Glass International September 2018

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September 2018—Vol.41 No.8

COMPANY PROFILE: HORN CEO INTERVIEW COMPANY PROFILE: BUCHER EMHART GLASS CEO HALL 13/A60 HALL 13/A60

SPECIAL GLASSTEC BUMPER ISSUE I N T E R N A T I O N A L

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

Glass International September 2018

RECKMANN - HALL 13/G63 RECKMANN - HALL

Plug in to electric melting Fives in Glass: Solution Provider & Process Expert

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SEE US AT GLASSTEC BOOTH #D90, HALL 13

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Contents

Editor’s Comment

5

International news

82 Inspection - Marposs

Inspection for labelling area profiles

14 Horn: A flexible furnace maker

84 Swabbing - Novaxion Swabbing robot success

20 Bucher Emhart Glass: Embracing the digital era

87 Furnaces - Fives

Electric melting of container glass

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September 2018—Vol.41 No.8

25 Dr Matthias Lindig, Sorg: Modelling the glass industry

COMPANY PROFILE: HORN CEO INTERVIEW

91 Forming - Pyrotek

Take-out inserts for container forming

COMPANY PROFILE: BUCHER EMHART GLASS CEO HALL 13/A60 HALL 13/A60

SPECIAL GLASSTEC BUMPER ISSUE I N T E R N A T I O N A L

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

30 Bernhard Saftig, Siemens: Glassmakers go digital

Glass International September 2018

35 Furnaces - IPGR A 3GJ melting energy furnace

RECKMANN - HALL 13/G63 RECKMANN - HALL

Plug in to electric melting

1 Furnaces - Gas und Warme 4 Institut

Does biogas help reduce CO2?

13/G63

6 Batch plant - Zippe 4 Thai success for Zippe

Fives in Glass: Solution Provider & Process Expert

SEE US AT GLASSTEC BOOTH #D90, HALL 13

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Front cover image www.fivesgroup.com

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20

Emission Control - LTB International

Filter system reduces emissions at German fibre glassmaker

6 Association profile - BV Glas 5

Overview of the German glass industry 0 Automation - cm.project.ing 6

Flow simulation in the glass industry 4 6

25

48 Industry 4.0 - Heye International

The smart road to Industry 4.0 51

30

Engineering Henry F. Teichmann

An appreciation of Henry F. Teichmann

67 Industry 4.0-Glass Service

Digitising the batch and furnace sector 70 Company profile-Stara Glass An insight into the Prime Glass project

Plus find us on Linked-In and Twitter.

@Glass_Int

www.glass-international.com

76

Inspection - Iris Inspection Machines Smart Inspection with Evolution NEO

93 Furnaces - Praxair NOx reduction technology

98 Furnaces - BDF

Control system for a hollow furnace 101 Company profile: GTS

GTS: A one-stop shop for the industry 108 History 110 Forming - Novaxion Investing in glass gob gathering robots 112 Industry 4.0 - Emetti Industry 4.0 for palletizing 117 Refractory - RHI Refractory solutions for the industry 120 Company profile - AGIS An engineering group for the Mexican glass industry 124 Forming - VPN Instruments Glass container factory uses less air 137 Technical topics: John Henderson - The Return 139 Furnaces - Paneratech Refractory Thickness Sensor expands its scope 143 Inspection - Lumasense Thermal imaging camera system for ‘FurnaceSpection’ 146

Events: Murano Convention Global associations discuss the future of glass at convention in Italy

79 Inspection-Applied Vision

What’s new in container inspection?

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September 2018 Vol.41 No.8

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Editor’s comment

Greg Morris

www.glass-international.com Editor: Greg Morris Tel: +44 (0)1737 855132 Email: gregmorris@quartzltd.com Editorial Assistant: Sheena Adesilu Tel: +44 (0)1737 855154 Email: sheenaadesilu@quartzltd.com Designer: Annie Baker Tel: +44 (0)1737 855130 Email: anniebaker@quartzltd.com

Facing up to a digital future

Sales Director: Ken Clark Tel: +44 (0)1737 855117 Email: kenclark@quartzltd.com Sales Executive: Manuel Martin Quereda Tel: +44 (0)1737 855023 Email: manuelm@quartzltd.com Managing Director: Steve Diprose

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S

eptember. The leaves turn brown and our thoughts begin to turn to winter. It might be the ninth month of the year but it is also traditionally the time of new beginnings.

The children start school after their summer break while in business it is often the time employees contemplate a change in jobs.

The glass industry is no different and this month we have had the launch of O-I’s new digital printing process, O-I Expressions.

It involves the use of a new digital printing machine which enables contactless direct printing.

O-I say Expressions will enable brands to create more personal, customised glass packaging at flexible volume and rapid speeds. The rise of the craft beverage maker - in gin, beer and a variety of other drinks and food bottles - means there is a need for a high level of flexibility among glassmakers.

They have become accustomed to more job changes and smaller runs to accommodate this trend from the craft sector.

O-I Expressions taps into this need and means brands can more quickly and nimbly develop packaging for short campaigns. More importantly, the use of digital printing enables glass to be showcased like never before.

A glance at a variety of bottles that have been digitally printed upon proves this.

The digital theme will no doubt be

prominent at this year’s glasstec, which is only weeks away.

This issue is devoted to the event and includes a focus on Germany and some of the organisations from the nation which will play an important part in the success of the event.

These include some of the larger companies and the association which has played a part in its organisation.

During my discussions with the heads of these companies, the conversation often turned to digital and its future role in glass. The responses were overwhelmingly positive: digital glassmaking would bring glassmaking into the 21st century. It means more efficient, more flexible and importantly, safer glassmaking.

It will enable more communication within a glass factory and allow various equipment in a plant to ‘talk’ to each other. While digital will make glass factories more efficient it also help promote the sector as a high-tech one.

Glassmaking is no longer analogue, or manual, it is digital, and that means the use of AI, Industry 4.0 and state of the art equipment. If this fact is promoted enough it will help young talent join the sector.

That’s something to toast during these longer autumn nights. � Greg Morris, Editor gregmorris@quartzltd.com

Quartz Glass Portfolio ASIA 2019 Monthly journal for the industry worldwide

Directory 2018 Annual international reference source

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Chief Executive Officer: Paul Michael Subscriptions: Elizabeth Barford Tel: +44 (0)1737 855028 Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034 Email: subscriptions@quartzltd.com Published by Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey RH1 1QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1737 855000. Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034.

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Glass International September 2018

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EXPERTS Flexibility SOLUTIONSOptions Reliability INSIGHTS Security VALUE INNOVATION EXPERIENCE SERVICE

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International News

Press Glass to build $43.5 million second plant in the US

Gerresheimer has appointed a CEO. Dietmar Siemssen, 55, will join the company’s management board from November 1, 2018.

Mr Siemssen was CEO of Stabilus between 2011 and July 2018.

“We have gained a seasoned manager with international experience to lead Gerresheimer for some time to come,“said Dr. Axel Herberg, Gerresheimer Chairman.

O-I to expand capacity

expected workforce is to be about 200 people.

The location is a few kilometres away from Stoneville, where Press Glass’s first plant in the US and Press Glass, Inc.’s head office is.

It is expected that the build-

ing work will begin towards the end of 2018.

The plant is estimated to be commissioned at the end of 2019. The investment will be supported by American grants.

Sisecam increases capacity at two Turkish glass packaging plants Sisecam’s glass packaging unit, Anadolu Cam Sanayii, has fired Furnace D in its Eskisehir plant, Turkey (pictured).

The company fired the plant’s fourth furnace on the evening of July 24.

The furnace has a capacity of 150,000 tonnes a year and will increase the plant’s output by 15%.

Sisecam invested $66 million in the new furnace and has increased its glass packaging capacity in Turkey to 1.2 million tonnes.

Gerresheimer CEO

It will also increase capacity at its Mersin plant with an $18.2 million investment.

The plant’s capacity will rise by 80,000 tonnes a year with the opening of a fourth furnace at the site at the end of 2019. Its Turkish capacity will increase to 1.3 million tonnes a year.

Sisecam Group Vice Chairman and

CEO Prof. Ahmet Kırman, said the new furnace investment at the Mersin Glass Packaging Plant was an indicator of the group’s confidence in Turkey’s future.

“Our group has production activities in 13 countries today and realises efforts in the pursuit of sustainable growth.

With this latest investment, we will continue to contribute to the economy and create value for our stakeholders.”

O-I is to expand its production capacity in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.

It will restart the operations of its now inactive plant located in the city of Vitória do Santo Antão and will also add a new production line at its factory in Recife, in 2019.

It said the expansion was as a result of rapidly growing market demands due to an improvement in the Brazilian economy.

The combined actions will add capacity of 65,000 tonnes, or more than 300 million glass containers, to the market.

Qatar plans 200 tonnes per day container plant

Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC) plans to set up the first glass container manufacturing unit in the country at an estimated cost of QR230 million ($63.16 million), said a report.

QIMC has signed an agreement with Germany’s GlassGlobal, a consulting firm specialised in providing technical and advisory services to the glass industry worldwide, in this regard.

The design capacity of the project is 200 tonnes per day.

It will use local sand as the main raw material and will need natural gas to melt sand and other raw materials.

The project has already obtained preliminary approvals and currently work is being done to obtain the final approvals.

www.glass-international.com

US supplier, Press Glass Inc., will build its $43.5 million second plant at the Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre in southern Virginia.

The subsidiary of Press Glass Group has started preparatory works towards obtaining a building permit for the plant.

It will specialise in the production of glass for public and commercial buildings.

The plant will gradually increase its performance and offered range, before eventually providing a full range of products. Once it has been built, the glassworks will have two float glass production lines and a capacity of 2,000 tpd.

The plant will be built on 17.5 hectares at the industrial park at the borders of Virginia and North Carolina. Its

NEWS IN BRIEF

5

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International News

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Thai Malaya Glass starts Saraburi SB5 furnace Thai Malaya Glass has inaugurated the SB5 melting furnace at its Saraburi plant, Thailand.

The furnace will expand the group’s production capacity by 400tpd container glass in emerald green and flint.

Sorg supplied a regenerative gas-heated end-fired furnace, including a control system and all the peripheral equipment for the new production plant.

The furnace is equipped

with a melting booster to increase the melting capacity and flexibility.

The melting plant also comprises two IRD Doghouses and two EMENEND S2 screw chargers.

The four production lines are connected to the furnace via one Sorg STW working end and four Sorg forehearths.

Sorg said: “Once again, Sorg is proud to supply our longtime customer with a highly efficient melting

plant based on the latest Sorg technology.

“We wish Thai Malaya Glass every success with the SB5 furnace.”

Pictured: Participants from Thai Malaya Glass (from left to right): Ms. Nongnuch Payonitikarn, Messrs. Somporn Nasuphan, Boonsak Stitmannaitham, Pattaphong Iamsuro, Vichien Rungwattanakit, Akrapon Aroonrerk, with Sorg’s Mr Harald Zenker.

China’s national planner halts flat glass capacity expansion Authorities have called for efforts to prevent new capacity being added in China’s flat glass and cement industries.

Following efforts to cut capacity, the two sectors have improved their profitability, which prompted certain regions to expand their capacity, according to a notice by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission, Chinese news agency Xin-

hua reported.

The notice bans any approvals of construction projects as the oversupply situation in the two industries remained ‘grim’.

Environmental approvals as well as credit support should also be halted, while projects of capacity replacement should strictly follow local plans, according to the notice.

For years, many industries in China, including steel, flat glass and coal, have been running at over-

capacity.

Related businesses in land supplies, environmental approvals as well as credit support should also be halted, while projects of capacity replacement should strictly follow local plans, according to the notice.

The move is the latest sign of the government’s determination to regulate overcapacity after its efforts to cut capacity in recent years helped support economic growth.

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International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Glaston receives US tempering order

Glaston has received an order for the new CBRC Series flat tempering line to one of the largest window and door manufacturers in the USA. The tempering line will be manufactured in Tampere, Finland and be delivered in December.

“The new machine type continues our strong CBHF machinery tradition providing customers an excellent line for complex production with the highest quality and capacity,” it said.

German to sell luminaires business

Glassmaker Osram has initiated the sale of its Lighting Solutions (LS) in Munich, Germany.

The management board decided to divest its LS business unit to focus on high-growth future markets.

Olaf Berlien, CEO of Osram Licht, said: “Thanks to numerous measures, the earnings position of the LS business unit has stabilised significantly, therefore allowing us to initiate an organised sales process.

“This will result in a more strategic focus with regards to applications with high growth potential.”

www.glass-international.com

Pavisa in France

Mexican container glassmaker Pavisa has set up a French subsidiary.

It said Pavisa France would better address the European market’s needs.

Pavisa has dealt with premium glassmaking for 66 years and is one of only a few global glassmaker’s to use three glassmaking processes: automatic, semi-mechanised and manual.

That allows it to address all the needs of the premium perfume and spirits brands.

The formation of the new subsidiary was decided because the European market is one of the most dynamic market and premium complex projects, which requires proximity with development and purchasing local teams.

Vitro Glass launches jumbo coater at open house in Texas Vitro Architectural Glass introduced its jumbo coater at an open house attended by Vitro executives, customers and employees, and government officials from Wichita Falls and the state of Texas.

The unit was constructed in 14 months and will enable Vitro Glass to produce high performing and low-emissivity (low-e) glasses.

The jumbo MSVD coater applies Solarban solar control low-e coatings on a variety of large-area glass substrates in standard thicknesses while providing precision colour control and aesthetics.

Bill Haley, plant manager, said: “The trend in buildings

today is large, expansive glass – with some panels over 12 feet tall – that is also energy efficient.Vitro can now meet

architects’ demand for low-e glass in sizes as large as 130 x 204 inches.”

La Opala Vice Chairman wins first C K Somany glassmaking award The first C K Somany Award for Innovation and Technology in glassmaking has been given to La Opala Vice Chairman, Sushil Jhunjhunwala.

The jury acknowledged his contribution in technology, manufacturing, innovation, services and education.

Members of the Jhunjhunwala family have been involved in the Indian glass industry for more than eight decades, while Mr. Jhunjhunwala has personally served the sector for 50 years.

Mr. Jhunjhunwala has also served as President of the AIGMF and the Eastern India Glass Manufacturers’ Association (EIGMA).

“To personally be the first winner of the C K Somany Glass Award is extra special for me. Mr. Somany was like my guardian and was such a warm

person.

“He was the Indian glass industry’s figurehead and was always very open to offering technical assistance and advice. He is greatly missed.”

The C K Somany Glass Award was conceived to recognise the exceptional contribution to the Indian glass industry made over many decades

by Mr. Somany of HNG. He passed away in May 2017 having headed India’s principal glass manufacturing group for more than 60 years.

The ceremony took place during the AGM of the All India Glass Manufacturers’ Federation (AIGMF) in Delhi recently.

The AIGMF also awarded Piramal Glass the Balkrishna Gupta Award for its contribution to glass exports.

Mr. Sanjay Jain of Piramal

Glass said: “On behalf of Piramal Glass, we would like to thank the jury of AIGMF for selecting us for the Balkrishna Gupta Award of the year 201718. The award is prestigious and Piramal Glass appreciates AIGMF’s acknowledgement of its performance.”

Raj Kumar Mittal of Mittal Ceramics, Firozabad was also nominated as the new President of the AIGMF.

8 Glass International September 2018

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Top 10 stories in the news

NEWS IN BRIEF

Beatson Clark’s food waste bottle

Beatson Clark has manufactured a smaller bottle for M&S after research found consumers threw too much of the contents away.

The resulting 235ml container is a smaller artisan bottle with a narrower neck.

“Our new dressing bottle looks small but substantial and was designed following extensive testing to make sure it fits into the average fridge door more easily than its predecessor, as well as being easier to pour from,” said Kevin Vyse, Lead Packaging Technologist at M&S.

Forglass completes Trend Glass upgrade

Forglass has completed the modernisation of a batch house at Polish tableware manufacturer Trend Glass’s Szydłowiec site.

Forglass created a 3D model at the proposal stage of the jointly developed reconstruction concept, together with a work schedule.

The scope of work included: the modernisation of the raw material dosing system; a system to transport the batch to the furnace a new cullet management system; and delivery of a new system for process control and visualisation.

www.glass-international.com

Fives appoints Americas Sales Manager

Furnaces and engineering group Fives has appointed a new Sales Manager for the Americas.

Mr. Rémi Pujol will focus on the glass industry in USA, Central and South America.

He will lead business development in the Americas for the Fives Glass division, from its Mexico City office.

Mr. Stephen Sherlock, Sales Director and Mr. Andrew Reynolds, Business Development Director who operate through the Fives Group and Fives Stein Ltd. UK, networks will support Remi’s activities.

Our most popular news over the past month, as determined by our website traffic All full stories can be found on our website, www.glass-international.com/news � 1. Saverglass’s Mexican site produces first bottles � 2. Knauf Insulation to build €120 million Malaysian glass plant � 3. Anchor Glass mixer machine blends material for 38 years � 4. China’s national planner halts flat glass capacity expansion � 5. Glass Service appoints Dr. Manoj Choudhary as senior advisor � 6. La Opala Vice Chairman wins first CK Somany glassmaking award � 7. Vitro Glass launches jumbo coater at open house in Texas � 8. Forglass’ involvement in charitable activities � 9. Energy the theme at SGT annual meeting � 10. Glaston receives US tempering order

Saverglass’s Mexican joy Saverglass’s container making site in Acatlán de Juárez, near Guadalajara, Mexico has produced its first bottles.

The French glassmaker said the new site was built in 327 days and uses advanced glass and decoration technology.

It is the first glassmaking site the company has built in Mexico.

The group said the site was dedicated to the North American market and meets the development needs of its premium and luxury spirits and

wine customers.

The first bottles were produced on June 10, 2018.

The company has its headquarters in Feuquieres, northern France.

Glass Service appoints Dr. Manoj Choudhary as senior advisor Czech company Glass Service has appointed Dr. Manoj Choudhary as Senior Advisor for Strategic Affairs to its Board of Directors.

Dr. Choudhary worked at Owens Corning’s Science and Technology Center in Granville, Ohio, USA, between September 1982 and March 2018 and was a member of its Senior Technical Staff.

He laid the foundations for advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based simulation of several key material

processes at Owens Corning (OC), including glass melting and polymeric foam extrusion.

Besides the ICG, Dr. Choudhary has presided over several professional organisations including the Industry-University Center for Glass Research at Alfred University, the Glass and Optical Materials Division of the American Ceramic Society, and the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council, of which he was also a founder.

He is a member of the Board

of Trustees of the American Ceramic Society and a Specially-appointed Professor of China State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Float Glass.

10 Glass International September 2018

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Strategic Materials closes recycling facility

US recycler Strategic Materials has closed its Franklin, Mass. facility as a result of the shutdown of a nearby Ardagh container glass plant.

Ardagh shut its Milford, Mass. container glass manufacturing facility in March.

The Strategic site had an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes and sourced material from recycling programmes from the region.

Strategic Materials said: “We are working to move the material in Franklin and Rhode Island to other applications and regions.”

Schott success

The German processor, Schröder Spezialglas, plans to use Borofloat speciality glass by Schott for cars.

Ulrich Schuster, CEO at Schröder Spezialglas in Ellerau near Hamburg, said: “We’ve been using this special float glass for over two decades now.

“We’ve used it to produce parts and technical glass that were unrivalled by others.”

The speciality glass also opens up entirely new shapes for holographic head-up displays, which show turns or warnings of obstacles directly on the windshield within the driver’s view and is known as augmented reality.

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Fuchs acquires VDV

The Fuchs group has acquired Belgian glass container supplier VDV Lubricants.

Fuchs said the acquisition brings additional specialist technology for the glass container manufacturing industry and follows its acquisition of Batoyle Freedom Group in 2014.

The VDV lubricant portfolio will form part of the current Fuchs Lubritech glass lubricants range.

It will be incorporated into the Technical Centre of Excellence for glass industry lubricants located at Fuchs in the UK and be managed as part of the Fuchs Lubritech specialist division in the UK.

Anchor Glass mixer machine blends material for 38 years A Rotary Glass Batcher brought on line in 1980 at Anchor Glass Conatiner Corp still mixes the ingredients that produce more than a million glass containers per day.

It is estimated that over the past 38 years it has helped produce 14 trillion containers and 3.6 million tonnes of material.

The 1.4m3 capacity GB-50 Rotary Glass Batcher supports the flint glass line that produces bottles and jars made of clear sodium silicate glass at Anchor’s Elmira, NY facility.

