive coils to achieve an homogenous melt and forming homogenous fibers from the melt.

A glass has a basic soda-lime-silica glass portion, and a colorant portion including total iron as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 selected from the group of total iron as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 in the range of greater than zero to 0.02 weight percent; total iron as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 in the range of greater than 0.02 weight percent to less than 0.10 weight percent and total iron as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 in the range of 0.10 to 2.00 weight percent; redox ratio in the range of 0.2 to 0.8, and tin and/or fin compounds, e.g. SnO.sub.2 greater than 0.000 to 5.0 weight percent. In one embodiment of the invention, the glass has a fin side and an opposite air side, wherein the tin side of the glass is supported on a molten fin bath during forming of the glass. The tin concentration at the tin side of the glass is greater than, less than, or equal to the fin concentration hi “body portion” of the glass. The “body portion” of the glass extending from the air side of the glass toward the fin side and terminating short of the tin side of the glass.

A glass has a basic soda-lime-silica glass portion, and a colorant portion including total iron as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 selected from the group of total iron as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 in the range of greater than zero to 0.02 weight percent; total iron as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 in the range of greater than 0.02 weight percent to less than 0.10 weight percent and total iron as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 in the range of 0.10 to 2.00 weight percent; redox ratio in the range of 0.2 to 0.8, and tin and/or fin compounds, e.g. SnO.sub.2 greater than 0.000 to 5.0 weight percent. In one embodiment of the invention, the glass has a fin side and an opposite air side, wherein the tin side of the glass is supported on a molten fin bath during forming of the glass. The tin concentration at the tin side of the glass is greater than, less than, or equal to the fin concentration hi “body portion” of the glass. The “body portion” of the glass extending from the air side of the glass toward the fin side and terminating short of the tin side of the glass.

A glass furnace includes a furnace chamber for containing glass melt and a screw conveyor for receiving glass batch material and feeding the glass batch material to the furnace chamber. A dam wall is disposed with respect to the screw conveyor such that batch material from the screw conveyor must flow upward over the dam wall before entering the furnace chamber. The top of the dam wall may be below the level of the melt pool in the furnace chamber.

A melter apparatus includes a floor, a ceiling, and a 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. Melter apparatus include an exit end having a melter exit structure for discharging turbulent molten glass formed by one or more submerged combustion burners, the melter exit structure fluidly and mechanically connecting the melter vessel to a molten glass conditioning channel. The melter exit structure includes a fluid-cooled transition channel configured to form a frozen glass layer or highly viscous glass layer, or combination thereof, on inner surfaces of the fluid-cooled transition channel and thus protect the melter exit structure from mechanical energy imparted from the melter vessel to the melter exit structure.