Topical problems of glassmaking

Abstract

The problems limiting the process and economic efficiencies of glassmaking are examined. It is shown that high-capacity glassmaking furnaces which are also economically efficient are needed and can be designed and built.Key words: glassmaking furnace, specific capacity, energy efficiency In our opinion, Russia's entry into the WTO could exacerbate crises in the domestic glass industry. One can imagine that the state of this industry will be determined mainly by the dynamics of the development of two interrelated processes.The first process is adverse and fully predictable -glass products become uncompetitive. This is due to a systemic increase in the cost of fuel-energy and materials resources as well as high specific consumption. As a result, in the near future, the payback time of the investment in glassmaking furnaces should exceed the operating time of the furnace and main process equipment between overhauls.The second process is in essence positive. It anticipates a radical reassessment of the process efficiency for glass production. In practice, it is a question of formulating a modern concept for building a glass business based on world economic trends. This concept must be based on a fundamental principle used by leading foreign glass companies: a new production plant can be built or an existing plant rebuilt only on the basis of the highest process efficiency attained in world practice. Such an approach will make it possible to survive a crisis in the industry and preserve the industry as an integral part of the national economy.To concretize we shall analyze the present status and examine the prospects for developing the main (melting) stage of the technological process of container glass production.The overwhelming majority of the glass plants in the industry are equipped with modern competitive process equipment. The effectiveness of this equipment largely depends on the skills of the maintenance personnel and to a lesser extent on the quality of the design. At the same time the operating parameters of a glass furnace are determined mainly by the engineering standard of the design. Naturally, plant specialists must be trained in order to maintain this level. But even the best trained personnel cannot correct design and implementation errors.In world practice, a complex of interrelated parameters is used to evaluate the technical effectiveness of glassmaking furnaces: capacity C f , tons/day; specific heat consumption per 1 kg glass produced q sp , kJ/kg; specific output of molten glass C sp , tons/(m 2 × day); and, total glass production per 1 m 2 of the melting tank area over a furnace run C sp S , tons/m 2[1]. At the same time the parameters C sp S and q sp are sufficient to determine the economic efficiency of the furnace. The first parameter is determined by the expressionwhere F f is the area of the melting tank, m 2 , and R is the furnace run, days.The total output of molten glass per 1 m 2 of the tank surface is the most important initial parameter for calculating the ROI. The quantity C sp S ...