“Glass containers have been manufactured at the location since 1912 when Thatcher Glass Manufacturing operated the factory,” says Michael

Gesek, Engineering Services Manager, who has been with the company for 24 years.

“The location has two furnaces, one for amber glass and one for flint glass,” he explained.

The Rotary Glass Batcher (pictured) was manufactured

by Munson Machinery Company and installed on a new glass production line, and was rebuilt in 2011.

O-I appoints Reckmann as thermocouple supplier Global glass container manufacturer O-I has appointed Reckmann as its majority thermocouple supplier.

Reckmann will supply O-I’s plants in Europe, Asia, Australasia, South and Central America. It will not supply O-I’s plants in North America.

Reckmann was founded in 1970 and has 190 staff at its Hagen, Germany plant.

Its product range includes thermocouples type S,R, B -

also with platinum thimbles, sheathed thermocouple assemblies and resistance thermometers.

Stefan Ribjitzki, General Manager (pictured), said: “We have specialised in the manufacturing of thermocouples for the glass industry (forehearths/feeder/stack/crown) for years and this cooperation is a huge step within our international direction.”

Knauf plans Malaysian plant Knauf Insulation is to build a €120 million plant in Malaysia to meet demand for its mineral wool insulation solutions in the Asia Pacific region.

“We have seen record sales due to increasing energy costs

across Asia and more stringent energy-saving building regulations in countries such as Australia, Japan and Korea,” said Stuart Dunbar, Regional General Manager for the Asia Pacific Region at Knauf Insu-

lation.

The facility will offer customers services and a wider product range for residential and non-residential buildings specifically tailored for the Asian Pacific market.

12 Glass International September 2018

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Company profile: Horn Glass

� It provides a variety of services for the hot end.

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� Horn CEO Mr Stephan Meindl has worked there since 1994.

Horn has just successfully completed the largest project in its history which saw it oversee the completion of a container and float glass complex in Turkmenistan. Greg Morris travelled to the company’s headquarters in Ploessberg to meet its CEO, Stephan Meindl.

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H

orn Glass CEO and Managing Director, Stephan Meindl, is a proud man on the day Glass International visits.

The German engineering company has successfully overseen the largest project in its history, which saw Horn in charge of supplying the technology for a container and a float line all on one site.

Horn was entrusted with the delivery of all the process equipment, the installation, supervision and commissioning of the National Glass Complex in Turkmenistan.

Mr Meindl is quick to acknowledge the role the team at Horn had played in the implementation of the project.

He states: “I am extremely proud of this project.

It was challenging at times but it could only be managed with a team like we have here at Horn.

“I’m more than proud of our people and how they worked together to realise this. People of course work for money but at Horn there is more than that. There is a passion to do the job properly and to fulfil such an operation.”

Turnkey Horn secured the contract with Turkish company TEPE Turkmen Insaat ve Ticaret for the delivery of a complete turnkey production plant for float and container glass. The float glass facility contained a 250t/day furnace and the container site a 50t/day recuperative furnace.

The container site, located 20km outside the city of Ashgabat, was put into operation in October last year.

Mr Meindl states: “It was a nice project for us because we relied on the thing we have done for 130 years, which is furnaces.”

The project was two years in the making, with a one-year delivery time. Horn managed 35 suppliers, arranged to deliver 740 trucks, supplied refractories from elsewhere as well as provided its own equipment from its headquarters in Ploessberg, Bavaria.

As well as delivering the equipment and supervising the installation, the Horn team will remain on site for a year to operate and train local glassmakers. A classroom was set up in

� Mrs Ekaterina Firsova and Mr Ulrich Imhof were recently appointed to leadership positions.

14 Glass International September 2018

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12/09/2018 15:09:27

Company profile: Horn Glass � Horn is based in Ploessberg in northern Bavaria.

Turkmenistan for 20 glassmaking students every week. Delegations from the Turkmen glassmaker were also sent to suppliers around Europe for on the job training and to learn more about glass.

Horn first visited the company eight years ago to pitch the project. It then took time to secure financing and decide upon the appropriate partners and contractors.

“It was hard work!” jokes Mr Meindl. “It is unusual to have a glass facility which makes both container and float glass, but I have to say it is a fantastic complex.”

“Our turnkey division often makes new plants in new countries and there has to be a period to make the decision to run a glass plant, and to take into account things such as budgets, land, organisation and energy availability. It all takes time.”

Turnkey projects tend to be with newcomers to the industry so the evaluation and enquiries take longer. Many of the enquiries are more basic as opposed to technical questions such as those posed by an established glassmaker.

Background Horn is best known as a designer and supplier of melting technology for the global glass industry. It specialises in the area between where the batch is fed in, up to where the glass goes to the IS machine.

The company serves all sectors of the glass industry, including container, float, tableware and technical glass. Less known, is it is also a tin bath furnace supplier. It started this six years ago and can provide a full tin bath from its site, apart from cameras and roof.

Its customer list is a who’s who of glass manufacturers and includes the likes of Vetropack, Verallia, Piramal Glass and Crown Packaging.

The company fabricates its own equipment.

All the highly critical technical parts such as burners, electrodes and batch chargers, are all manufactured in house.

“This is particular to us and makes us very flexible. It is what the customer requests, that sometimes they don’t need a standard product, they need to change something on the product,” states Mr Meindl.

“We are highly flexible because we are the manufacturer of the product itself, we don’t need to contract from the outside and tell the sub supplier to make it differently.

“During a project execution, if something needs to be changed we can go to our workshop and change it, but to go outside takes time.”

Such is its pride in its know how and manufacturing processes, it has not changed its Engineered in Germany slogan in 18 years.

The company considers itself a technology leader and aims to bring the industry forward.

“This is a challenge as we are a medium-size company,” states Mr Meindl. “But emissions and energy consumption have reduced over the past 20 years and I think Horn has played its part in that.

With input from Horn, we feel we have brought an energy consuming industry forward. It used to be 1200 milligrams of NOx per kg of glass, now it is approximately 650 to 700, so it’s an enormous change. But we always want to do more.”

R&D is also an important part of the business.

It moves the company and the industry forward in terms of furnace optimisation and also gives Horn feedback on its daily operations allowing it to compare energy levels and optimise its calculations for customers.

Continued>>

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� The opening of the plant in Turkmenistan.

15 Glass International September 2018

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Company profile: Horn Glass

The company is currently going through a computer upgrade to make internal procedures more rapid and integrated.

Its workshop has a Vision 2025 programme to become more automated.

“Even we as a medium size company see opportunities to be more efficient, to have a fully integrated storage system, to transport things automatically to the machines, maybe building robots. In this regard we feel there is potential and we want to realise this.”

The company employs 300 people in Ploessberg and a further 60 around the world. It has forged links with the likes of Bayreuth University in order to recruit future talent. It also has an apprenticeship scheme and last year took on 13 youngsters who worked across all aspects of the business.

Although Ploessberg is a rural location it is located on the edge of the Bohemian forest and has a history of glassmaking.

The location had the raw materials to make glass and companies such as Pilkington and Schott are based in the vicinity.

This part of Germany has an unemployment rate of just 3.2% and is difficult to attract and retain talent. Despite this, when people are employed by Horn they tend to stay there for a number of years.

About 80% of Horn’s business is international.

Its partner agencies are located throughout Europe, Asia, America, Middle East and Africa - these partners allow Horn to offer its turnkey operation rapidly and reliably.

“These daughter companies are our colleagues

� It manufactures equipment in house.

and we transfer the same know how to them in order to effectively serve the market.”

Its business spread is approximately 50/50 between container and float. Its strongest market is in Europe but it has customers around the world in places as varied as China, India and Mexico, and sees North America as an upcoming market again.

It offers a range of furnaces from a 5t up to a 1000t for a float line.

Its end-fired furnace comprises the largest proportion of its furnaces sold, but it also offers other types such as recuperative and oxy fuelled.

End-fired furnaces are popular because of their energy efficiency. Oxy fuel consumes less energy but the high price of oxygen often curbs interest in them.

Horn is focused on Industry 4.0 and believes that, step-by-step, the furnace will become more automised.

Philosophy Mr Miendl began his career at Horn in 1994.

He worked there while studying as an electrical engineer at university in Munich.

While combining his studies with employment he also developed the Optibeam glass level measuring device, still used by Horn today.

Mr Meindl said: “After completing my studies the old Mr Horn said ‘you will remain with us’, and that’s how I started my career here.

Continued>>

16 Glass International September 2018

Company profile horn.indd 3

12/09/2018 15:09:44

RHI Magnesita

A new global leader RHI Magnesita is the driving force of the refractory industry. Our 14,000 highly-skilled people are dedicated to delivering the best possible solutions for our customers, enhancing not only their operations but also their business performance.

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Company profile: Horn Glass

“I had no chance to ask my conditions, I was given my contract!”

He worked in a variety of departments before being offered a place on the board in 2004 by former executive chairman, Max Sollfrank, who Mr Meindl credits as being hugely influential in his career development.

When Mr Meindl took over as CEO he wanted to continue what had already been created by the board and he didn’t need to change the company philosophy.

In the intervening time, the company has expanded by 100 staff and grown the turnkey business, which has secured larger contracts for the group.

Mr Meindl has also reorganised the company’s leadership and appointed two new leaders of its main business units.

Mr Ulrich Imhof is now in charge of the container and speciality glass business unit, while Ekaterina

� More than 360 people are employed by the company around the world.

Firsova is responsible for the technological glass plant business unit.

Mr Meindl said: “I have worked in many areas of the business and know a lot about the company.

I’m very lucky to have had the opportunity to look everywhere from inside to understand and this benefits me today.

“I really enjoy it here, to me it is not work, it is a hobby. Of course everyone has to work and take care of family and their private life but a lot of people like to work here.

“I’m lucky to be a part of this and to be the head of this team in terms of this philosophy and manner. Out of this we have created what we have created, we have grown our position in the market and are a leading company in the industry.” �

Horn Glass Industries, Ploessberg, Germany www.hornglass.com

18 Glass International September 2018

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The next step in Hot End ­Inspection and Control!

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• gob weight • gob shape • falling angle • gob temperature • inclusions

The BlankWatch camera system uses small infrared cameras at each section to measure and control parameters like:

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The ISWatch camera system inspects every glass product directly after the IS-Machine with one or more infrared cameras.

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Cortex Glass offers a complete Hot End Inspection, Monitoring and Control solution for the container, perfume, cosmetics and tableware glass industry.

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To learn more about our systems contact us at info@cortexglass.com

Visit us at the Hall 14/A04.

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Company profile: Bucher Emhart Glass

Embracing the digital era Bucher Emhart Glass has grown since Martin Jetter took over its leadership 13 years ago. He told Greg Morris how he believes Emhart has set the trend in digital glassmaking.

� Fully integrated glass production with the End to End solutions.

www.glass-international.com

B

ucher Emhart Glass will unveil the latest innovations from its End to End technology roadmap at next month’s glasstec event.

From its stand D33 in Hall 13, the company’s President Martin Jetter, alongside colleagues, will discuss the latest digital technology from the roadmap.

Since 2005, when Mr Jetter took over as Emhart’s President, the forming and inspection specialist has positioned itself as a total solutions provider, which is a substantial transition of the organisation.

He said: “It is a team effort of course: if I look back from when I saw Emhart for the first time, we have strengthened our market position and our technology leadership.

“Our offering is a lot wider than it used to be when we focused mainly on machine building.

Now with the End to End initiative, we believe we have entered a new paradigm.”

Mr Jetter has seen many changes in the past 13 years. Terminology such as Industry 4.0, automation, closed loop and feedback sensors have become more prominent in glassmaking.

He believes Emhart has set the trend with many of the new technologies, primarily as a result of its investments in R&D. It spends between €16-18 million a year on R&D, a figure unmatched by any of its competitors.

Mr Jetter said: “We have played a significant role in adding sensors, increasing pack to melt, stabilising production and increasing flexibility for the glass industry. We invest in R&D not only for our own success, but we also believe we have an obligation to the industry to serve it with solutions to strengthen the position of glass against rival materials.”

� BIS - fully servo controlled IS machine enabling automation solutions.

An industry-wide change has been the growth of consolidation among glassmakers. Manufacturers are larger now than they were years ago, and have swallowed up smaller operations. Larger conglomerates have different requirements to a one or two plant operation. A consolidated industry has both advantages and disadvantages, states Mr Jetter.

“Negotiations used to be very technical with experienced glass experts. Today, there is a whole team of lawyers and commercial people involved and contracts are much more complex. The industry is more investment-driven than it used to be which results in an increase of available capital.

20 Glass International September 2018

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Company profile: Bucher Emhart Glass

BIS-servo controlled forming section, including all smart sensors and safety features enabling closed loop operation for a precise and stable process.

Flexinspect T-in line inspection equipment, powered by SCOUT with the new Laser Vision Check feature.

FlexControlCenter, linking the Forming to the Inspection equipment including full traceability of each container.

Care - the original parts and services keep a machine running 24/7.

Empower - its support functions enable higher plant output.

Academy - from classroom to ‘under glass’ training, the academy makes staff proficient on its equipment.

� Table 1. Emhart highlights on display at glasstec.

� Mr Martin Jetter, Bucher

“On the other side, some investors have a relatively short term focus which is not favourable for the glass industry.”

The industry is more competitive now and glass manufacturers have to be more productive and flexible. They require solutions which match their customers’ needs.

“Flexibility and performance is key. There is a lot of competition in the glass industry and you have to achieve high performance and flexible production methods to be successful. That’s why 12-section and servo quad gob machines are popular, particularly in straightforward applications such as beer production where you need a high performance to be competitive.”

Industry 4.0 is a key driver today to help glassmakers become more efficient and flexible.

The term has become a hot topic in manufacturing in recent years and Mr Jetter states that Emhart offered a form of digital manufacturing as early as 2004 with its FlexIS system.

Its own term for Industry 4.0 is End to End technology. Mr Jetter describes End to End as a complete fully integrated package for the digital era to improve performance, safety and stability through connecting the cold end with the hot end as well as adding hot end sensors. With the help of these sensors a lot of data is collected, consolidated and then displayed in a useful way. The data is even used for automatic process adjustments through specific algorithms and Artificial Intelligence. It also means that plants around the globe can now connect with each other and share best practices on subjects such as maintenance procedures, closed loop operation or productivity improvements..

“End to End started about 12 to 15 years ago but today we are at the point where we have the complete integrated package defined. Not all of it is ready for launch, but we know exactly what we can launch at glasstec, what we will launch in a year, in two years or in five years. It is all pre-defined.

So it is now an integrated package instead of single solutions. We also guarantee to our customers that they can upgrade all future components whenever they are launched, if they buy our machines today.”

Mr Jetter was fascinated by his role in the company and the use of automation, new technologies and ideas. He still enjoys the job today and is involved in all aspects of the company.

“Emhart is a technology and market leader, but in a relatively small industry. Therefore, we are relatively lean and small but we have a huge impact in the industry with our technology.

“Whatever we do has an impact on the industry, the same as a large company in a large industry, but we are still small enough that I can be involved in many aspects of the company.

“I want to be involved in the operations, I want to meet customers, visit our factories and I want to sit in on R&D and board meetings.”

A defining moment in Emhart’s history was the agreement with O-I in 2013 to be its preferred partner for IS machines. The agreement is a success story for both groups.

O-I has access to the latest technological developments and at the same time it can standardise its equipment with joint Emhart/O-I technology at its plants around the globe. This agreement shows a new trend in the industry.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

Emhart Glass President

21 Glass International September 2018

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Company profile: Bucher Emhart Glass

Focus

The traditional model of a glass plant that chooses several suppliers based on price and what is best for the plant appears to be falling out of fashion.

The new type of cooperation is for companies that want a true partnership, a standard and an expert who will help improve its performance in the long run.

“The partnership model is a general trend. We are in a consolidation phase, the players are getting bigger and are interested in consolidated deals and return on investment. As a consequence they are looking into cooperation and special business relationships with us.”

The company’s focus now is to roll out End to End technologies and to continue to set the trend in digital glassmaking. Mr Jetter also thinks that servo controlled machines will be the next trend and become the benchmark in the market. Servo controlled machines are also one of the building blocks for End to End. “I think we will receive more competition in this regard than today but that serves the industry. I believe it is good to have competition to drive the industry, and we do not fear to lose our leading position because of competition.” He is open to collaborate with other industry players as he believes that this will bring benefits to the industry overall.

“The door is open if someone wants to cooperate in certain aspects of End to End with us.”

There have been many successful moments for Emhart since Mr Jetter became President.

But the introduction of automation into glassmaking is the most significant one.

“What makes me personally happy is that we were able to introduce automation into the industry. Initially, there was hardly any automation or sensors but today we have high-tech solutions for the industry.

“My background is automation, therefore I see this as an important step forward.” �

China

Bucher Emhart Glass, Cham, Switzerland www.bucheremhartglass.com

� FlexRadar - sensor to collect production data.

www.glass-international.com

Emhart was in the news recently with the takeover of the Chinese group Shandong Sanjin.

It originally had a 63% stake in the company but formally completed its takeover in March. China is viewed as an important market in the medium to long term and Sanjin will concentrate on that business.

China was in recession a few years ago but is growing again.

In the past, Sanjin would sell four or six section machines but today it is not uncommon to sell a 12-section triple gob piece of equipment.

The previous drop in the market meant that smaller Chinese companies went out of business.

The larger groups left standing have consolidated because, just like in the west, China’s glass sector is fiercely competitive. These companies also have to meet increasing government environment requirements and require larger and faster machines for extra capacity. As a result, they are investing in modern glassmaking equipment.

“So it’s the right time to take over Sanjin 100% and to drive that market, the company and the technology. The first months after the complete take-over have been extremely successful.”

22 Glass International September 2018

Company profile Emhart jette.indd 3

12/09/2018 15:11:41

Frank Markus Project Manager

Vi

sit

Electronic / Float Technology

u Ha s a ll t G 13 LA , B SS 33 TE

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Be it a new plant or innovative solutions to help optimize the ecological and economic performance of your plant, HORN delivers.

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Together with the Sorg Group we are able to meet your needs, from raw material delivery up to the forming process from one source.

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Glass is our Passion

Personality profile: Dr Matthias Lindig

Modelling the glass industry As Sorg’s R&D manager, Dr Matthias Lindig is known for his use of computer modelling in the glass industry. His precise calculations can help a plant become more efficient. But less well known is the glassmaking furnace he has in his garden. Greg Morris visited his home to discuss a life in glass.

Father His association with glass began at a young age.

His father, Otto, was head of the laboratory at local glassmaker Schott. Every evening he would return home with the waft of the glass lab on him.

The strong, terrible, smell was of a liquid that glass was placed in to help with tests.

Otto would regularly take his son, then aged six or seven, to the plant in Mainz and show him the production line and inspect any defects.

“I had no knowledge about glass at the time but he took me into the environment where glass was produced and showed me how it was made. I thought it was an attractive environment.”

Continued>>

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DR

Matthias Lindig has spent a lifetime devoted to glass. From a young age he has worked with glass, lectured about glass and in his spare time, made glass.

In his day job he has a fulfilling and enjoyable role as Sorg’s R&D manager. His job involves using computer modelling to calculate how furnaces can be made ever-more efficient. But after work - at evenings and weekends - he is just as happy to make handmade glass from his own furnace he had installed in his garden more than 30 years ago.

“Glass is my hobby. While other people go into their living rooms and watch television, I like to go to my furnace and make glass,” he states.

25 Glass International September 2018

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Personality profile: Dr Matthias Lindig

Otto worked for Schott between 1952 and 1987. When Matthias was deciding upon which University to attend, he turned to his father for advice.

Matthias studied Glass, Ceramic and Bonding Materials at the Clausthal technical university and received his PHD in 1985. He joined Schott in Mainz the same year.

www.glass-international.com

Schott Dr Lindig worked for Schott for 16 years and was responsible for its TV glass melting department.

His role included gaining experience in furnace operation and defect analysis.

“We worried every day, including weekends, about glass defects, process stability and furnace aging.

“TV glass production was a pioneer in many aspects such as new refractory applications such as high zircon or oxy fuel firing.”

In those days there was an active exchange of experience between competitors such as Philips, Corning, Thomson and Asahi Glass. These discussions addressed issues such as defect sources, refractory corrosion and glass composition.

In 2001 he was headhunted by Sorg, based on the recommendation of its R&D manager Helmut Pieper, who was about to retire. Mr Pieper had met Mr Lindig at several conferences and was impressed by his knowledge.

