Importance

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Abstract

In a furnace for melting glass, a preheating zone, a melting zone, a refining zone with a refining bank raised above the rest of the floor and an homogenizing zone, are arranged lengthwise behind one another between the charging end for the glass raw materials and a throat for the molten glass. The furnace chamber formed between two end walls is split up by dividing walls with the exception of flow paths for the glass and waste gases. The melting zone, the refining zone, several burners and the homogenizing zone have a common combustion chamber in the superstructure. A first flow path 'L1' for the glass is defined between the inside face of the first end wall and the vertical center line (E) of the final dividing wall in front of the refining zone, and a second flow path 'L2' is defined in the combustion chamber between the vertical center line (E) and the inside face of the second end wall. The ratio of the length 'L2' to the total length ('L1'+'L2') is chosen to be at least 0.5, preferably at least 0.53. The lengths 'L1' and 'L2' are the horizontal components of the corresponding flow paths. The greater part of the heating energy is supplied to the glass melt in front of the refining bank in the melting zone, and the heating and melting energy for the raw materials is applied from above from the waste gases, and from below solely from the current in the glass melt which extends as far as the charging end. Therefore, the charging end of the melter does not require any electrical heating, at least during continuous operation.

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First Claim