MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 -12:00 noon – 5:00 p.m.
Hilton Downtown Columbus

Preconference Short Courses (separate registration)

Energy Savings Supported by Fast Energy Balance Simulations  

Presenters: Rui Carneiro, Corinne Claireaux, Oscar Verheijen (CelSian)

High energy costs and growing environmental concerns are pushing the industry towards sobriety, energy efficiency, and CO₂ emission reduction. The use of dry, decarbonized, preheated raw materials, an increase in cullet percentage, a maximized pull rate, an optimum combustion stoichiometry, and a reduction of air ingress are some well-known actions which will decrease the energy consumption of a glass melter. However, the quantitative influence of these different options for one specific furnace is generally less known.

The most relevant chemical and physical processes responsible for the energy consumption and the CO₂  emissions of a glass melting tank are presented and quantified. To make the most efficient decisions with respect to energy savings at the full process scale, physical models can be applied. During the course, CelSian’s Energy Balance Model will be used to support decision-making, illustrate and quantify energy savings.

How to Use In-furnace Thermal Imaging to Optimize and Protect Furnace Asset

Presenter: Neil Simpson, Simpson Combustion and Energy

CCTV has been used in furnaces for over 30 years to support furnace operations.  In furnace thermal imaging is a technology which has been commercially available for over 10 years. Today with 2K, HD cameras there are millions of continuously measured temperatures which produce a high definition visual image of the furnace.  Sadly, in the majority of applications operators consider the visual image only and not the relevance of the thermal data.

When analyzing in furnace thermal data it is best to consider not as a view inside the furnace but the output from a Computation Fluid Dynamic [CFD] model.  Were this an output from a CFD model then what changes would you consider to the furnace design?

The first step of adopting any new technology is trust.  How can an operator gain trust in any new technology?  The simplest way to gain trust is to keep it simple.  What is the location of the primary control thermocouple or alternatively where the shift optical pyrometer readings are taken?  Using zoom functions zoom in to identify the thermocouple if in atmosphere or thermocouple block if blind. Highlight as either a single spot or a region of interest. Run for a couple of weeks until each shift has experience and there is confidence that the reading is real. Many B&F managers now use the NIR B to verify their thermocouples and identify when the thermocouple is starting to drift prior to failure!

The primary audience is Batch and Furnace Managers, supervisors and supporting staff in Environmental, Maintenance, Engineers and related Suppliers. By using data files from oxy fuel, regenerative end-fired and cross-fired furnaces will show how the thermal data can be used to potentially increase pull/yield, reduce energy and emissions, with the underlying goal to protect the furnace asset.

Upon completion of the workshop participants should be;

• able to measure thermal profile to confirm hot spot location and deviation from set point
• identify hot/cold spots and refractory damage to protect asset over time
• able use time lapse for batch pile tracking with alarms

• assess potential for yield or through-put improvements
• identify source/locations of parasitic air or over-cooling
• identify regenerator blockages
• able to analyze air fuel flames for combustion optimisation for energy and NOx reduction
• consider camera locations for permanent installations and surveys

Learn more and register here!