Despite initial nervousness about taking the role and working for a supplier rather than a glassmaker, Mr Lindig was proud to have been offered such a post.

“It was very kind of Sorg to ask me and, yes, I did feel very proud that a company such as Sorg had noticed me,” he states.

something you learn

Sorg

with experience.

He has worked for the company for 17 years and still enjoys it.

“I always feel deeply involved in customer projects. I can give my contributions to new projects. I experience success or failure directly with my colleagues. Thankfully the successes far outnumber and outweigh any failures!”

He had been aware of computer modelling when he joined Sorg but was introduced to new software from the Czech Republic’s Glass Service shortly after he joined.

The software was easy to use, more powerful and creative. It was something that Dr Lindig quickly became familiar with.

“I am a great proponent of modelling. I discovered it is more or less a craft and I became very involved in it. I did it at night-time, weekends and on vacations. On my recent holiday for example I did three summaries for huge calculations for three projects.”

Furnace modelling can bring about efficiency improvements, which in turn can help lead to savings in operating costs.

“I enjoy making glass. I am very familiar with it. It has to be handled in the right way at the right moment and is

”

“My objective is always to find a base for dimensioning. CFD modelling has become a very strong tool in this context. But in some areas we also need very basic approaches, calculations and studying references. This is what I always enjoy.

Trying to give a prediction for something based on my own simplified model which is reliable within limits.”

Dr Lindig lives in Ingelheim, about 140km from Sorg’s office in Lohr. He often works from home and does a lot of modelling from his own office.

“CFD calculation projects need a results evaluation at the end. Due to the continuously high number of projects I run in parallel there are always two or three reports outstanding. Customers frequently ask for a pre-project, which means calculation and validation with CFD modelling for the different furnace design solutions.”

Pride One of his proudest moments at Sorg has been the design and build of a new prototype batch preheater in 2011 and 2012.

“We tested different technologies in order to manage the well-known caking problem which occurs in the heat exchanger caused by the batch moisture.

“We invented a solution. The heat exchanger was engineered within a short time and constructed at the customer’s site. It was a success.”

He has seen many changes in his career and anticipates that energy costs and costs for CO2 emission allowances will be the drivers for change in the next five to 10 years.

“The manufacturers might ask in the near future for more flexibility of their production lines. They might establish their own energy management Continued>>

26 Glass International September 2018

Company profile sorg.indd 2

12/09/2018 15:12:27

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Personality profile: Dr Matthias Lindig

trying to run the production lines with the cheapest energy mix.

“This will require melting furnaces which are flexible regarding the mix of fossil energy and electric energy. This is an issue we have been investigating for some time and we think that we can offer valuable solutions in the near future.”

He believes emissions are one of the largest challenges facing the industry.

“Tighter emission regulations require more efficient flue gas cleaning systems and emission allowances will become scarce. The complimentary emission allowance will be continuously shortened and we can be sure that the governments in European countries will try to raise the cost for the emission allowances.

“Glassmaking will become more expensive.

The added costs can only be compensated with higher productivity. So more tonnes of glass per m2 melter surface. Energy efficiency also needs to be improved.”

Sorg will unveil new technology at this year’s glasstec such as a recently developed burner holder, which should make the operation easier.

It will also highlight its feeder system 340S+. The objective of the new design is the simplification of the superstructure assembly, more efficient indirect cooling and heating conditions.

Personal life Dr Lindig met his wife, Ingrid, in 1979 and they were married within three months. “As soon as I met her, I just knew,” states Dr Lindig.

Mrs Lindig also has a glass background. She was Dean for 12 years at the Institute for Art in Glass and Ceramics at the University of Koblenz. She studied Art Glass in Madison, Wisconsin, USA and

“I always feel deeply involved in customer projects.

I can give my contributions to new projects. I experience success or failure directly with my colleagues.

Thankfully the successes far outnumber and outweigh any failures!

”

set up her own hot shop supported by the glass manufacturer Süssmuth when she returned to Germany in 1979. She also established the first art glass chair in Germany in 2001.

She taught Dr Lindig how to blow handmade glass and in 1985 the couple moved to Ingelheim, where they set up a glass art studio. Dr Lindig then enlisted his colleagues at Schott to build a 200kg per day endport furnace.

It cost 7000 Deutsche Marks and has been in constant use since its installation in 1987.

“Schott had never made a furnace like it,” states Dr Lindig. “It was a unique furnace and I always said how I wanted it to look like. But they were used to me and knew I did things differently.”

The day tank is charged with cullet, which is kept in a five tonne cullet box in his back garden.

As well as making simple glass compositions, the furnace also helps heat the building.

Such is its popularity that overseas delegations on trips to Sorg will often pop in to watch a glass blowing demonstration from Dr Lindig.

“I enjoy making glass. I am very familiar with it. It has to be handled in the right way at the right moment and is something you learn with experience.”

The couple make sculptures and glass tableware to be sold at art and craft events.

Dr Lindig can retire next year but plans to continue to work from home for Sorg.

He laughs: “With my glass furnace and my work for Sorg, it will be a very busy retirement!” �

Sorg, Lohr am Main, Germany www.sorg.de Sorg is exhibiting at glasstec at Hall 15, B39

28 Glass International September 2018

Company profile sorg.indd 3

12/09/2018 15:12:28

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Company interview: Siemens Glass

Glassmakers go digital Bernhard Saftig, head of glass at Siemens, discusses the digital transformation taking place in the glass manufacturing industry.

Digitalisation has gained tremendous traction in the glass industry. What do you think will be the strategic pillars for the digital company of the future?

I’ve been talking a great deal with customers over the past few months, and one thing has become clear: software tools alone aren’t going to bring you success. Instead, there are six strategic pillars that will support the digital enterprise of the future.

� Roland Jenning (l.) and Werner Ohnesorg, Sales Engineer at Siemens, have joined up with colleagues to optimise a 3-axis fast stacker using virtual techniques.

� Bernhard Saftig, head of Vertical

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Glass at Siemens

“Today we’re looking at yet another one of these important milestones, digitalisation. It’s been fulfilling for me to work on the latest issues with dedicated employees and decision-makers in the glass industry, and to set off on new paths together.

”

And what are they?

First, a broad entrepreneurial perspective. The players in the glass industry need to develop a sense of the topics that will shape the competitive environment in the industry over the next five to ten years. Each company’s individual digitalisation strategy will need to be drafted by those on the CxO level, and they will need to lead the way in putting it into practice. And that’s closely associated with decision-makers’ knack for investment. By that, I mean a willingness to include future investments, strategically and selectively, in planning for the future today, and then to carry those plans out.

That’s not something to be taken for granted.

What other issues are involved?

There’s the matter of skill. As I see it, companies should develop teams of experts who have a mastery of the tools of the glass trade, and who can stand up enthusiastically to the challenges that digitalisation poses. That’s partially a question of personalities. You need to find – and retain – employees who have a personal soft spot for industrial digitalisation that keeps them motivated to help shape the company’s future in that way. One thing is clear – transformation processes always challenge employees to go the proverbial extra mile.

Isn’t the digital transformation much more a question of culture?

It is, but not just that. First it’s about showing esteem for employees and their courage and commitment in coping with questions of the digital future. In that regard it’s important to build

30 Glass International September 2018

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Company interview: Siemens Glass

a sense of an exciting new start throughout all levels of the hierarchy. If everybody’s pulling in the same direction and mistakes are allowed, in keeping with the trial and error principle, that’s when the digital transformation can be a success.

Siemens-specific, product-neutral, customeroriented approach is a priority. So in the kick-off workshop, the goal is to listen carefully to the individual issues troubling each company.

What are its challenges? What are its business objectives? Taking that as a basis, the Siemens experts analyse the internal processes, the IT and operational technology (OT) infrastructure of plants and machines, and the level of automation, and use that information to identify potential for improvement.

Can companies manage all those tasks by themselves?

It makes sense to recruit a partner at an early stage. The best ones will be experienced guides and consulting teams who can draw on interdisciplinary knowledge.

They combine their knowledge of glass and a range of other industries – from raw materials to the finished product – with expertise that ranges from the field and automation levels to the process control and corporate management levels and their specific IT requirements. They also offer indepth knowledge of lifecycle integration on both the product and system levels.

What do you derive from those findings?

The team then creates a digitalisation road map from them. It has customer-specific, prioritised activities for the coming years and includes a timetable and information on technical feasibility.

For instance, one of the priorities might be to make sure automation has been developed to a level where it can meet all requirements for further networking and virtualisation. To give the company a clear view from the start, the road map also includes investment and ROI calculations. Then the transformation process can be implemented either by the company itself or with the help of partners.

How would Siemens proceed as a partner, specifically?

It would start with a digitalisation consulting project. That means workshops conducted according to a clear, time-tested principle. The customer-specific teams don’t provide boilerplate recipes. Instead, they work out what ingredients are needed, and in what amounts, to satisfy each specific entrepreneurial situation.

The Siemens experts contribute the ‘culinary technique’ – including workshop methods and tools that have proved their worth in pioneering industries, along with the interdisciplinary knowledge of their team.

� Slovenian packaging glassmaker Steklarna Hrastnik worked with Siemens to develop a digital strategy that includes a digitalisation roadmap.

Continued>>

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What content do you start with?

Siemens believes that you get the most sustained and positive impact out of digitalisation by taking a comprehensive approach. That starts with a complete analysis that makes sure subsequent solutions will be optimally adapted to a given company’s specific needs and scope. A non-

Have you already recruited glass customers for a digitalisation consultation?

The glassmakers that have already had a full consultation cycle includes Steklarna Hrastnik in Slovenia. It manufactures technically highly demanding glass products from one of the clearest types of glass in the world, and applies its expertise in making products, from tableware to packaging glass. Steklarna Hrastnik and Siemens developed a customised strategy for the company’s digital transformation over the next five years. That’s expected to enable the company to improve its niche position in the high-end segment.

The company’s management is convinced that

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Company interview: Siemens Glass

the air side and immediately place them vertically on a glass rack – and it does it fast, at up to 20 times per minute, which is about a 30% higher stacking rate than the previous technology. That makes this the highest-performance stacker in its class on the market. It’s based on a new servomotor-driven swing-arm stacker design with two synchronously operated articulated arms and a pivotable suction frame at the front end.

The new approach placed higher demands on motion control and collision detection than classic stackers. Also, to get a handle on potential kinematic singularities similar to those of an articulated-arm robot, Grenzebach decided to build a digital twin first. What they built was a virtual mechatronic model of the stacker that could be simulated and optimised in detail on a PC. Specialists from Siemens contributed a mathematical model for Simotion.

the digitalisation roadmap will help them increase production capacity, shorten production times, enhance flexibility and thus improve response times for individual customer wishes.

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Are there also examples from glass production, refinement and processing?

Frerichs Glas is one of a few family firms of its size to have developed a strategic plan for the digital transformation – and laid the groundwork to make that plan a reality. The Verden-based company has more than 200 employees at two locations and is one of Northern Germany’s specialists in finishing plate glass and plastics. And here we could see that Siemens also talks the language of small and medium-sized businesses.

What adjustment points should you generally work on in the glass industry when you switch from the consulting phase to implementation?

It varies from customer to customer. But we do make it possible to implement specific solutions based on electrification, automation and digitalisation. These are integrated solutions that include everything – engineering, construction and commissioning, the operating phase and even services. And they cover the entire life cycle of the equipment, whether it’s an existing facility or a new one.

� Frerichs Glas is one of a few family firms of its size to develop a strategic plan for the digital transformation.

� Digitalisation is transforming the glassmaking roadmap.

What digitalisation potential remains to be tapped in the operating phase of a glass production plant?

An integrated digitalisation solution that includes hardware, software and services makes it possible to record, process and intelligently utilise the huge quantity of data generated during production. The most important prerequisites are the systematic recording of process, plant, and machine data and the integration of data from a variety of levels, from the field to management.

Thanks to simple communication between the Simatic PCS 7 process control system and the Comos MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) software solution, maintenance and repair work can be performed faster, which also improves plant availability.

On the corporate management level, the XHQ Operations Intelligence dashboard solution is a valuable application for the operating phase.

It supplies system-wide data and KPIs in real time, individually adapted to the customer. It

Have you already been able to recruit other customers?

Grenzebach and Siemens are on the same wavelength when it comes to many areas relating to digitalisation, and they continually apply their expertise synergistically to come up with solutions. That was the case with the development of the new tin-air speed stacker for stacking all types of glass sheet. It will be introduced at glasstec 2018. Unlike existing solutions, this 3-axis fast stacker can pick up glass sheets on the tin side or

32 Glass International September 2018

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Is maintenance supposed to be done more on a predictive basis today?

Because glass production plants often operate under extreme conditions, preventive measures are essential.

So it’s a good idea to subject production processes to a meticulous inspection well in advance, even when critical processes are still running reliably. Siemens’ strengths lie in proactive services that keep plant availability high. For example, older drive technologies used in the plant can be proactively identified and replaced with up-to-date drive solutions. An example from the hot end: It’s essential here that the furnace charge runs smoothly.

Which can result in relatively high maintenance expenditures over many years – especially when spare parts can be more difficult to procure. That’s the moment to act, and none too soon!

For example, as part of a retrofit project for a major glass manufacturer, Siemens was commissioned to replace, commission and test a large number of electric drives and their associated safety systems as a preventive measure. The project also included reprogramming the control system to adapt to newer communication standards.

What apps are useful for glass production and also in initial and follow-up processing?

I can readily name some examples. In the process industries, some 50% of all control circuits are still not operating at the optimum settings. Control Performance Analytics (CPA) can help.

This cloud-based service can apply algorithms to automatically analyse data from the process, so the user gets suggestions on things like how to set the control circuit parameters – for example, in order to improve process stability.

Another example of an app is Process Event Analytics.

This involves efficiently optimising the alarm system. Or take the matter of overall plant effectiveness.

The OEE app displays and visualises overall equipment effectiveness – as a product of availability times performance times quality – on desktop PCs and mobile terminals.

What keeps you interested in working in the glass industry?

I’ve been working for Siemens in the glass industry for 30 years now – and that has included both engineering and sales, as well as other way stations.

At this point I’ve had worldwide responsibility for the glass industry at Siemens for exactly 20 years.

For all this time I’ve been fascinated that the glass industry can be such a traditional industry with such a long history – and yet this long tradition is completely tied in with modern practices. Today we’re looking at yet another one of these important milestones, digitalisation.

It’s been fulfilling for me to work on the latest issues with dedicated employees and decision-makers in the glass industry, and to set off on new paths together. �

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33 Glass International September 2018

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Furnaces

A 3GJ Melting Energy Consumption Container Furnace The IPGR’s Prof. Christian Roos and Fatih M. Güclü discuss recent research that has focused on achieving the most efficient furnace energy consumption.

14 13 12 11 10

Energy consumption melting in GJ per net ton glass

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1940

3 GJ melting concept

100% BATCH LIMIT

THERMODYNAMIC LIMITS

100% CULLET LIMIT

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

Year

� Fig1. Evaluation of energy consumption of container glass furnace over the years (Celsian Glass&Solar database).

Installation

Cullet Melting

Batch Charging

Batch Melting

ø= 757mm

ø= 757mm

ø= 757mm

ø= 757mm

h = 2000mm

Today’s container glass industry requires energy efficient, faster batch to melt conversion and environmentally friendly glass melting technology.

All these needs are related to the melting furnace itself where the chemical reactions, sand dissolution and removal of bubbles takes place.

For this reason, IPGR focused on the whole melting process under the title of the Glass 3 GJ project, meaning an energy consumption of 3GJ per ton of molten glass at a cullet rate of 50%.

The Glass 3GJ project not only concentrated on increasing the performance of current industrial furnaces but also on melting concepts that can be enlarged to industrial scale.

The main driver is the reduction of CO2 within the scope of new environmental regulations, e.g batch to melt conversion, regenerator simulation and changing the melting kinetics by the help of double carbonate formation have been studied in detail in the scope of the project.

End-fired regenerative furnaces are widely used for container glass production with an energy consumption of around 4 GJ.

BEST PRACTICAL LIMITS WITHOUT HEAT LOSSES

Rising T 1200°C

1200°C

Fireclay crucible (melting compartment)

1400°C

1200°C

1200°C

Computational domain

�Fig 2. Experimental laboratory scale melting furnace for 1D batch modeling studies [RWTH University – Institute of Mineral Engineering].

Continued>>

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T

he IPGR specialises in Research and Development projects for the glass container production process.

Its technical committee is led by Dr. Dominik Orzol. This committee works on projects for production optimisation.

The furnace committee deals with projects on glass melting and, from July 1 this year, Mr. Fatih Mehmet Güclü became responsible for this committee.

35 Glass International September 2018

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Environment Furnaces

START

soda

qtz.

880°C

1090°C

1375°C

lime 1mm

� Fig 3. Photographs taken from hot stage microscopy showing the melting behaviour of Na2CO3 – SiO2 and limestone (CaCO3) under air atmosphere [RWTH

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University – Institute of Mineral Engineering].

Fig 1 illustrates the progress of the energy consumption reduction of a container glass furnace.

The orange bar shows the best practical limits without wall heat losses and the red bar shows the range of theoretical thermodynamic limits of heating and melting of glass at 1350°C for 100% batch (upper limit) and 100% cullet (lower limit).

Compared to the 1990s, and depending on the technological improvements, container glass furnaces have become more energy efficient.

The Glass 3 GJ concept is close to the best practice furnace energy consumption and the steps to be taken are not far away from the theoretical thermodynamic limit.

So ‘3GJ’ energy consumption is extremely challenging and needs a revolutionary furnace design concept.

In conventional glass melting furnaces, the heat or energy transfer to the batch for melting-in of raw materials partly takes place by direct heat radiation from the combustion space (flames, crown and combustion gases) to the top surface of the batch and partly by convection from the molten glass flowing underneath the batch isles or blanket.

The batch melting times in laboratory furnaces are rarely comparable with the batch melting time of industrial furnaces.

The refining time of industrial furnaces are longer than laboratory furnaces.

In industrial furnaces an increasing temperature gradient is eventually formed from the port side wall to the hot spot that results in density differences and creates a strong recirculation flow, bringing hot melt (from hot spot areas) to the batch melting zone in the glass furnace.

This recirculation flow always mixes the fresh glass melt containing bubbles with the bubble-free hot glass melt.

It is understood that this recirculation flow, important for heat transfer to batch from molten glass, will increase the ratio

Firing side

Exhaust side

Temperature [°C] 1600 1450 1300 1150 1000 850

Regenerator packing modeled as porous zone in the model

700 550 400 250 100

� Fig 4. Regenerator slice showing the base case temperature distribution [Glass Service].

of the average residence time versus the minimum residence time (wide residence time distribution) and decreases space utilisation for sand dissolution and fining, which is unfavourable for energy efficiency and increases required furnace sizes. IPGR has focused on this phenomenon and, together with Celsian Glass&Solar, a batch heating model is studied which gives the percentage share of the heat transfer from the combustion atmosphere and heat transfer from molten glass to batch.

Fig 2 shows the laboratory scale furnace set up and steps of experiments conducted.

The radiative heat flux from combustion chamber and convective heat transfer from molten glass is calculated depending on the temperature change of the batch.

Industrial furnace modeling is also made according to the information gathered from laboratory scale experiments and is validated in production furnaces.

The relation between recirculation flow, batch blanket coverage and molten

glass temperature can be set after this study. This study also gives clues of best performance furnace operation depending on changing the cullet ratio and glass colour.

The thermodynamic limit will be constant as soon as same batch constituents are used but these ingredients can be organised in a way to establish a faster meting glass batch, which means changing the kinetics of the reactions.

Batch melting performance experiments reveal that there is a strong reaction affinity between soda (Na2CO3) and silica (SiO2), which takes place in the glass melting process today (Fig 3). Carbonate route preference aims to change the kinetics of the glass melting process and will accelerate the batch to melt conversion.

This results in a rapid batch to melt conversion that will yield lower energy costs and increased furnace capacity.

Continued>>

36 0 Glass International September 2018

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Furnaces

End port fired regenerative furnaces use air as a fuel oxidizer and the air temperature should be increased close to the operating temperature of the furnace.

Regenerators are basically heat exchangers of glass melting furnaces and with inversion optimised heat transfer of regenerator packing material to combustion air or flue gases are maintained.

With a regenerator modelling study, together with Glass Service, IPGR aims to standardise the regenerator chamber geometry and the composition of combustion air.

