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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Development of a cullet preheater. Final report, March 1987-February 1990

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6006826

A gas-fired cullet preheater, which will benefit glass manufacturers by increasing furnace production and reducing specific NO(x) emissions, has been developed. The technology utilizes a direct-contact heat exchanger in which the cullet particles are heated by the products of combustion. Since the cullet is hot when it enters the furnace, less energy is required to melt the cullet, resulting in additional production capability at the same firing rate. Using 50% cullet preheated to 900 F, furnace production could typically be increased up to 17% over that available using cullet that is not preheated. This increase in production also yields a reduction in the specific NO(x) emissions. With a 50% preheated cullet throughout, a reduction in specific NO(x) emissions of approximately 16% can be expected. The payback of the cullet preheater varies typically from 6 months to 2 years. The report summarizes the installation of a cullet preheater on a production flint glass container furnace. Furnace pull was 270 tons per day, and up to 80 tons per day of cullet were preheated to 500 F and charged to the furnace. Furnace fossil energy use was reduced approximately 10% through the use of preheated cullet.

Research Organization:
TECOGEN, Inc., Waltham, MA (USA)
OSTI ID:
6006826
Report Number(s):
PB-91-136457/XAB; TR--4395-032-90; CNN: GRI-5086-236-1216
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English