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Some of the major driving forces for consideration of oxy-fuel
technology are pollutant emissions regulations, increased
glass production and yields, fuel efficiency and operational
flexibility. Oxygen technologies reduce or eliminate the introduction
of inert Nitrogen into the furnace improving fuel efficiencies
and production rates. An increasing number of glass manufacturers
are selecting oxy-fuel combustion as a low risk method of
meeting these challenges without increasing overall costs
or affecting product quality. For large glass furnaces the
economics of using oxygen are very attractive, with potential
benefits from quality, production and capital savings leading
to savings of over $4 million per year. At the same time,
advances in oxy-fuel technology eliminate problems known to
occur with conventional systems and offer further improvements
to the glass melting process. Oxygen can also be used to solve
heat exchanger problems, which lead to decreased heat input
or change the energy profile in the middle of a campaign,
for example regenerator collapse.
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