As the dimensions of a regenerator have an economical limit in terms of investment cost, deeper or higher regenerators have less effect than expected according to model studies.

Work is also concentrated on the change of the heat capacity of combustion air.

Theoretically, regenerator efficiency can be up to 76% and after these studies values close to that efficiency can be achieved by changing the heat capacity of the combustion air.

Fig 4 shows the base case of the modeling of a regenerative furnace in operation.

After the Paris Agreement (Accord de Paris, 2015), the European Union targets 43% greenhouse gas emission reductions below the value of 2005 by 2030.

This includes facilities producing glass. This means that the industry should take considerable precautions to reduce CO2 emissions.

IPGR is also working on CO2 free melting concepts and searching for alternative glass melting technologies for the container glass sector.

The main research is on electrical melting but alternative hybrid solutions are also taken into consideration.

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To summarise, IPGR is actively working on the future challenges for the glass industry by focusing on: � Reduction of melting energy below 3GJ in conventional container glass furnaces by: � Changing the batch constituents to achieve faster melting kinetics, � Understanding the beneficial use of recirculation flow, � Optimising the regenerator dimensions and combustion gas composition. � CO2 free melting concepts and getting prepared for the environmental rules by 2030.

The International Partners in Glass Research (IPGR) is an independent research association of which its member companies represent a total production capacity of about 12% of international container glass production.

IPGR uses the coalescence of its member companies to research and develop from laboratory scale to industrial trials and shares the information and results of these studies within member companies.

This collaboration brings synergy and new ideas inside IPGR to solve future tasks. �

Waltec Maschinen GmbH Kronacher Straße 2a 96352 Wilhelmsthal / Steinberg Germany

*General Manager, ** Project Manager, IPGR, Aachen, Germany www.ipgr.com Glass International September 2018

IPGR.indd 3

Phone +49 9260 9901-0 Fax +49 9260 9901-99 E-Mail info@waltec.de www.waltec.de

12/09/2018 15:14:53

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Energy and environment

Does biogas co-firing in glass melting reduce CO2 emissions?

Jörg Leicher*, Anne Giese*, Klaus Görner,* and Bernhard Fleischmann** investigate the use of biogas firing in glass furnaces and report the results of a trial at Verallia’s Bad Wurzach plant in Germany.

C

Thermocouple type B Thermocouple type K Probe device Lambda sensor Flue gas probe head

Fig 1. Mobile combustion test rig at a biogas plant (left hand side) and sample insertion into the furnace (right hand side)

i.e. to replace gas-fired heating with electric heating systems. Huge strides have been made to make this technology more attractive [4], [5]. From a CO2 perspective, electric heating only makes sense if the electricity is actually produced by ‘green’ technologies such as solar panels or wind turbines.

While the share of ‘green’ electricity is on the rise in Germany, the majority of power is still produced by conventional power plants, based on coal, natural gas or nuclear power.

Similar situations can be found all around the globe. So switching from gas-fired heating to electrical heating would not necessarily reduce overall CO2 emissions, but could simply shift them from the furnace to the power plant.

In essence, the highly efficient and clean combustion of natural gas inside the furnace would be replaced by the far less efficient and clean combustion of coal in the power plant.

There are also technological challenges in designing high-pull fully electric furnaces, and finally, electricity is much more expensive than natural gas.

The third option would be to substitute natural gas with a CO2-neutral fuel such as biogas, either completely or at least partially. Biogas is considered to be CO2neutral as the plants which provide the feedstock remove CO2 from the atmosphere when they grow.

Thus, the net CO2 emissions of biogas combustion are zero.

This switch from a fossil to a regenerative fuel would be less disruptive to manufacturing processes than a complete system change from gas-fired to electric heating.

There are questions though: how does biogas affect process performance in terms of efficiency or pollutant emissions such as NOX? Do trace components in the biogas affect refractory materials and thus furnace lifetime?

Most importantly, is there any influence on glass quality?

Biogas and Glass Melting It is important in the context of this article to distinguish between biogas and Continued>>

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limate change has been identified as one of the major challenges of today and the future, with anthropogenic CO2 emissions being one of the driving forces for a global rise in temperatures.

Man-made CO2 emissions are closely related to the use of fossil energy sources such as coal, oil and natural gas across all sectors, from power generation to domestic heating and industrial manufacturing processes.

The fact that energy consumption is set to increase globally exacerbates the issue.

CO2 emissions are also a challenge for the glass industry with its energy-intensive manufacturing processes.

There is an increased pressure to reduce the industry’s CO2 footprint, both from authorities and customers [1].

About 70 - 80% of the end energy used in the German glass industry is provided by natural gas. At the same time, the glass industry accounts for about 2% of total national gas consumption.

The melting furnaces are particularly relevant here since they are responsible for the highest fuel consumption in the manufacturing process. In principle, there are several options to reduce CO2 emissions from the melting process: The first way is to increase the efficiency of the melting furnace, and thus reduce fuel consumption and hence CO2 emissions.

This is the traditional approach, and the glass industry has been successful at this in recent decades [2], [3].

There are economical and physical limits, however, as efficiency cannot be increased indefinitely.

The second option is to go ‘all-electric’,

41 Glass International September 2018

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Environment Energy and environment

Temperature [°C]

100% natural gas Section A

70% natural gas 30% biogas, by energy 100% biogas

2000 1800

50% biogas

1600

30% biogas

1400 1200

20% biogas

1000 800

10% biogas

600 400 220 25

Natural gas 0

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 mass flog CO2/mass flow CO2 for natural gas combustion [%]

CO2 from natural gas combustion

CO2 from biogas combustion

200

inert CO2 from biogas

Fig 2. Temperature distributions in the horizontal burner plane of the furnace for the reference case with natural gas (left hand side) and a case where 30%

Fig 3.Theoretical impact of biogas admixture on CO2 emissions for a typical

of the energy input was provided by biogas (right hand side).

furnace.

100 90 80 70 60

Fig 4. Theoretical

50

reduction of fossil

40

CO2 emissions and

30 20

process efficiency

10

for different biogas

Natural gas

10% biogas

20% biogas

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Reduction of “fossil” CO2 [%]

30% biogas 30% biogas 100% biogas

admixture rates

Efficiency [%]

biomethane. Biogas is a combustible gas produced by fermenting biomass.

This biomass may be energy crops such as corn, specifically grown to serve as biomass feedstock, or it may be biowaste.

Depending on the feedstock, the biogas composition may vary, but typical biogases contain 50-70 vol.-% methane.

The rest is mostly CO2, and often low concentrations of O2 and N2.

Trace components of species such as siloxanes, ammonia or H2S as well as alkaline and earth alkaline salts may be found. The calorific values of these biogases usually range between 20 to 30 MJ/m3 (@ 25°C/0°C).

Biogas is usually roughly de-sulphurised before it is put to further use.

Biomethane is biogas that has been upgraded to natural gas quality to be injected into the natural gas grid, i.e. the CO2 content has been removed and possibly LPG added to adjust the calorific value or Wobbe Index of the biomethane to local gas qualities in the grid.

This means that, from the point of view of combustion, biomethane behaves almost exactly as natural gas.

However, the upgrading of ‘raw’ biogas to biomethane requires electricity

and thus, may incur a CO2 penalty [6], depending on how this electricity was produced.

This penalty could be avoided if biogas is used directly for process heating, further improving the overall CO2 footprint of biogas use.

We will therefore focus on the direct use of ‘raw’, roughly de-sulphurised biogas in this article.

In principle, the impact of switching from natural gas to biogas can be divided into two major categories: on the one hand, there are the effects related to main fuel gas quality criteria such as densities, calorific values or Wobbe Indices.

They will affect flow fields, mixing, combustion, heat transfer and pollutant formation within the furnace, and also have an effect on overall efficiency.

The second category encompasses effects due to trace components in the biogas which will not directly interfere with the combustion processes but may have an impact on refractory material, pollutant formation or glass quality.

Within the framework of a previous, publicly funded research project called BiogasGlas I a mobile burner test rig was transported to a German biogas plant

and used to investigate the impact of biogas combustion on glass quality and refractory materials.

The test furnace was connected to the biogas plant (Fig 1, left hand side) and samples of glass batch and various refractories were introduced into the furnace space (cf. Fig 1, right hand side).

In this manner, the effects of the use of ‘raw’ biogas on the samples could be analysed.

It was found that no negative impact on glass quality or the material properties of the refractories could be detected, though some process parameters such as melting times had to be adapted due to the different combustion behaviour and temperature levels of biogas compared to natural gas.

Additional investigations at GWI’s semi-industrial burner test rig as well as CFD simulations showed that a co-firing approach of biogas and natural gas is the most promising way to quickly introduce biogas into the glass industry [7].

Burners should be modified to take the different fuel properties and mass flows into account, in order to minimise the impact of the fuel change on combustion, heat transfer and pollutant emissions.

Biogas-Glas II Based on the promising results of BiogasGlas I, a follow-up project was initiated to put biogas co-firing into practice in an industrial-scale glass melting furnace.

The French glassmaker Verallia joined forces with GWI and HVG for this project, and offered to use its production site at Bad Wurzach, Germany, for the experiments where a medium-sized regenerative endport furnace is in operation.

Continued>>

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ENDTOEND Full-Process Excellence

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Environment Energy and environment

This site was ideal for the purposes of the project, as a medium sized biogas plant was located in the immediate vicinity. A small pipeline was constructed to directly connect the biogas plant to the furnace.

Over the course of six months, various amounts of biogas were blended with natural gas and then burned in the melting furnace. At maximum, about 30% of the energy input into the furnace was provided by biogas.

During the time of the experiments, furnace operators reported no negative impact on the process in terms of glass quality or pollutant emissions. Based on results of the previous project, the burner lances had been adapted prior to the experiments, to maintain a constant ratio of fuel and oxidizer mass flows to keep mixing processes near the burner nozzles as similar as possible.

The industrial-scale investigations were accompanied by CFD simulations (Fig 2), to analyse the differences between the different biogas admixture rates in more detail than it is possible with in-situ measurements.

One result was that the CFD simulations predicted a reduced heat transfer efficiency when co-firing biogas.

This was not confirmed by furnace operators, but it has to be kept in mind that overall process parameters and boundary conditions are far less easily controlled in a real-life furnace than in an idealised simulation.

Additionally, the contributions of various factors to the overall combustionrelated CO2 emissions were calculated for various biogas co-firing rates (cf. Fig 3), ranging from natural gas only to ‘pure’ biogas combustion.

For these theoretical calculations, all boundary conditions were kept constant except for the composition of the various natural gas/biogas blends and the firing rate to maintain a given heat flux into the glass melt.

The biogas composition was assumed to be 60 vol.-% CH4 and 40 vol.-% CO2.

Process-related CO2 emissions due to the decomposition of carbonate raw materials during the melting process were not considered.

The diagram shows that while total CO2 emissions of the furnace increase with increased biogas admixture, the actual relevant amount of CO2 emissions from the combustion of natural gas is reduced.

Only the emissions from the combustion of a fossil fuel contribute

to the overall CO2 footprint. Theory also predicts a loss of process efficiency, however, due to the reduced calorific value of the fuel gas (Fig 4).

The key finding of the Biogas-Glas projects is that there are no technological reasons not to use biogas for glass melting.

There are still obstacles to overcome.

One bottleneck is an adequate supply of biogas. In the industrial test runs, the limiting factor of biogas admixture was the capacity of the biogas plant which was unable to supply fuel for more than 30% of the required energy input of the furnace.

This could be overcome by establishing micro-grids where several mediumsized biogas plants supply an industrial site.

From an economic perspective, biogas co-firing is not viable under current market conditions. Natural gas (and CO2 emissions) is too cheap.

Finally, there are also regulatory hurdles.

German authorities stated that given the current legislation, a combined biogas/natural gas firing system for process heating in a furnace has to be treated as a municipal incineration plant which requires much more in terms of emissions control and plant monitoring.

This additional effort is unacceptable for operators of industrial furnaces.

Nevertheless, the projects show the potential that the use of biogas has for process heating to reduce fossil CO2 emissions without disrupting the overall process as a complete systems change from gas-fired heating to all electric heating would.

Conclusions CO2 emissions from the consumption of fossil fuels are a major challenge for energy-intensive industries, for which the direct use of biogas in furnaces might provide a solution.

Co-firing in particular offers a relatively quick way to reduce CO2 emissions without unduly disrupting the manufacturing process.

Investigations show that combustion processes have to be adapted somewhat to take into account the different fuel characteristics, but if this is done properly, biogas can be used without loss in product quality or refractory lifetime.

Theoretical considerations predict a loss of efficiency; however, these could not be measured during the project’s sixmonth testing period.

While obstacles remain in terms of economic viability, potential supply bottlenecks and regulatory issues, the project demonstrates that from a purely technological point-of-view, biogas cofiring is a quick and effective way to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from glass melting. �

Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge AiF for the funding of this project (IGF Grant No. 18685 N). The final report (in German) is available for download on the GWI website (www.gwi-essen.de).

References [1] Kempers, J., Morris, G., “Heineken urges glassmakers to follow its example and be greener”, Glass International, no.

July/August, pp. 14–16, 2017.

[2] Beerkens, R.G.C., van Limpt, H.A.C., Jacobs, G., “Energy efficiency benchmarking of glass furnaces”, Glass Science and Technology, vol. 77, no. 2, pp.

47–57, 2004.

[3] Pont, R.S., “History and Evolution of Clean Efficient Firing Techniques for Glass Melting Furnaces”, 10th International Conference on Industrial Furnaces and Boilers (INFUB10), Porto, Portugal, 2015.

[4] Reynolds, A., “Large capacity allelectric furnaces”, Glass International, no. July/August, pp. 81–83, 2017.

[5] Meuleman, R., “The efficient future for the glass industry is ‘all-electric’”, 14th International Seminar on Furnace Design, Velke Karlovice, Czech Republic, 2017.

[6] Adler, P., Billig, E., Brosowki, A., Daniel-Gromke, J., Falke, I., Fischer, E., Grope, J., Holzhammer, U., Postel, J., Schnutenhaus, J., Stecher, K., Szomszed, G., Trommler, M., Urban, W., Leitfaden Biogasaufbereitung und -einspeisung, 5th ed. Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V. (FNR), Leipzig, Germany, 2014.

[7] Märtin, M., Fleischmann, B., Leicher, J., Giese, A., Böhm, P., Wuthnow, H, “Applicability of fermentation gas for melting glass (IGF-AiF Project No. 397ZN)”, ESG, Parma, Italy, 2014.

*Gas- und Wärme-Institut Essen e.V. (GWI). Essen, Germany www.gwi-essen.de **Hüttentechnische Vereinigung der Deutschen Glasindustrie e.V. (HVG), Offenbach, Germany. www.hvg-dgg.de/home.html

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Environment Batch plant

Zippe secures two orders from Thailand

Z

ippe has secured two orders from Thailand for a glass recycling plant and a batch plant.

The contract with Siam Cullet Co. includes a recycling plant including metal and non-metal separation, organic separation, ceramic, stone, porcelain separation (KSP), as well as colour sorting.

The capacity amounts to 30t/h whereby the plant can be extended up to 45t/h at a later date. Zippe designs and delivers complete plant control systems, all main components such as the screen and magnet technology as well as the optical sorting machines.

The customer will supply the conveying belts as well as the steel construction.

Commissioning is planned for the end of 2018.

Zippe has also received an order from Siam Glass in Ayutthaya for the extension of a batch plant.

The company received an order in 2011 from Siam Glass for the original batch plant. The batch plant supplied a 660t/ day furnace, built in 2012. Siam Glass plans to build a second furnace and extend the batch plant.

Due to the reduced cullet share compared to the original design, two new

bigger mixers will have to be installed in the batch plant, while the dosing and weighing plant will have to be adjusted due to the significantly reduced cullet share compared to the original design.

The scope of delivery also includes a new batch plant transport as well as a complete internal cullet return with two scrapers for the new furnace, SGA#2.

Both furnaces will produce amber coloured bottles for Siam Glass’s own energy drink, M-150.

Commissioning of furnace SGA#2 is planned for July 2019. �

Zippe acquires Lahti’s glass business

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B

atch plant specialist Zippe Industrieanlagen has acquired the glass unit from the Finnish company Lahti Precision.

The glass unit will continue to operate under the new company name Lahti Glass Technology.

The previous owner has exited the glass business. Existing orders will be completed with the support of the new entity.

Mr. Jarmo Näppi will be the new Managing Director of Lahti Glass Technology and remains the contact person for customers, along with his team of professionals.

Zippe CEO, Dr. Philipp Zippe, said: “We are extremely happy about this acquisition, as it will create new opportunities in the development of new technologies, combined with the ability to serve our customers even better through increased service capabilities and an expanded geography for our national and international clients.

“Lahti will bring in further competencies e.g. in the field of raw material weighing, while we will also collaborate in the field of Research & Development in order to create outstanding technological solutions for which the potential has now become mutually bigger.”

“The technologies and individual market strengths of both companies complement perfectly,” said Mr Näppi.

Service-orientation will be

strengthened further due to an increased international footprint and a bundling of competencies.

Lahti Glass Technology will continue to serve its existing customers in the same way while now having the additional back-up of Zippe’s specialists from its headquarters in Wertheim, Germany.

“At the end, it is all about people,” said Günther Mlynar, MD of Zippe Industrieanlagen.

“The enlarged engineering workforce and experience will perfectly complement and strengthen Zippe’s own portfolio of highly-qualified specialists from which all customers will benefit at the end.” �

� Pictured: Dr. Philipp Zippe (right) and Mr. Jarmo Näppi.

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When reliability is not negotiable.

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Be it a brand new batch plant or the financially viable refurbishment of an older one, all the core functions are entrusted to these experts, ensuring an excellent chain of communication and the kind of results we stake our reputation on.

We won’t let you down because for us reliability is

ZIPPE – BECAUSE WE DO IT.

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Environment Industry 4.0

On the smart road to Industry 4.0 Adoption of the latest technologies is now crucial for the international glass container industry, says Mark Ziegler.

S

election is key to defining the perfect path but some decision makers are still confused by the issues surrounding Industry 4.0 technologies.

Combined with rising CAPEX challenges, this makes it absolutely necessary for plants to identify a partner when it comes to the selection of appropriate technology.

Not everything that is possible makes economic sense for a glass container plant. The glass people at Heye combine long-term process expertise and a passion for the material with advanced skills in the latest technology. Every possible solution is evaluated by the company’s process experts based on the decision criteria of financial ROI, workplace safety and influence on product quality.

www.glass-international.com

Smart user interfaces The availability of smart user interfaces for operators has become particularly important, as production employees with process knowledge are difficult to find.

The Heye Cockpit will become the central user access to the Heye SpeedMaster hot end control and process intelligence portfolio. The Heye SpeedMaster consists of three modules: E-timing; motion control (servo and pneumatic actuators); and the process intelligence solution set, combining all process control closed loops.

The approach employed is user-centric.

The cockpit integrates all relevant subsystems at the hot end, plus the Heye PlantPilot. Features such as the integrated article database make job changes as easy as possible.

Combined with precise mechanisms, the latest servo technology helps to achieve maximum production speed at high quality levels, especially for large beer lines.

High production flexibility is another result of the technology.

Glass plants with small customers and many different jobs have two advantages.

First, job changes can be performed in a short time, as important parameters will be retrieved and the major parts of the machinery will be adjusted

� The Heye Cockpit will become the central user access to the Heye SpeedMaster hot end control and process intelligence portfolio.

automatically in the future. Second, the operators can produce different bottles on one IS machine, by using multi-weight assortment technology. This makes the production of samples or short job runs extremely efficient.

As well as being the inventor of the NNPB process, Heye has set the standard in closed loop production technology. A large set of closed loop solutions gives the customer a competitive edge. Heye offers operator assistance for gob loading and closed loops for gob form and weight.

Following the glass flow, on the blank mould side, closed loops for cooling and press duration/glass distribution are available. The swabbing robot eliminates one of the most important manual working steps, at the same time being the basis for precise, infrared-based temperature measurement on the blank side. Closed loops on the blow side allow accurate, high speed ware handling.

Dead plate cooling is controlled, creating the basis for proper bottle movement through the high speed pushers, while the closed loop for ware spacing is a second speed-relevant factor.

Furthermore, both loops eliminate defects generated by a wrong ware handling set-up.

Many of these solutions are already available, while others are in the prototype phase. In some areas, operator assistance is a good first step and in other areas, full closed loop systems are already in place.

Connecting the hot and cold end The Heye PlantPilot is a cornerstone in the field of data integration in the glass plant.

By using internet-based technology, different machines or modules can be connected to manage the plant.

In addition, important analysis possibilities are offered to optimise the production process. Data integration between hot end and cold end helps to gain time. Via the Heye Cockpit, the hot end operator has a perfect overview of the defect situation on the different cavities.

By a future extension of the database to an expert system, recommendations for the correction of production defects can be given. As production companies have more challenges to find skilled people, these expert systems for glass forming will become an important success factor.

The Heye smart plant concept combines different solutions in major areas. All of them have become possible through a set of enabling technologies, from sensors and communication networks to robots.

The Heye glass people are the correct partners to develop a common roadmap for the journey to a smart plant, a factory that will be able to produce high productivity containers at low cost, resource-efficiently and with a consistently high quality. �

*Marketing Manager, Heye International, Obernkirchen, Germany mziegler@heye-international.com www.heye-international.com

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YOUR PARTNER ON THE SMART ROAD

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Emission control

Filter system at Lauscha Fiber reduces emission levels Matthias Hagen* highlights a project at German glassmaker Lauscha Fiber which helped reduce dust emissions to levels far below current and expected future emission requirements.

� Lauscha Fiber’s control room with Robert

C

limate change is one of the biggest challenges to humankind. Major activities are focused on the reduction of emissions. Two companies from different fields which specialize in this subject, met for a challenging project.

Lauscha Fiber produces fibres for filtration and battery separators, which enable the Start/Stop Function to save fuel and reduce CO2 emissions. Dürr with its daughter company LTB produces air pollution control systems to reduce NOx with catalytic candle filters, made of ceramic fibre.

This article describes the project to create a class- leading example of a low emission glass producer.

Background Unifrax’s acquisition of Lauscha Fiber International expanded its inorganic fibre capabilities, and reinforced its purpose

and vision of speciality products that save energy, reduce pollution and improve fire safety. The flexibility of its multiple glass furnaces enables Lauscha Fiber to produce a range of glass chemistries for a variety of fibre applications.

Robert Greiner, Technical Manager of Lauscha Fiber, had to find a proper solution for the emissions. The company uses two glass furnaces to produce BoronSilicate Glass.

This leads to NOx emissions but due to the raw material composition also extremely fine dust emissions, which require a specific system for air pollution control.

Possible solutions Emission limits in Germany are increasingly strict towards lower allowable concentrations.

The TA-Luft is under rework, but

intermediate regulations are already set, which require activities in case of changing or renovation of a glass furnace.

In 2016 Lauscha Fiber realised that the existing electrostatic precipitator will not be future proof and able to meet forthcoming stricter limits.

So it started a project to not only to meet upcoming limits, but to reach the lowest possible emissions.

Mr Greiner said the company had three options: � To upgrade the existing ESP and add an SCR unit downstream; � Installation of a baghouse filter plus reheating and SCR; � Installation of a catalytic candle filter

Continued>>

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Greiner. Pic source Carl-Heinz Zitzmann

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Environment Emission control

The installed electrostatic precipitator would have to be extended to meet future dust limits, which was a problem, as space on site is limited. The additional SCR system would be able to meet the required

limits, but would require even more space. This solution was not suitable due to space and would not be able to reduce the dust emissions further, which was the wish of Lauscha Fiber.

� The Ecopure CCF in Lauscha, Germany.

NH3 slip

NOx efficiency

10

8

80

6

60

4

40

2

20

0 4.0

0 5.0

6.0

7.0 Urea injected [kg]

8.0

9.0

10.0

NOx efficiency [%]

NH3 slip/Urea injected 10

NH3 slip [mg/Nm3]

www.glass-international.com

� Process flow of different APC systems.

� Table 1. NH3 slip over DeNOx efficiency

Instead of upgrading the existing system new independent solutions had to be checked. In the past similar applications, where Boron glass is produced, were equipped with a cooler and a downstream fabric bag house filter.

Such solutions struggle with the fine dust content due to the Boron, which lead to clogging within the filter and fine dust emissions. Nevertheless, this technology reaches acceptable emissions for dust, but is limited to a flue gas temperature of max. 250°C. For the NOx treatment via a SCR catalyst a reheating of the flue gases would be required, which would lead to additional operating costs.

Finally, the technology of a catalytic candle filter was evaluated. Dürr commercialised this technology first in China at a tableware producer and won an Innovation award in 2017. Based on Dürr’s experience in China, Lauscha was confident that the Ecopure CCF would meet the requirements. This three in one technology enables the treatment of dust, acid compounds and NOx in one step without any reheating of exhaust gas from the process. The size of the system is smaller than the other emission control options considered by Lauscha and the reachable emissions promised to stay far below current limits.

After comparing all options for air pollution control in an extensive selection process technically and commercially the decision was taken to choose an Ecopure CCF. A huge advantage on the project was the flexibility of LTB in working with Lauscha Fiber’s parent company, Unifrax.

The Unifrax Engineered Thermal Components group has produced ceramic candles for more than 22 years.

Unifrax recently entered into a marketing alliance with Haldor Topsoe to combine its filter technology with the Topsoe catalyst and offer Topfrax catalytic filters to the market. In this case, it was an easy decision to use Topfrax catalytic candles for the application. The CAPEX and OPEX savings promised by the technology resulted in LTB’s first catalytic hot gas filter application in Germany.

Ceramic candle filter function Based on the high temperature use limit of the ceramic fibre material, the ceramic candles can withstand temperatures up to 900°C. In NOx-reduction applications the fibres of the candles are coated with Continued>>

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Visit us at 23-26 October 2018 Hall 12 Stand F25

‌just as the purity of the glass made with our refractories: the highest quality without the slightest trace of pollutants is guaranteed through scrupulous checks of all raw materials and every step of the production process. Add to the mix the care for our employees and the environment, as well as the importance of the accountability and safety of our final products, and you get: Excellence Made in Italy.

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Efficient burner control made simple When it comes to glass production, everything is under control: Our versatile mass flow controllers allow gas flows to be set precisely and with maximum repeatability – irrespective of pressure and temperature fluctuations. The Type 8741 MFC is also a genuine communications expert: Flexible interfaces ensure seamless data exchange between control and field levels, with minimum installation effort. That means crystal clear benefits for your production.

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Emission control

a catalyst, which limits the maximum operation temperature down to < 400°C. At this high flue gas temperature, all required mechanical and emission control functions work properly. The absorption of the acid compounds by the injected hydrated lime is independent of the humidity of the flue gases, which is at lower temperatures a critical item.

For the NOx-reduction either Ammonia (NH3) or Urea needs to be injected. In this particular application Urea was selected instead of Ammonia. While the storage of Ammonia (NH3) has to be realised outside of the building due to safety reasons, Urea could be stored inside in IBCs. During the injection, Urea reacts to NH3, which acts as a reactant for the DeNOx reaction.

To ensure a continuous use without stop, the Ecopure CCF is designed with three modules. This enables a redundant use of the filter, at least with remaining two modules, in case the filters need maintenance or repair in one module.

This function has been tested successfully during one year of operation. In case of a broken candle the system detects the pressure drop of each single module and this could be switched to maintenance mode, while the flue gases are treated with the remaining two modules. To replace the candles, the relevant module could be separated and the whole flue gas stream treated by the remaining two modules. After cooling this module, candles can be exchanged easily and the system could continue using all three modules.

The amount of Urea introduced into the flue gas stream depends on the required destruction of NOx, which could be detected with a sensor in the clean gas via the concentration of NOx. In case of fluctuations of the crude NOx concentration the amount of injected Urea will be adapted automatically by the integrated PLC to inject only the required amount.

In case of an over-dosing of Urea the ratio of injected Urea to the destructed NOx will not more be stoichiometric. This will lead to a slip of unused NH3, which could be found in the clean gas.

As ammonia is easily detectible by its typical smell and also limited by legislation this was an important issue to check. In various tests, (table 1), it was demonstrated that the clean gas concentration of NH3 is always far below the legal limits even in case of increased required destruction efficiency.

End result The complete system has been in use for more than a year.Dust emissions are down to levels far below current and expected future emission requirements, which is an enormous improvement to the former situation. NOx emissions are far below the required limits of 500mg/m³ and the system offers potential to improve.

The reliability of the system has been proven, and operational costs were reduced. All system parameters can be monitored online via remote connection. This is also possible by the supplier so that rapid assistance can be provided.

Lauscha Fiber is now ready for the future. Special thanks go to Robert Greiner and his team from Lauscha Fiber as well as Johannes Skotte from Unifrax, who made the first installation in Germany.

The Lauscha team is a strong supporter of the technology and will use the experience as a blueprint for further projects. �

LTB and Durr are exhibiting at glasstec in Hall 15 stand G42 *Senior manager sales, LTB, Germany (matthias.hagen@ltb.de) LTB: www.ltb.de and www.durr-cleantechnology.com Unifrax: www.unifrax.com Glass International September 2018

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Association profile: BV Glas

BV Glas Director General, Dr Johann Overath, discusses the German glass industry and the trends in the sector.

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An overview of the German glass industry How is the German glass industry performing at the moment?

The glass industry closed out 2017 on a very positive note with 2.6% year-over-year growth.

Developments in the container and flat glass sectors diverged somewhat. There was clear growth in the flat glass sector, comprising the subsegments of flat glass manufacturing and flat glass finishing.

Fortunately, it occurred in both sub-segments, with each recording 3.2% growth in 2017. This is a particularly welcome development in the flat glass manufacturing sector which has experienced the highest level of revenue fluctuation over recent years. Growth in the flat glass sector has been driven by new housing developments and higher demand for safety glass. This meant that laminated safety glass, which is used in windows and facades, was the strongest segment.

Revenue in the container glass industry, in contrast, declined slightly by 1.5% in 2017.

However, current figures for 2018 indicate a strong upward trend in the container glass segment.

Bearing that in mind, we’d describe the economic situation in the container glass industry as both stable and improving. Glass is still a popular packaging material in Germany.

BV Glas is organising a conference session at glasstec. What can you tell us about it?

We’re delighted to be supporting the glasstec conference with our own session. On 23 October we will be organising a half-day session on the theme of Environmental and Climate Policy in Germany & Europe – Challenges, Opportunities and Risks for the Glass Industry. It covers relevant energy and environmental policy issues, such as the latest status of REACH and the EU emissions

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trading scheme.

BV Glas will also give presentations and speakers from our member companies will provide insights into the practicalities of implementation.

Who is the target audience and what do you hope delegates will gain by attending the conference?

Our session was primarily developed for glass company employees who have an interest in the current political framework for the glass industry.

One topic we are particularly looking forward to presenting is energy efficiency networks - and we have already established five of them.

I hope we can persuade glass manufacturers in other countries to follow our lead and improve their energy efficiency through networks.

What makes the German glass industry stand out from other countries?

One key insight that we have gained through working in the European context is that markets and consumers can differ considerably and, as a result, the glass industry faces different challenges in different countries.

To talk about a ‘German glass industry’ doesn’t reflect our membership structure because many of our member companies are international organisations with activities in various countries.

What we are seeing among our members – especially those in the German SME sector- is a strong willingness to take new approaches to glass production, to test technical innovations in the manufacturing process and to work intensively towards climate-neutral glass production.

Have you noticed any trends within the container and flat glass sectors?

In the flat glass sector, we have noticed the two key trends of ‘transparency’ and ‘smart’.

Large-format panes that maximise natural daylight are increasingly being incorporated in architectural designs in place of dark, mirror-finish facades.

The flat glass industry has adapted to demand for these large formats and is now capable of manufacturing and finishing panes of up to 18 metres in size.

Efficient coatings with solar protection or self-cleaning functions ensure maximum convenience and a pleasant indoor climate. Cast glass is being used to accentuate facades.

In addition to float glass, cast glass offers options to create structures and patterns to individualise buildings. Another trend that emerged in recent years and is currently being accelerated is smart glazing.

Facades incorporating smart glazing can be darkened at the touch of a button without any loss of visibility in the darkened state. This architectural feature ideally meets requirements for the individual control of lighting conditions.

The trend of transparent facades is also evident in the private housing sector, where many owners incorporate floor-to-ceiling windows in their homes for an unobstructed view of their natural surroundings.

The container glass industry is very consumer-oriented. It is currently focused on consumer trends such as health, regionalism, sustainability and environmental friendliness.

Continued>>

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Association profile: BV Glas

Glass packaging products ideally reflect those trends because glass is an entirely recyclable and practically inert material.

There has also been growth in markets where glass had lost a considerable market share in recent years, such as the mineral water segment.

Many mineral springs have launched new individualised recyclable glass bottles and the German Mineral Water Association has introduced a new glass bottle in response to demand from a consumer segment that would only purchase a pure product such as mineral water in an equally pure packaging.

Are there any challenges facing the German glass sector? Can BV Glas help the industry to face these challenges?

The future challenges that the glass industry faces relate to establishing a framework in Germany where glass can be manufactured profitably.

We will continue to lobby at European and national level on behalf of the glass industry to ensure that it is not disadvantaged in the emissions trading scheme over countries that don’t participate in it.

In Germany we have pleaded the case for the continuation of the power grid fee reduction for the glass industry.

3

glass sector, we have noticed the two key trends of transparency

”

and smart

How many years have you been involved with both glass and BV Glas?

I joined BV Glas in 2002 and I’ve been its Director General since 2006.

What do I appreciate most about glass? Its beauty and its versatility – two aspects that are reflected in all the BV Glas segments – and, being a chemist, I also appreciate all the interesting properties of glass. It’s made entirely of natural substances, it’s completely recyclable and it’s irreplaceable in many applications.

Basically, it’s a material that I like working with every day. And I find my work just as interesting as glass because it allows me to be involved in politics in Berlin and Brussels.

It can get a bit turbulent sometimes, but it’s certainly never boring. �

BV Glas, Dusseldorf, Germany www.bvglas.de

3/h

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Association profile BV Glas.indd 3

“In the flat

There are also regular environmental policy initiatives in which we play an informative role.

We believe it is our function to identify issues which are significant for our members early on, to remain at least one step ahead and to identify the opportunities and risks for the glass industry.

•

•

12/09/2018 15:24:33

THE INNOVATIVE STACKER FOR THE COLD END The new Tin-Air-Speed-Stacker (TASS) with a new type of double arm kinematics processes small size glass sheets with high efficiency. When combined with the accumulator, conveyor line and optional Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), it offers numerous advantages: » Highly efficient, fast and flexible stacking for small glass sizes up to 2 m » Stack and feed sheets in air side and tin side mode » Glass handling of singles sheets or pairs » No indexing platform required » Up to 20 cycles/minute for either air or tin mode » For new glass production lines, replacement of manual glass handling and upgrading of old equipment

Grenzebach Maschinenbau GmbH Germany Phone: +49 906 982-2000 | info@grenzebach.com www.grenzebach.com

We look forward to your visit: Düsseldorf | Hall 15 | Booth D23

Environment Fluid Dynamics Computational

Flow Simulation in the Glass Industry The glass factory building concept must be considered as an important influence on the overall efficiency of a plant, discusses Daniel Schippan*. CFD is one approach to achieve optimal glass factory planning.

T

omorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s production has to meet high standards.

Efficiency and a safe future are as important for plant operation as cost savings and error reductions during the planning phase.

Special care is taken to guarantee the highest quality standards in production and products, not only in newly designed glass plants, but also in existing factories which are subject to a continuous process of optimisation.

CFD simulations are a new approach in holistic planning and glass factory optimisation to achieve these objectives.

What is CFD? CFD stands for Computational Fluid Dynamics and is a mathematical calculation and visualisation of fluid dynamics. With the help of this technology it is possible to analyse currents of any kind and to recognise their behaviour and influence. Similar to a virtual wind tunnel, as used in the automotive industry, for example, CFD simulation can also be used to analyse and optimise a glass factory in its entirety or in specific sub-areas.

CFD in the glass industry

www.glass-international.com

The application of fluid movements and its numerical calculations in the glass industry have also been a fundamental component for research, development and improvement of various processing

operations. Individual operations such as the glass melting furnace process, or various cooling methods of the IS machine moulds, have already been developed using CFD technology.

However, the application of CFD to the overall process has thus far received little attention. This process offers a variety of optimisation options throughout the entire plant. Cm.project.ing is a market leader in the field of international planning and optimisation of glass factories. It has enhanced its planning methods through the use of CFD to further emphasise the holistic approach to the glass process.

Because of this, cm.project.ing is able to generate substantial added value in the form of increased efficiency and quality while simultaneously reducing costs for the glass industry. The focus of the CFD simulations is on the entire production process including the supply media.

Impact on production Building designs of glass factories are often based solely on experience, estimates and the resulting space requirements for plant components and machinery.

Little attention is paid to the planning of the production building, instead it is seen merely as a shell, only necessary for plant components. Unfortunately, the impact of the building design on the entire production process is recognised too late. Building openings are too small, ďż˝ Dynamic building design for more efficiency.

placed in the wrong locations or are not even accessible. The consequences of such miscalculations include insufficient supply of air for compressors or draw air from other parts of the building, which in turn leads to undesirable circulation throughout the building.

CFD visualisation helps with the optimal dimensioning of air supply openings as well as the positioning of machines within the building.

Outdoor climate conditions and their impact on the production process are also simulated by means of CFD, so that a consistently high level of plant efficiency can be guaranteed on hot summer days and cold winter days.

Impact on product quality The highest quality and low rejection of the final product are the goals of every glass factory operator. To achieve and further optimise these standards, the influence of flows on the final product can be analysed with the aid of CFD simulation. It is often the things you cannot see that have a large impact on the bottom line.

Glass is susceptible to thermal impacts after the moulding process. Stresses and associated quality defects are the result of hot glass coming into direct contact with unwanted cold air currents. These undesirable airflows occur in a glass factory mainly due to the difference in temperature between the hot production Continued>>

60 0 Glass International September 2018

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HALL 13 / B 34

www.cmprojecting.de

Environment Fluid Dynamics Computational

area, around the furnace and the cooler inspection area at the other end of the production hall. This thermal drift creates a noticeable draft in the production building, which can negatively affect product quality. Structurally, such flows in the building can be numerically calculated, displayed and then reduced or even avoided by subsequent changes in the layout or structural measures.

In contrast to experience and extensive subsequent changes to the construction, the advantage of CFD lies in the fact that different design scenarios can be simulated in advance, during planning, to achieve the optimal outcome. Potential thermal and fluidic problems in the later work are avoided. Existing factories can also experience advantages by utilising CFD analysis and adjustments.

Holistic approach The dominant view that the production process and the structure of the building that houses it as mutually exclusive, carries the risk that factors influencing unwanted flows and thermal effects in the plant will not be anticipated and will later cause problems in daily production.

ďż˝ Air flow simulation inside a production building.

Cm.project.ing therefore sees the detailed integration of the production building as well as an optimised layout design as an integral part of the overall production process ensuring the way to a highly efficient glass factory.

The building concept must be considered as an important influence on the overall efficiency of a factory.

New approaches in building design, ventilation systems and heat generation combined with the use of CFD simulations create a benefit for operators of glass factories in terms of increased efficiency and cost reduction. ďż˝

*CEO, cm.project.ing, Julich, Germany www.cmprojecting.de

Track a line to see our new Stacker at Glasstec

See us in Hall 13, Stand 13D21 Halifax Way, Elvington, York, YO41 4AU, UK T: 0044 1904 608999 E: sales@sheppee.com W: www.sheppee.com CM projecting automation.indd 2

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Tableware

Handling / Assembly

Container Glass Beverage Processing

Bulk Materials

Your production has a great future.

We are your partner for innovative and customized solutions in automation technology.

futronic GmbH | Tolnauer StraĂ&#x;e 3 - 4 | 88069 Tettnang Tel. +49 7542 5307- 0 | info@futronic.de www.futronic.de

fu_anzeige_a4_druck_en.indd 1

automation in a new dimension 13.06.18 13:06

Environment Engineering

An appreciation of Henry F. Teichmann

G

lass engineering company Henry F. Teichmann unveiled a $3 million office upgrade during its recent appreciation day.

The company has modernised and expanded its headquarters in McMurray, PA, USA as well as upgraded its office equipment.

The opening of the modernised site was marked during a Henry F. Teichmann appreciation day.

Approximately 70 people attended the celebration of the company which has been based on the site since May 26, 1959.

Vice President of Operations, Kevin Yung, thanked staff for their hard work and patience during the works.

The work included the renovation of about 13,000 ft2 of internal and external spaces and featured a new reception area encompassed with a Solarban 72 on Starphire over Starphire glass façade.

The 50 staff at the site now have a larger office space and new equipment to work with.

“People were amazed when they first saw it, the building looks very nice and modern and is a workplace that has been ergonomically designed,” said Sam Leaper, Sales Manager at Henry F. Teichmann (HFT).

The new building is complimented with the latest technology, which includes new ergonomic work stations for each team member, with all the latest software, as well as HFT proprietary apps.

The conference and meeting rooms were fully refitted with teleconference and online presentation technology.

The new technology will improve

internal and external communications and aide smooth work flow to promote productivity and enhance project turnaround times. �

Henry F. Teichmann, McMurray, PA, USA www.hft.com

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We Don’t Make the Glass, We Make it Possible • Glass Melting Furnaces • Batch Plants • Engineering • Turnkey Projects • Annealing Lehrs • Project Management

For more than 70 years HFT has provided world class engineering, procurement and construction services to the global glass industry.

Our leadership, experience, quality focus and attention to details have given HFT a highly respected reputation worldwide.

Visit us at:

Hall 13 / B47-5

A division of Henry F. Teichmann, Inc.

Engineers and Contractors to The Glass Industry

www.hft.com

+1 724 941 9550 info@hft.com

3009 Washington Road McMurray, PA 15317-3202 USA

Fax: +1 724 941 3479

Screen printing and full colour inkjet printing on glass bottles (from 5 until 500 bpm)

Everdenberg 113, 4902 TT OOSTERHOUT (The Netherlands). Tel. + 31 162 44 77 50 info@rosarioc2c.com www.rosarioc2c.com www.curvink.com

www.rosarioc2c.com

Curvink is exclusive agent for the glass bottle manufacturing industry worldwide for

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GmbH

03-09-18 10:02

Duesseldorf 23-26 October Hall 16 - Booth 16 B58

3-4-5 axes CNC machining centres

SPECIALISTS IN BRINGING TOGETHER MATERIALS, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY.

Cutting tables

Double edging machines

CNC vertical machines

Waterjet cutting systems

CMS Glass Technology commitment generates machining centres for top quality results in glass creations. Outstanding systems, designed to bring added value in multifarious industrial fields. CMS is an industrial partner rich in solutions aimed at engineering and process optimization.

www.cms.it

Industry 4.0

Digitising the batch and furnace operator in glassmaking Erik Muijsenberg* highlights the opportunities and changes digital glassmaking will bring to the sector. booths stretched across the glass ribbon analysing glass quality ‘with a stick’ (or looking for) zebra patterns in the glass that are now analysed with online sensors. In the container industry there are now machines that analyse the ‘lineover finishes’ at the lip of a bottle, seed counts and glass irregularities, etc.

Fig 1 shows the progression of Industry 1.0, to 2.0, 3.0, and now 4.0. The move was initially for the steam engine that mechanised labour and replaced human effort. Next was the electrical grid or the widespread mechanisation of power.

Simultaneously, the application of mass-production such as the Owens Bottle Machine was introduced.

Next came Industry 3.0 that added computer controls to truly automate the manufacturing process. Industry 4.0 takes the glass manufacturing system to the next level, whereby the entire process is being controlled in a single environment process control concept. Integrated computers help to achieve this.

Industry 4.0 is a collective term for

technologies and concepts of value chain organisations.

Based upon the technological concepts of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), it facilitates the vision of the Smart Factory.

Within the modular structured Smart Factories of Industry 4.0, cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world and make decentralised decisions.

Over the Internet of Things, cyberphysical systems communicate and cooperate with each other and humans in real time. Via the Internet of Services, both internal and cross-organisational services are offered and utilised by participants of the value chain. [2] Fig 2 shows the glass manufacturing process, beginning with the batch weighing and distribution process, through the melting of the glass, forming, annealing, inspection processes and delivery of the final product. In Continued>>

� Fig 1. The progression of Industry, from 1.0 to 4.0 [1] 4. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Based on cyber-physicalsystems

Capturing control 2. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

3. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Level of complexity

Industry 4.0 is not merely a new buzz word for the next level of glass manufacturing control, but it is the next level of capturing control of the entire manufacturing process. Its goal is to improve the process of glass manufacturing, and include more automation, which can reduce the variability of the process, and do so with a lower headcount.

For example, years ago in the float glass industry, there were dimly lighted

Introducing mass production Through the use of electronics lines powered by electric energy and IT further progression in autonomous production 1. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Introducing mechanical production machines powered by water and steam INDUSTRY 1.0

INDUSTRY 2.0

INDUSTRY 3.0

End of the 18th Century

Beginning of the 20th Century

The 1970s

Today

STEAM

ELECTRICITY

COMPUTERS

CYBER-PHYSICAL

INDUSTRY 4.0 Source: DFKI/ Bauer IAO

www.glass-international.com

I

ndustry 4.0 is bringing huge changes in automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies.

It includes cyber-physical systems, the internet of things and cloud computing.

Industry 4.0 creates what has been called a smart factory or in some cases even a dark factory, as there are no people anymore so no lights need to be on.

Several parts of the glassmaking process already have been converted, particularly in the cold end, but overall integration and inter communication has not been done. Is this the end of the batch & furnace operator? Similar as before, the glass blower has vanished for container glass, flat glass and the majority of tableware production.

What changes will Industry 4.0 bring to glass production? An advanced control concept is required to meet these challenges, which Glass Service offers in its Expert System 4.0, also known as a Model Predictive Control (MPC) system.

New computing power is available to enhance the manufacturing process.

Included is a discussion about the present state of automation in the glass industry, and what is available in the glass melting process. New tools are required to achieve a more automated process, such as cameras available to determine what is happening in the melter with the batch line, etc.

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Environment Industry 4.0

ES IV level crown T/C CV4

crown T/C CV1

total gas MV1

Operator level

bottom T/C CV2

PLC level

melt boost MV2

glass pull DV

www.glass-international.com

barrier boost MV3

throat T/C CV3

Process instrumentation level

� Fig 2. Automatic Control of a Glass Furnace Melter.

� Fig 3. Levels of Glass Furnace Instrumentation Control.

� Fig 4. Glass Container Furnace Batch Pile History, GUI software viewer.

� Fig 5. Glass Furnace Infrared Temperature Imaging [4].

each segment, an estimated value of automation is shown, allowing more control through the steps of manufacturing.

The batch weighing process is quite automated today. However, one of the lowest levels of automation is in the melting process, whereby the furnace operator adjusts the amount of natural gas entering the furnace, and the electric boosting as well.

Essentially, the glass quality parameters need to be back fed from the entire manufacturing process to improve the manufacturing process.

Today there are several on-line glass quality measurements for the glass container industry from the process available. Automated data is collected for the number of bottles produced and used for glass quality input data. However, this information still needs to be fed back to the melter for glass melting quality improvements.

The automatic control of a glass furnace melting process is available through Model Predictive Control (MPC) that can automate the melting process.

Better control of the melting process can be achieved with MPC versus the traditional PID control loops that are common today. MPC uses Multiple Input – Multiple Output control loops that factor many more control variables into the control scheme as opposed to a Single Loop – Single Output control loop via PID control.

Improved control of a glass furnace can be achieved with an MPC system.

Various operating parameters, including the natural gas flow, electric boosting, the amount of cullet utilised the furnace pull rate and bubbling are all fed into the MPC for improved process control. The MPC takes all of these operating conditions together, not just as single control loops.

Present trend The present trend of Industry 4.0 is to motivate glass production for further automation of the glass melting process with less requirement of furnace operators. Part of the glass melting processes such as the batch blanket spread in most furnaces and the glass ribbon in the float glass tin bath process relies upon

the operator making visual inspections regularly and personally interpreting the process. The decision-making that follows these inspections often varies between operators of the same furnace. Even top management understand this cannot continue like this in the long-term.

A high-resolution camera is essential.

When considering not only the batch line, but the foam line as well, it is important to have a clear image. The camera really can see much more than the human eye. Eventually, the camera can support or even replace some thermocouples.

Industry 4.0 is not only coming to the glass industry, but is spreading to all industries.

Fig 3 shows the levels of instrumentation for control of a glass furnace. First, there are the sensors such as thermocouples, flow meters, flow control valves, cameras and level detectors. The sensors are connected to a Process Logic Controller and then to a human interface monitor or controller. From the human interface controller, we can add a Model Continued>>

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Predictive Controller that provides a supervisory level of Multiple Input – Multiple Output control.

Batch pile movement and monitoring and control will become an essential tool for controlling the glass melting process and therefore glass quality. Multiple cameras for visualisation within the furnace are important, but also the ability to get a bird’s eye view of how the melting process is occurring. Once these images are ‘blended’ for the bird’s eye view, the batch pattern behaviour can be monitored and eventually controlled.

The batch pattern and coverage can be mathematically mapped using special software to analyse the position and size detection.

The Batch Monitoring Software can also determine the batch flow direction and velocity as well. An important additional feature is the ability to monitor bubblers, if they are in use.

Batch pile fragmentation is another feature in determining how a better and improved batch pattern can improve the melting characteristics with the furnace.

Fig 4 shows how a browser can look back in time to compare the glass quality data with that of the actual furnace operating parameters. A fast forward or reverse images of the melting process can be specifically helpful. A TCP/IP client (a network communication protocol) integrated with a Model Predictive Control system can improve the furnace operation. Multiple monitors and screens can be defined.

A new GS Augmented-Sens camera provides two video streams, including a regular vision information plus a calibrated temperature using Infrared camera optics in parallel (Fig 5).

Glass furnace temperatures can be accurately determined with ASENS Infrared Camera. A specially designed camera with one million (1,300,000) pixels can be used that is far more accurate than standard cameras with only 300,000 (plus or minus) pixels. Furthermore, both the visual and infrared images can be determined at the same time. Real time operating temperatures are monitored and evaluated.

The operating temperatures can be monitored, but also other aspects of the furnace operation such as bubbling can be watched as well.

An infrared camera can better differentiate the operating temperatures of a float glass ribbon than a standard camera with only a gray-scale operating temperature scale. Even the glass ribbon spread can be more accurately determined with improved detection. With an infrared camera the heating capacity of the top electric heating elements can be analysed for the heat output.

The future for Industry 4.0 can include many advanced sensors including for example, batch cullet, and batch moisture content, LIBS, batch line monitoring and control, BTU monitoring of the calorific value of the natural gas, emission sensors for oxygen, CO, NOx and SOx, sensors, redox for glass colour and quality control. All of these sensors will collect and analyse the complicated data that no human can comprehend at the same time, since computers can handle the vast computing power required to analyse all of the input data. � [1] DFKI, Bauer, IAO. [2] Wikipedia. [3] Verallia, Bad Wurzach, Germany.

[4] ASENS, Zagreb, Croatia.

*Vice President, Glass Service, Vsetin, Czech Republic www.gsl.cz/

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Company interview: Stara Glass/Prime Glass

A detailed insight into the Prime Glass Project The Stara Glass paper, Primary Techniques for NOx Containment, won the best paper award at Furnace Solutions recently. Giorgio Minestrini, discusses the paper, which focused on the Prime Glass project and how it helped achieve NOx abatement of 30 to 40%.

www.glass-international.com

“Quote”

� Strategic Waste Gas Recirculation system.

� High Efficiency Air Staging.

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Company interview: Stara Glass/Prime Glass

Congratulations on your award for best paper at the Furnace Solutions event.

The paper is the result of a collaboration between three organisations: Stara Glass, SSV and the University of Genoa. How did the three organisations form this partnership?

Thank you for your congratulations for the Michael Garvey Award 2018: it was a real success mainly thanks to the synergy among all the participants in the project. I’d like to thank all the team.

The project target, namely to find and develop (thus making industrially available) technologies able to reduce the emissions of NOx into the atmosphere coming off from the glass furnaces waste gas was very challenging.

For this reason, we discussed the topic with a group of possible partners. Considering the

experience of the individual units, the interest in developing new technologies in this field and the ability to respond to the various needs of the project, we composed the working group involving the The Italian Glass Research Centre (SSV) and the University of Genoa (UNIGE).

Who were the people involved in this paper and project?

Many people in the three companies involved participated in various ways in carrying out all the activities: I will take the opportunity to thank them all: � Stara Glass: Alessandro Mola, Ernesto Cattaneo, Giorgio Minestrini, Alessandro Spoladore, Giampaolo Bruno, Enzo Panetta, Simona Lertora and Silvana Crosa.

Continued>>

� Stara Glass’s R&D team.

From left: Marina Markova, Giorgio Minestrini, Ernesto Cattaneo and Ales-

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sandro Spoladore.

� A glass furnace.

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Company interview: Stara Glass/Prime Glass

� SSV: Stefano Manoli, Nicola Favaro, Walter Battaglia, Alessandro Migatta, Sandro Casagrande, Simone Tiozzo, Roberto Causin and Igor Biasuzzi. � UNIGE: Carlo Cravero, Alessandro Pini Prato, Davide Basso, Alessandro Nilberto, Santo Cogliandro, Michele Pallante and Francesca Bagnoli.

The paper focuses on the Prime Glass project. Can you explain the details of the project?

The project was 50% funded by the European Community in the mainframe of LIFE + (LIFE12 ENV / IT / 001020 - www.primeglass.it). We decided to participate because the topic was stimulating and it gave us the opportunity to study innovative solutions. Finally, it would have brought the glass industry closer to greater environmental sustainability.

The project lasted for three years and nine months and thanks to the hard work of the three main organisations (Stara Glass, SSV and UNIGE) through the contribution of numerous resources, we developed new technologies for primary NOx containment.

www.glass-international.com

What was Stara Glass’s role in the project?

Stara Glass was the promoter and leader of the project. Both the technologies developed within the project have been designed and engineered by Stara’s R&D department. In addition to project management, we dealt with scientific coordination, components design and experimental tests (together with UNIGE, which was in charge of the CFD calculations) and the analysis of the results together with SSV. In particular, we shared our know-how about design and calculation of the thermal balance for glass furnaces. Finally, we took care of the reporting and dissemination activities.

What advantages did working alongside the SSV and the University of Genoa bring?

Working closely with the SSV and UNIGE not only allowed us to achieve the goals we foresaw, but it also had some positive side effects. Among the main ones, it is worth mentioning that the Multipoint Continuous Monitoring methodology (MCM) and the transformation of predictive mathematical models into actual design tools.

MCM: To measure the achievements during the trial period, a dynamic approach was used to monitor the different control parameters during different furnace settings simultaneously and continuously at several points.

The ‘key’ parameters were emissions, temperatures and pressures. CFD model validation: Thanks to the huge amount of data from the field analysis it was possible to refine the mathematical models and to eliminate the uncertainty variables given by the first CFD simulations attempt.

Applying the real boundary conditions and

referring to different set-ups, the algorithms and codes developed during the project return to the same results as the measurements, assuming the character of a real design tool.

“The award also represents a responsibility, namely to push my efforts and those of my company’s towards the best for the glassmaking

”

industry.

Can you explain how the technology works?

These technologies follow fairly simple principles that are already used in other fields, but with a high added value. The solutions have been engineered to serve the glass industry and to be directly applied to melting furnaces.

The basic principle is NOT to reduce NOx, but to limit its formation from the beginning, that is, primary actions that take part during the combustion.

The principle from which the Strategic Waste Gas Recirculation is born is to limit the amount of oxygen at the meeting point between fuel and oxidiser. By taking a quantity of waste gas at the base of the regenerator and injecting it (through an injector system) in the regenerator during the air phase, a stratification of the oxygen is obtained.

Thanks to this, a lower percentage of oxygen is achieved in the bottom of the portneck while it remains higher in the rest of the oxidiser flow.

The development of the High Efficiency Air Staging on the other hand is based on the application of the principle of staged combustion by managing the oxidiser rather than the fuel.

This last technology includes the generation of an initially reduced combustion that, following an inlet of air (all at the level of the portneck), succeeds in completing itself in the portneck without allowing the CO to reach the chimney blocks.

Did it take time to develop this technology?

The development of these technologies took the entire duration of the project, but truth be told our working group had been active on the study of NOx for many years. Thanks to the knowhow developed in the previous years and to Stara Glass’s investment in research and development, it was possible to engineer the plants and develop the two new technologies, putting them at the disposal of the glass industry.

What benefits does this technology bring to glass manufacturers?

The technologies developed have been created with the aim of reducing NOx emissions into the atmosphere, so the largest benefit is the possibility of a much more sustainable glass industry.

Environmental sustainability principles should also be connected to the market objectives of the glass producers, i.e. to guarantee the production of high quality articles. In an ambitious mediumto-long-term vision the use of our technologies will allow the partial reduction of acid rain and of respiratory diseases, caused precisely by the nitrogen oxides present in the atmosphere.

Continued>>

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Company interview: Stara Glass/Prime Glass

Has the technology been proven at a glass manufacturer?

Without the collaboration and active participation of some of the major players in the Italian glass industry it would certainly not have been possible to test and analyse these solutions. In fact, we should also thank Bormioli Rocco’s Altare plant, Vidrala’s Corsico plant, Vetri Speciali’s San Vito al Tagliamento plant and Vetropack’s Trezzano plant, which was owned formerly and during the project

by Bormioli Rocco. Thanks to the opportunity to verify the effectiveness of the solutions, we could minimise the time that normally passes between the concept phase and the ‘ready product’ for installation. The work done in synergy with the glass manufacturers was key for the overall success of the project.

Would the new technology have still been developed without the Prime Glass project?

This question is the most difficult because Prime Glass (PG) has represented a strong push for the development of these systems. The problem of managing NOx has been known for some time, as well as the study of some technologies. As I already mentioned, in our R&D department’s ‘to do list’ the words ‘NOx understanding’ and ‘NOx reduction technologies’ have been present for many years. My opinion is that PG was the spark that accelerated the process of developing and engineering these technologies. I am convinced that without this contribution more time would have been required to achieve the results that today represent one of the latest solutions available for the glass industry.

Has there been any interest in the technology?

The interest has been very high, both in the development phase and in the subsequent phases. An important deliverable of the project was the organisation of a congress to showcase the developed DeNOx technologies. The Rapallo congress held in March 2017 had a high participation of important glass companies and the interest shown went beyond our expectations.

Following the results obtained and the widespread dissemination of information, the technological solutions of the Prime Glass project are, to date, an important part of Stara Glass’s business, which means that glass producers are sensitive to environmental aspects and are persuaded by the solutions we propose.

How happy are you to have worked on this project with these partners?

It is not just a matter of happiness, it is a matter of pride and honour. I am grateful to PG because it allowed me to openly compare myself with professionals with proven experience, excellent technicians and brilliant minds.

I believe each of the participants has learned something from this project, and this was possible thanks to the continuous exchange of opinions and proposals, while the birth of a close-knit team has been the catalyst for ideas and solutions.

www.glass-international.com

Can you develop this technology further?

The NOx abatement levels obtained to now are high and can meet current regulations on the emission limits in the atmosphere, but this just represents a starting point for Stara Glass and certainly not a point of arrival.

Research in technological matters, while achieving brilliant results, never stops and cannot stop. Technologies are improved from time to time with the aim of being increasingly efficient in terms of NOx abatement and energy saving.

In the near future there will be Waste Gas Strategic Recirculation and High Efficiency Air Staging 2.0, which will perform even better.

Will the Prime Glass project continue?

The project had a beginning, an evolution and a conclusion, but the research of solutions for NOx reduction has certainly not ended.

Stara Glass’s R&D department has several research lines and one of these focuses on the improvement of Prime Glass technologies and the introduction of other technologies which aim to improve emissions management as well.

PG has taught me two things: � 1. That problems actually represent an opportunity to find new solutions and to think outside the box. � 2. Teamwork is fundamental for the achievement of every goal. Without the contribution of all the participants it would not have been possible to obtain the results reported.

Personally, I am happy to have been one of the gears in the project and I am sincerely honoured to have received the Michael Garvey Award 2018 for highlighting its results. The award also represents a responsibility, namely to push my efforts and those of my company’s towards the best for the glassmaking industry.

Speaking as a technician I must confess that one of the most beautiful moments was ‘turning the key of the first system’ and watching the NOx dropping. The whole team understood at that moment that the direction was the right one. � Stara Glass is at glasstec in Hall 13, Stand A30.

Stara Glass, Genoa, Italy, www.staraglass.net/ www.primeglass.it Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro, Murano, Italy, www.spevetro.it/indexeng.htm University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy, www.unige.it/en/

74 Glass International September 2018

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S UP S I ON S UPE ERVI RVI S I ON OF URNACE OFF F URNACE C T RUCT I ON CONS ONS T RUCT I ON ( S T E E L AND ( STEELAND RE RACT ORY REF F RACT ORY) )

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S S ON SUPE UPERVI RVI SI I ON OF OFF FURNACE URNACE HE L NG HEAT ATUP UP, ,F FI I LL LI I NG AND ON AND E EX XP PANS ANSI I ON C CONT ONTROL ROL

EXPERI ENCED PROFESSI ONALS AT YOUR SERVI CE

Environment Inspection

Entering the era of smart inspection machines with Evolution NEO Jean-Luc Logel* explains how the Evolution NEO inspection machine has brought the Evolution series into a new era of smart technology.

T

he Iris research and development team is constantly challenged to optimise the technology employed by the company’s glass container inspection equipment. While previous technologies were heavily reliant on operator expertise to identify defects at the cold end, Evolution NEO represents a considerable shift in emphasis.

Intelligent defect recognition is at the heart of this latest generation technology, allowing Evolution NEO to detect, recognise and provide accurate defect information, requiring machine operators only to determine their size.

Successful tests

Original approach More than six man-years of focused work

by Iris R&D engineers was required to bring the Evolution NEO project to this stage.

The company’s efforts were rewarded with the development of an approach that embraces defect identification, as well as the creation of statistics by defect type.

Local trend analyses are produced on the

machine, with information presented in a user-friendly format.

The equipment delivers features that help glass container producers to save time during the manufacturing process.

An important benefit when compared to conventional automated inspection machines is the Evolution NEO’s ability to take advantage of repeat settings, whereby a library of alternatives is created for the initiation of faster, more precise and repeatable adjustments.

Every setting has been designed to be handled by the machine itself, making the equipment less dependent on the involvement of human operators.

Evolution NEO recognises the article and its exact shape, automatically drawing the inspection zone. This simplifies job changes for the operator and reduces the human error factor.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

One of Europe’s largest glass container factories has already successfully tested the Evolution NEO equipment for several months. Now the technology has been proved in production conditions, it will

be officially launched at this October’s glasstec 2018 exhibition in Germany (Hall 14, Stand No C22).

Also unveiled at the Düsseldorf event, the company’s latest software release improves the ability of Evolution NEO machines to operate in co-ordination with advanced hot end equipment, sharing defect characteristics and defect images in real-time, as well as alerting IS machine operators to examples of critical defect detection.

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n ANNEALING LEHRS

A variety of people within the glassworks management and operational team require access to different information to perform their respective roles effectively.

While operators need accurate data and images that identify a specific defect detected at the cold end, their managers require more of an overview for strategic, decision-making reasons.

Evolution NEO has been specifically designed to provide the correct information for the right people.

The equipment has advanced statistical tools that allows operators to follow defect rejection rates, while also bringing their immediate attention to the most important information analysed by the machine.

This information can be accessed remotely via a laptop, smartphone or tablet to provide managers with an overview of ware quality and productivity. Evolution NEO also integrates a set of different data within its specially created statistical tools, including time, mould number and images, to provide alerts when necessary. The dashboard permits different analysis levels to be presented, either in the form of a quick overview or more detailed analysis.

Smart factory Less dependence on human intervention was a key goal for this strategic development, together with a desire to provide improved productivity for customers in the international glass container community. This development approach coincides with the sector’s move towards the adoption of Industry 4.0 business practices, helping to bring the smart factory concept much closer.

Industry 4.0 is not about the development of advanced technology and digitalisation alone.

It also relates to people, the development of their skill sets and the evolution of more effective working relationships, ultimately creating a customer-centric way of working. Iris Inspection machines continues to work closely with customers to understand their daily routines, identify time-consuming actions and explore solutions, all with the goal of helping them to save time and money. �

*Chief Executive Officer, Iris Inspection machines, Bron, France Web: www.iris-im.com

HOT-END COATING

COLD-END COATING

SCRAPER CONVEYOR • Belt and spindles tempering lines • Decorating lehrs • Chemical tempering ovens • Roller annealing lehrs • Mold pre-heating kilns • Stackers + cross conveyors • Scraper conveyors • Cullet crushers • Thermal shock test systems Contact us: vidromecanica@vidromecanica.com

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Inspection

What’s New in Glass Container Inspection?

Amir Novini* discusses the latest inspection technologies designed to examine the ever-more complex shapes, colours and textures that glassmakers demand. often identifi ed by inspection machines as a defect.

In order to tackle this situation, I developed an inspection method that was able to reduce false rejects by fi nding and ‘erasing’ the mark in the image before inspecting it while not missing any actual defects close by or right on the baffl e mark.The Baffl e Mark Filter (Patent #5,095,204, fi eld 1990) became the fi rst of Applied Glass’ many US glass inspection patents.

Applied Glass continues to push the glass inspection envelope today with new and improved technologies designed to examine ever more complex shapes, colours and textures that customers demand to attract consumers in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Our current glass inspection efforts are focused on the following: 1. Non-contact inspection of glass containers wherever possible. If necessary, we rely on minimum contact but at full production manufacturing line speeds.

2. Inspection of complex shaped, patterned and colorfully decorated containers (including labels) in random orientation.

3. Providing accurate and traceable defect classifi cation so problems can be identifi ed and solved more rapidly resulting in less product rejects and better productivity.

4. Utilising a section of the electromagnetic spectrum well beyond the limitations of visible light.

This range includes but is not limited to soft x-rays, ultra violet radiation, infrared, radio frequencies and sound waves.

In so doing, we have been able to solve complex problems that other technologies cannot manage.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

W

hat makes glass the dominant force in the rigid food and beverage container world?

With 55 million tons of glass containers produced in 2017 alone, glass is clearly king. Here are a few reasons why its numbers continue to grow: 1.

Sustainability – A glass container is fundamentally made from natural materials including sand, limestone and soda and is therefore 100% recyclable making it the least polluting container material. This is in direct contrast to environmentally-damaging plastic containers.

2.

Glass is inert with a high oxygen barrier making glass containers virtually impenetrable, thereby protecting content fl avour, extending shelf life and ensuring food and beverage safety.

3.

Glass is aesthetically beautiful making it the ideal packaging choice for many competitive retail industries— including beer, wine and spirits, gourmet foods, and health and beauty.

4.

Glass containers can be easily manufactured in different colours not only for aesthetic reasons but also to reduce container contents’ exposure to ultraviolet light, which can be damaging.

The art of glassmaking has been ‘perfected’ over centuries, however its amorphous, non-crystalline, freeform solid chemical formation makes consistency a challenge.

Just as it has been throughout its history, today’s glass is prone to defects during manufacturing that can compromise quality and durability.

Therefore, today’s glass containers are inspected more than any other type of rigid food and beverage container before reaching fi llers and the public.

Due to countless variables, glass inspection is extremely challenging. Here are a few reasons why: 1. Glass manufacturers’ continuous efforts toward light-weighting or the process of using less material in the manufacturing process can lead to the formation of certain defects and glass instability.

2. Container complexities such as non-round shapes, etching, embossing and handles create opportunities for distortion in the inspection process.

3. Differentiating acceptable process variations versus actual defects remains the most challenging aspect of automated visual glass inspection. Some visual defect classifi cations are very subjective even among trained inspectors so entrusting the role of inspection to a machine adds another layer of complexity.

One of my fi rst experiences with this scenario occurred in 1988, when I realised there were many false rejects resulting from a normal glass manufacturing byproduct on the bottom of many glass containers called the baffl e mark. The semi-circular or arc-shaped mark was

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Environment Inspection

5. Developing the latest computer hardware and software technologies to solve complex problems while making our inspection systems easy to set up and manage by non-engineer plant personnel.

6. Making dynamic inspection systems that are reliable in demanding and harsh production conditions while being easy to maintain and service.

Non-Contact Inspection Process One major issue glass manufacturers have faced for decades is cold-end inspection speed restrictions.

The glass manufacturing lines are normally split into several lines after leaving the annealing oven only to allow inspection equipment to grab and rotate the ware while looking for flaws.

This process takes up precious space in the manufacturing facility and increases cost and spoilage. Therefore, noncontact or limited contact inspection greatly increases speed and improves productivity. Perfecting this process has become one of our top priorities.

Inspection of Complex Shapes One of the more appealing aspects of glass is its ability to take on different colours and shapes resulting in an attractive container. Until now, the majority of such containers have not been able to be inspected by automated systems due to their imaging and handling complexities, but thanks to our technology that is about to change.

Defect Classification

Electromagnetic Spectrum The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye is quite small and yet the majority of the spectrum invisible to our eyes provides incredibly powerful problem-solving potential.

When it comes to glass inspection, with the exception of a tiny portion of infrared, the spectrum has been largely ignored. This is primarily due to the lack

of knowledge and experience on behalf of the inspection providers. At Applied Glass, we’ve not only mastered the process of utilising the entire visible portion of the spectrum in multi-colour illuminators such as our Multiview lighting system, we have also developed the ability to utilise the previously untapped portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Latest Technologies This is a critical aspect when it comes to providing solutions that bring tangible value to our customers while making our systems easy to use. By utilising the latest technologies available, we can solve problems for our customers that were unmanageable a decade ago.

Solutions One of our strengths is delivering practical solutions to seemingly impossible problems. We have perfected the process of research and development, engineering, product development, delivery and service so that our systems are practical and sustainable. Our inspection systems not only work in the theoretical world but also in the demanding environments of our customers. We use the latest manufacturing techniques and quality control processes to ensure system stability and reliability while backing it with a knowledgeable and experienced global service and support team. �

*President & CEO, Applied Vision, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, USA www.appliedglass.com

www.glass-international.com

For many years glass container manufacturers have used various mould

identification codes to trace defective ware to its origin. Although a great step in process monitoring, this method has generally required quality control personnel to identify the nature of the defect, go back to the mould and take corrective action. Despite claims by some glass inspection manufacturers of having achieved automated defect classification, these claims have produced incomplete or inaccurate results.

Typical vision inspection is generally adequate at finding flaws, however identifying the type of defect requires near ‘human intelligence’.

This is another area where our company shines through with nearly three decades of research and development in the area of artificial intelligence and complex computer learning. In another words, our computers analyse the shape, formation, surrounding information and multiple views of each defect while building a unique characteristic for each defect type and assigning a confidence level to that decision. This confidence level will be a useful indicator of how comfortable the computer is with its decision and the user can then set a threshold to accept or ignore the classification.

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Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only

O N E WAY to make an high quality product The OCMI-OTG group, is leader manufacturer of machinery for the production of tubular pharmaceutical and cosmetic glass containers, table glassware and technical glass

Phone: +39 02 39.09.18.1 E-mail: info@ocmigroup.com Web: www.ocmigroup.com Ocmi_Pharma_Tableware_adv_V02.indd 1

05/10/2016 01:12:15

Environment Inspection

Inspection for labelling area profiles Eleonora Bordini* discusses how Marposs has widened the range of gauging capabilities of its VisiQuick machine with a new measuring system for the inspection of the labelling area profile.

www.glass-international.com

T

he label is important for the brand identity of a product. It differentiates the brand from others.

The presence of local defects on the container, such as sinks or bulges, can cause unevenness, like wrinkles or bubbles, when the label is applied, which reduces the perceived quality of the product. This is particularly evident with ‘no-label look’ labels.

‘No-label look’ labels, produced with thin transparent plastic films, have become popular because they optically blend with the container, simulating a direct printing, at a lower cost and with more decorating possibilities compared to printing techniques.

The high speed of labelling machines can also affect the correct application of the label. In case of claims regarding the label, the responsibility immediately falls to the presence of defects in the glass container. In such cases, the glass container manufacturer has the burden of proving the quality of its product.

Label application is the last operation performed on the container. Defects in the label are detected when the container has been filled and sealed, leading to large compensation costs for non-compliant products. But the main damage for glass container manufacturers is in its reputation.

Glass containers manufactures could have an enormous advantage from a gauging system that is able to accurately measure containers for defects in the labelling area, to help keep the manufacturing process under control and prove their quality to customers.

The same gauging system is also useful to end users for glass containers’ incoming inspection.

Until now, no industrial system has been able to quickly and accurately measure the labelling area profile and detect the presence of bulges and sinks.

Traditional optical gauging systems, based on shadow casting technology, include one or more cameras that acquire

the external shape of the container, i.e. its shadow with respect to an appropriate illuminated background, cannot detect negative shape deviations (sinks), because they remain hidden.

Marposs has designed and filed a patent application for an optical measuring system able to detect and accurately measure positive and negative deviations with respect to the straight profile, in the labelling area.

This system includes a proper coherent light source, projecting a light line on the container surface, and a camera, placed at a defined angular position with respect to the illumination plane, acquiring images of the tracks obtained from the intersection between the light line and the container’s external surface.

The images acquired by the camera during a complete rotation of the container are elaborated to provide a coloured topographic map of the container’s labelling area, reporting positive and negative deviations with respect to the nominal profile.

In a single rotation the system can scan

an area as high as 200mm.

The system is available for the inspection of the labelling area profile on symmetry rotation containers, but can also be applied for the inspection of flat label panels on square/rectangular containers. In this case, the container rotating plate is mounted on a precision linear stage to translate the container’s faces in front of the optical system.

Marposs’s VisiQuick machine has a modular structure and includes additional measuring stations. Thsee include stations to measure external dimensions and geometry, mouth internal diameter and internal profile, weight, push-up and wall thickness.

Marposs is a specialist in precision equipment for measurement and quality control in the production environment. �

*Industry and Product Manager - Glass Containers, Marposs, Bentivoglio, Italy www.marposs.com/eng/product/flexible-measuring-system-for-glass-containers-inspection

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EXTERNAL DIMENSION

INSIDE DIAMETER AND PROFILE

WEIGHT

PUSH-UP

WALL THICKNESS

SINKS AND BULGES

E VERY ME ASURE IS POSSIBLE

Automatic machine for dimensional and geometric inspection of glass containers, on sample basis, in the cold end.

Environment Swabbing

Success in Swabbing Robots Novaxion is an automation specialist in the glass container manufacturing industry and has more than 50 Swabbing Robots installed around the world.

T

he glass container manufacturing industry aims for higher quality and productivity as well as a secure work environment.

With extensive experience and years of partnership with major glass container manufacturers, Novaxion provides solutions for swabbing blank moulds on IS Machines. The Swabbing Robot SR200 has been deemed a success.

For example the latest Swabbing Robot SR 200 was integrated onto an 8-section Emhart IS machine in Piramal Glass’s Missouri, USA plant.

The Piramal group is now investing in an extra five Novaxion swabbing robots.

A new version 1.2 has just been developed (Pic.1). It includes: � A new design with a better integration of the oil tank and other devices, and protection of the cables. � The Novaxion SwabTool software revision v4.0 gives enhanced possibilities to users to view, edit and apply independent swabbing settings on each section.

According to customers needs and to support specific productions such as flexible multi-gob systems, the new version allows the settings optimisation on one section before applying them on all the machine.

www.glass-international.com

Benefits The installation of Novaxion Swabbing Robots has the following benefits: � More product quality: constant swabbing and uniform lubricant application into the mould allow less reject of bottles and constant glass distribution. � Time gains: quick installation, swabbing on the fly no section stops. � Saving on swabbing oil by 85%. � Saving on labour costs: two operators per 24 hours. � Other savings concern swabbing sticks and waste treatment for used swabbing sticks.

� Better working conditions with better air quality and increased work safety.

These savings and benefits add to the increase of the ‘pack to melt’ ratio from 2% to 5% (depending on the factories and the type of production) enables a payback within 12 to 18 months.

“Another key benefit of the technology is improved safety as employees do not need to interact with the forming machine to swab the blank side.

“During an upcoming furnace rebuild project, Gallo Glass will install three more Novaxion robots demonstrating its commitment to the technology.”

Erman Ülken, Production Engineer of Park Cam in Turkey, gives credit to Novaxion for its efforts depending on customer demands: “Park Cam has four swabbing robots in four Bottero 8+8 tandem lines. Robots proved their benefits in a few weeks after commissioning.

“If we would choose some key words to describe the robots we can simply choose safe movements, standard swabbing, thrifty oil consumption, clean environment.”

Mr Ülken concluded: “Novaxion robots assisted Park Cam in retaining high quality and efficiency. We are happy to be a part of this partnership.”

New developments

Testimonies Jason Alves, Project Manager Engineering of Gallo Glass Company, North America’s largest wine and spirits facility, reports about its partnership with Novaxion.

The company has already bought a Swabbing Robot, and recently placed an order for three extra robots: “The installation of our first swabbing robot in 2017 was completed on an Emhart IS machine manufacturing blow and blow wine containers for the Californian market. With the support and expertise of Novaxion engineers, Gallo has seen substantial benefits from the technology.

“Bottle quality has improved, while swab oil use has decreased by around 70% providing housekeeping improvements.

In 2017, Bucher Emhart Glass and Novaxion worked together to implement a new hanged-up Swabbing Robot version V2.0. This new robot was integrated into a Bucher Emhart Glass AIS machine at a European container plant manufacturer.

This new hanged-up Swabbing Robot version V2.0 is already a success: � the integration of the robot on the blank side panel is good. � the system is compact and easy to clean. No visible cables and no protection cage are needed. � the robot’s movements are smooth and operate without any vibrations.

The new hanged-up version V2.0 is supplied by Bucher Emhart Glass. � Meet us at Glasstec Hall 13 / A77

Novaxion, Paluds de Noves, France www.novaxion-robots.com

84 0 Glass International September 2018

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SWABBING ROBOT SR200 V1.2

THE BEST SOLUTION FOR SWABBING BLANK MOULDS ON I.S. MACHINES

5 LD SINCE 200 O S S T O B O R 50 Création IMPRIMAGES - Crédit photos Novaxion

Strength of the Swabbing Robot SR200 : 13 years-experience : 50 Swabbing Robots working sucessfully around the world since 2005.

Swab on-the-fly : the section doesn’t need to stop without rejecting any bottles.

High level of swabbing performances : Swabbing Robot SR200 spraying device goes down into the neckrings.

The plungers are not sprayed at all.

85% saving oil compared to manual swabbing.

2% to 5% increase of pack-to-melt ratio.

Glasstec Hall 13 / A77

Visit our Website

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Increased flame radiation for high fuel efficiency Ultra-low NOx emissions Foam reduction capability for higher-quality glass Enhanced productivity Optional remote performance monitoring feature

This burner is the latest innovation in the long line of industry-leading Cleanfire® burners for the glass industry. To learn more or to schedule a demonstration in our state-of-the-art lab, call 800-654-4567 (code 10867) or visit airproducts.com/HRx.

To make glass better, put Air Products in the mix.

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53035 MONTERIGGIONI (SI) ITALY - Strada di Gabbricce, 6 Tel +39 0577 304730 ifv@fonderievaldelsane.com

www.fonderievaldelsane.com

Furnaces

Electric melting of container glass S

uppose you are a Project Leader assessing the merits of different technologies for your next new furnace.

The decision you make must, of course, take into account near-term capital expenditure, operational costs and many other interrelated factors.

Importantly, you appreciate that this will be a long-term commitment to a particular technology; the furnace you build may last 20 years. You know too, that in a world of uncertainties in respect to legislation, fuel-costs, consumer preference and alike, predicting how things will be in a mere five years is difficult enough. A question then, where does electric melting rank in possible technologies you should be considering?

As is well documented by those of us who promote the technology, electric melting is not new and is already successfully and extensively applied to many, if not most, types of glass at some output scale where composition, fueleconomics, and/or other local factors favour it. Electric melting is highly energy efficient. For larger scale tonnages however, such as in container and float glass, incumbent fuel-fired technologies, both air-gas and oxy-gas, with all the various derivatives thereof, have achieved energy performance levels which, in most places, to date still make it difficult to justify any move towards greater use of electricity.

Notwithstanding economics, the need today to reduce emissions and move towards CO2 neutral production will not only be driven by legislation but by consumer demand for greener more sustainable products.

Ultimately therefore, present-day fuel costs may become irrelevant if you fail to meet the environmental expectations of your customers.

How will energy availability change?

If we could look 50 years into the

future, what types of energy networks (generation-transmission-usage) would we see around the globe? The dependence on fossil-fuel will likely have reduced, so what process technologies will have replaced those currently dependent on gas or oil? Energy usage based purely on electricity generated by renewal means is attractive but perhaps not realistic in the foreseeable future. Intrinsic difficulties of matching supply and demand remain; large scale battery storage would be required that exceeds our present capabilities. Far more likely is that the solution will be achieved by an everevolving mix of technologies including renewal electricity and storage, (perhaps with offshore generation of hydrogen), bio-fuel and nuclear.

In this vision of the future, even if hydrogen and bio-fuels are more readily available, it seems probable that the contribution of electric melting to glass production will have increased.

Coming back to present day, the reality is that alternative bio and hydrogen fuel technologies are not near being practicable and unlikely to be of help within the time frames imposed by legislation and consumer demand.

Electric melting therefore is the best bridge to technologies that may be available in the future; it is plausible too that it will be the prevalent technology for the longer term.

Risks?

Putting aside present-day economics, what are the technical risks of applying electric melting technology on larger furnaces today.

The glass industry is conservative in its approach to change. The development of fuel-fired furnaces in the container sector has been evolutionary. Even with the more revolutionary innovations as have been applied to combustion and heat recovery technology, it has been possible to build in fall-back contingencies.

And, under such a conservative regime,

the push towards ever longer furnace campaigns has been detrimental to progress; evolution requires opportunity as presented by rebuilds; the longer the planned campaign then the longer the term of the commitment and the greater the aversion to risk at the start.

Any move to all-electric furnaces, certainly ones utilising vertical melting principles, is very much a step-change in industry terms. After one or two now infamous failures of large electric furnaces, how can the industry be persuaded to buy into this ‘revolution’.

In actual fact, the risk is not as is often been perceived: As stated above, the technology is proven albeit on a smaller scale, and to date, size limitations are determined by production requirements not the technology itself. Electric furnaces have yet to prove themselves in the container arena, yet the risk factors are no different from those associated with furnaces that could be considered as ‘conventional’.

Failures in recent history were primarily associated with mistakes in construction, commissioning and/or operation and not because of any inherent weakness within the technology itself – conventional furnaces sometimes suffer catastrophic failures too.

Electric furnaces are, however, different and therefore do require specific expertise to build, operate and maintain.

Recognise this at the appraisal stage, plan accordingly and implementation risks can be properly managed just as with any project.

Limitations All-electric furnaces have limitations imposed by their dependence on the batch layer (blanket) across the melt surface. Maintaining a stable blanket is critical in achieving the correct thermal profile in the tank and thereby proper glass quality.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

Electric furnaces may not be the cheapest technology but they are energy efficient, environmentally friendly and offer cheaper and quicker rebuilds, reports Andy Reynolds*.

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Environment Furnaces

wear index 0.00

2.00

4.00

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8.00

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velocity [mm/sec] 0.00

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10.00

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other melting factors, a ‘wear index’ is generated

layer in 100m2 furnace melting em-

which can predict corrosion rate [work still in

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main picture and underside in insert)

Glass & Solar].

at deliberately imposed low melt rate (average 1.6TPD/m2). Blanket is thin and exhibits some initial instability evident from loss of symmetry in some regions. [Work in association

www.glass-international.com

with Celsian Glass and Solar].

The melt area of the furnace will fix an output range over which a blanket can be conserved for a particular composition.

Determining the correct melt area is key to targeting the output range where it best accommodates production requirements. Moving between different output or compositional regimes requires attention with respect to changing blanket conditions. Electric furnaces run hot, relative to fuel-fired ones, and have stronger convective currents; the thermal gradients that exist means conditions can change quickly if stability is lost.

A large portion of the container glass sector requirements production of coloured and/or reduced compositions and often there is expectation of melting different glass types in the same furnace.

The industry is also characterised by use of high and varying cullet levels. The differences in melting characteristics between flint and coloured compositions and adapting to high cullet content, creates some challenges when designing a furnace to accommodate more than one glass type. Composition, redox and cullet levels strongly impact sustainable melt rate, and the large differences in heat transmission between flint and coloured melts implies different furnace geometries. Design compromises are possible although these will inevitability

further restrict operational flexibility.

This last factor has on occasion resulted in the use of a technological variance on cold-top melting; warm-top vertical melting uses a small gas heat input above the batch to extend the range of sustainable melt rate thereby increasing load flexibility.

Notwithstanding the above, an allelectric furnace designed to melt one glass type under a relatively stable load is unbeatable in terms of energy performance and product quality – and with zero combustion emissions. Warmtop melting is also highly efficient, albeit with small combustion emissions.

Operational limitations are diminishing as furnace designs evolve with improved knowledge of processes in the batch blanket. Fives Stein is leading the way in developing better understanding of how composition impacts melt rate and how tank geometry can be optimised to best suit melting requirements.

This work is centred around empirical and theoretical analysis including CFD modelling programmes in conjunction with Celsian Glass & Solar (Fig 1).

Can it be fully automated?

Electric cold-top furnaces (at least those supplied by Fives) have only one primary control input, power, and this means they

are easy to automate.

It is true that operators of electric furnaces often use compositional adjustments (particularly cullet ratio) to tune and optimise the blanket thickness.

However this is in production regimes with relatively large and frequent load changes. For container production, characterised by stable and longer-term regimes, the process should be well suited to electric melting with little or no need for compositional tuning.

With the ambitions of Industry 4.0 in everyone’s mind, there is much talk about Automated Intelligent Control Systems (AICS). For vertical melting cold-top furnaces on-line measuring the condition of the batch layer is key to establishing a ‘fully automated’ melting process. Today this is often done manually by physical measurement or visual observation, methods that are not compatible with AICS philosophy.

However, batch measurement systems are under development – waiting only for the opportunity for site trials. In any case, most AICSs in operation today require occasion manual intervention especially in making pre-emptive control inputs to minimise the impact of future (planned) disruptions such as load changes. Here Continued>>

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Furnaces

electric and fuel-fired systems are no different.

technologies change. Electric furnaces also have much quicker and cheaper rebuilds.

Short campaign lives

Forehearths

Fives, as others in the field, strive to optimise our furnace designs (and the subsequent operational and maintenance related support services) to maximum overall performance – which in real terms means maximum product yield for minimum total cost of ownership. Part of this effort is directed at maximising economic furnace life, and here, better ability to predict refractory corrosion at the design stage is a real benefit and one which Fives Stein is actively engaged in (Fig 2). Good prediction and improved monitoring under operational conditions, coupled with structural designs that allow targeted cooling, has extended furnace lives in recent years.

Still, our best targets to date will fall short of the life expectancy of the best fuel-fired installations. But, are shorter campaigns necessarily a bad thing? Shorter-term commitments to a technology may be a better approach in the coming years, giving more opportunities for innovation and a greater ability to react as market and

If the target is to completely eliminate combustion emissions then we must also think about working ends and forehearths.

Here too full-electric technology is not new and is proven even in container production. Electrical direct (immersed electrodes) and indirect (radiant) heating systems have been successfully applied to most glass types for some years.

Conclusion Going back to our Project Leader planning for his next furnace: The message is that electric melting, albeit currently not the cheapest approach short-term, is the best technology to make your investment fit for the future, one which eliminates risk of suffering the consequences of environmental legislative and customer demand.

However, the technology must be planned for with full understanding of the associated idiosyncrasies. Plant layout, product mix between lines, output ranges and compositional changes

must all be determined to allow the inherent limitations of electric melting to be properly managed. And then, once installed, and with the implementation of proper monitoring, control, and maintenance, the furnaces will run with a stability and energy efficiency that surpasses (by far) any type of fuel-fired alternative.

Fives Stein, and I believe all other reputable suppliers of electrical melting technology, stands ready to support the container industry in the challenges that lie ahead. Today, Fives pushes ahead with the necessary ground work to ensure that tomorrow’s furnaces not only performs to expectations on energy performance, life and glass quality, but that projects can be implemented with minimal risks and maximum returns. The glass industry as a whole, producers and providers, should now work together to set down the strategies that will ensure glass remains the preferred choice of packaging material for future generations. �

*Business Development Director, Fives Stein, Didcot, UK, www.fivesgroup.com

Come and meet us at Glasstec, booth 14A34 !

Making glass is a kind of art.

SIL helps you making more, and better.

Glassmakers’ best friend +33 385 981 919 vertechsales@vertech.eu www.vertech.eu Fives furnaces.indd 3

12/09/2018 15:33:36

Closer to The Heat Source

Why Are

RoMan Transformers

Better?

Energy Savings Reduced System Costs Less Space Needed Increased Product Quality Increased Productivity To learn more about how RoMan Transformers provide all these benefits, download our Energy Savings Study at romanmfg.com/glass-efficiency

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Visit Pyrotek at Glasstec, Hall 13, Stand B48. pyrotek.com/glass

Forming

Take-out insert helps boost container plant’s pack rate checking around the pickup area on bottles.

DuPont Vespel SCP-5050 provides excellent wear and impact resistance.

It tolerates heat well, doesn’t absorb oil like graphite and carbon, and offers low thermal and electrical conductivity. The material offers the best performance characteristics of plastics, ceramics and metals. The material was developed for aerospace and high-heat industrial applications.

The benefit at the Australian plant has been an increased amount of product being packaged and shipped, with less product being rejected for bottle checking and other quality issues.

“That’s a major focus in any glass plant - an increase in the pack rate versus what they melt,” Halliday says.

Plants using carbon inserts typically must dedicate more manpower to continuously monitor production lines, ensuring those inserts hold up and there is no checking of bottles.

“Using SCP-5050 allows workers to

focus on other areas to ensure production is running smoothly,” Halliday says.

“With carbon inserts, they always tend to be managing loss or wear of the carbon, and instability of the bottles due to wear of the carbon. All of those issues can be alleviated from the use of SCP-5050.”

The inserts are durable and longlasting enough that they can be pulled off a machine during a job change and be put back on later when the job resumes.

This is particularly helpful for plants that do frequent job changes and end up throwing inserts out.

In addition to take-out inserts, the material can be used for other parts and shapes in glass handling. This includes the contact surface of deadplates, where the material protects the bottom of new formed bottles. Vespel is often used as a ware guide and offers much longer life than traditional carbon guides. �

www.pyrotek.com/glass

www.glass-international.com

A

n Australian glass bottle manufacturing facility has begun using a take-out insert material that has become an important part of more efficient production.

The plant, operated by a global packaging company and located close to Adelaide, has found that the DuPont Vespel composite material SCP-5050 offers a substantial increase in the service life of the tong inserts compared to carbon inserts.

“Based on the performance of SCP5050, similar bottle plants in the AsiaPacific region—and around the world— can see savings in total cost of ownership of approximately 40% compared with traditional carbon inserts,” says Brendt Halliday, a business manager for glass industry products for Pyrotek.

Pyrotek is DuPont’s agent for Vespel SCP-5050 in the container glass sector.

Because take-out inserts are the first objects to touch newly formed hot glass containers, which can easily be damaged, the right material can reduce issues with

� The DuPont Vespel SCP-5050 take-out inserts made by Pyrotek.

91 Glass International September 2018

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Following in the footsteps of fourteenth-century Portuguese navigators, the LIZMONTAGENS THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES Group, based in Lisbon, Portugal, has expanded its industrial services worldwide over the past four decades, becoming the global leader in glass furnace construction and one of the leading references in heat containment for industry.

Furnaces

NOx reduction technology for large container furnaces Pedel J.*, Chakravarti S. , Maracci M.**, Bonomolo E.** and de Diego Rincón J*** discuss a technology that has already helped glass manufacturers reduce their NOx emissions to below 800 mg/Nm3.

OENR

technology,

developed

for

reduction can be achieved with higher oxygen levels [3]. The use of higher purity oxygen (99.5% from liquid supply or 90 – 93% from on-site Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption/VPSA systems) as a secondary oxidant provides several benefits compared to cold air or oxygen-enriched air staging:

� Smaller volume of secondary oxidant, � Minimal flame disturbance, � Reduced flue gas volume, � Reduced fuel consumption by 3-5%, � Low cost installation, � Minimal maintenance requirements.

Continued>>

1100

� Fig 1. Schematic of oxygen

500 Nox (mg/Nm ) 3

1050

jets (reversing) with lances inserted through

CO (ppm)

1000 Mg/Nm3 (8% O2,dry)

peep-holes.

O2 injection when

450 400 350

950

300

900

250

850

200 150

800

left-side firing.

100 750

50

700

0 0

50

100

150

Oxygen flow rate (Nm3/hr)

� Fig 2. Average NOx and CO concentration in flue gas (stack) vs. oxygen flow rate (Furnace 1).

www.glass-international.com

Concept

regenerative air-fired glass furnaces, achieves low NOx emissions through a combustion staging approach.

A small amount of oxygen is injected near the exhaust ports or other suitable furnace locations.

The amount of preheated air entering the furnace is reduced. Residual hydrocarbons and CO are burned off through combustion with the added oxygen without increasing NOx production.

The effect of the air/fuel ratio on NOx formation in glass furnaces has been well studied in the past. Under normal operating conditions, a 9% reduction in primary air flow results in a 30% reduction in NOx [1, 2].

Rue & Abbasi have studied the effect of oxygen concentration in the secondary oxidant and shown that greater NOx

Ppm, dry

G

lass manufacturers around the world are increasingly required to reduce lower nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions as regulations become tighter.

Most furnaces have so far been able to reduce NOx emissions and comply with current regulations by modifying the primary air combustion system, e.g. by optimising the natural gas injection.

Meeting lower NOx emission levels (500 to 800 mg/Nm3 at 8% O2 dry) however may prove to be difficult or costly to achieve by primary measures alone.

To address this issue, Praxair has developed its Oxygen Enhanced NOx Reduction (OENR) technology to economically reduce NOx emission to below 800 mg/Nm3.

93 Glass International September 2018

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Environment Furnaces

OENR technology has already been successfully demonstrated at commercial scales.

OENR was initially implemented in a 600 tonnes per day (tpd) cross-fired float glass furnace in 1998 and later in an 80 tpd end-port white soda-lime glass furnace [4].

In both instances, NOx emissions decreased by 15-20% while maintaining glass production and quality.

This paper presents recent results of OENR implementation in multiple endport container furnaces with pull rates of around 400 tpd.

Baseline OENR

Pull rate (tonne/day)

435

Electric Boost (kWh)

1000

Success metrics for the one-month OENR trial were as follows: � Demonstrate 15 – 30% NOx reduction with a small amount of oxygen (80-150 Nm3/hr); � No increase in CO concentration in the flue gas at the top of the regenerators and at the stack; and � Maintain glass production and glass quality during the test.

www.glass-international.com

OENR system installation Oxygen lances were installed on each side of the furnace through peep-holes located near the batch chargers (Fig 1).

The oxygen is injected on the flue gas side of the furnace and reverses with the combustion cycle.

The oxygen injectors were designed to optimise mixing between the oxygen jet and the flue gas and to avoid any flame disturbance and crown temperature increase.

A small flow of oxygen is also maintained on the firing side to cool the lance and prevent over-heating.

1000

Air flow (Nm3/hr) 17800 17275-17450 Air/fuel ratio

10.2

9.9-10

0

80 - 120

Oxygen (Nm3/h) Overall excess O2 (%, dry)

0.2

0.2

CO in flue gas stack (ppm dry)

200

210

NOx (mg/Nm3 at 8% O2 dry)

1080

790-820

0%

24% - 27%

NOx reduction (%)

� Table 1. Summary of OENR test results in furnace 1.

Before

Frequency

Commercial implementation In 2018, Praxair and Rivoira implemented OENR in two large-scale container endport furnaces in Italy.

The customer had a new regulatory requirement to install a continuous monitoring system and was interested in lowering NOx emissions in two of its furnaces to meet the EU limit of 800 mg/ Nm3 [5].

Praxair/Rivoira proposed and the customer agreed to an initial onemonth trial period on each of the furnaces to demonstrate the OENR system performance before commercial adoption.

Liquid oxygen was available onsite which made the OENR system installation simple.

435

Fuel (Nm3/h) 1745 1745

After Process characterisation - NOx (mg/Nm3)

600

Before

After

Mean

958 793

Standard deviation

70 65

800 Nox in flue gas (mg/Nm3 at 8% O2 dry)

� Fig 3. Customer report of NOx level frequency - Comparison before and after OENR implementation on furnace 2.

Furnace #1: OENR trial results The first furnace was producing 410-435 tpd of flint glass with a high specific pull rate of 4 tpd/m2.

The furnace operated at an already reduced atmosphere with only 0.2% excess oxygen in the flue gas.

This made any further adjustments to the combustion system to lower NOx challenging. NOx emissions on average were measured at 1050-1100 mg/Nm3 (at 8% O2 dry) and CO concentrations at the stack varied from 100 to 250 ppm (dry).

Oxygen flow rates were varied from 0 to 140 Nm3/hr to determine the optimal amount needed to reduce NOx emissions.

As the oxygen flow increased, the natural gas input was maintained at the same level while the air flow was reduced to maintain the total amount of oxygen injected into the furnace constant.

The results for NOx and CO concentrations in the flue gas at the stack are presented in Fig 2. The initial baseline concentrations without OENR operation were 1080 mg/Nm3 for NOx and 200

ppm (dry) for CO. The best results were achieved with oxygen flow rates of 80-120 Nm3/hr.

This range of oxygen flows reduced NOx concentration in the flue gas to 790-820 mg/Nm3 on average while maintaining the CO level around 200 ppm, which represents a NOx emission reduction of 24-27% compared to the baseline.

Higher oxygen flow rates of 140 Nm3/h did not show any improvement in NOx reductions and resulted in higher CO concentrations in the stack.

Even though deeper staging can typically be expected to lower NOx levels, the higher oxygen flow rates injected at this location caused the oxygen jet to penetrate deeper and interact with the flame on the firing side, thus limiting the NOx reduction effect and increasing the unburnt CO in the flue gas.

A summary of the operating conditions for the air-fuel baseline and the OENR operation is presented in Table 1.

Continued>>

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Furnaces

The test was conducted during normal operation of the furnace at a constant pull rate of 435 tpd and without affecting the glass production or quality.

Regular gas sampling was done in the ports after reaching stable conditions. No increase in SO2 levels in the flue gas was observed. The furnace crown temperature and regenerator crown temperature were also monitored closely.

OENR operation did not show any increase in crown temperature.

Furnace #2: OENR trial results The second furnace was also an end-port air-regenerative furnace producing 380 tpd of flint glass.

The customer collected operating data before and after OENR implementation and, at the end of the trial period, performed a statistical analysis to compare NOx emissions (Fig 3). On average, NOx emissions were reduced by 18% from a baseline of 960 mg/Nm3 to 790 mg/Nm3 with 80 Nm3/hr of oxygen.

A statistically significant reduction in the standard deviation of the NOx levels was also observed with OENR, indicating

the process is more stable overall. CO emissions remained the same with about 200 ppm at the stack. No change in glass quality and regenerator crown temperature was observed.

Customer adoption The customer was satisfied with the OENR system performance on both furnaces and has decided to adopt the technology on a long-term basis.

The customer is also considering OENR implementation on a third furnace.

Conclusion In the context of stricter NOx regulations around the world, the Oxygen Enhanced NOx Reduction (OENR) technology provides a cost-effective means for glass manufacturers to operate furnaces with low NOx emissions.

In 2018, the OENR technology was successfully deployed at two large-size end-port container furnaces in Italy.

In both cases, a small amount of oxygen injected in the furnace (80 Nm3/hr to 120 Nm3/hr) at optimal locations lowered NOx emissions to less than 800 mg/Nm3,

without disrupting furnace operation.

No adverse impact on crown and regenerator temperature, CO and SO2 levels, and glass colour were observed. �

Bibliography [1]

H. Abbasi, M. Khinkis and D. Fleming,

“Evaluation of NOx emissions on pilot-scale furnace,” in 44th Annual Conference on Glass Problems, 1983.

[2]

H. Abbasi, D. Fleming and H. A. Abbasi,

“Development of NOx control Methods for Glass Melting Furnaces,” Institute of Glass Technology, 1987.

[3]

D. Rue and H. Abbasi, “Demonstration of

oxygen-enriched air-staging at Owens-Brockway glass containers,” Institute of Gas Technology, 1997.

[4]

Pedel, J., et al. “Oxygen Enhanced NOx

Reduction (OENR) Technology for Glass Furnaces.”

75th

Conference

on

Glass

Problems:

Ceramic

Engineering and Science Proceedings. Vol. 36. 2015 [5] European

Commission,

“Best

Available

Techniques Reference Document for the Manufacture of Glass,” 2010.

*Praxair, Inc, Tonawanda, NY, USA, **Rivoira Gas, Casilina, Anagni , Italy, ***Praxair Euroholding, Madrid, Spain. www.praxair.com, www.rivoiragroup. it/en

Praxair’s OPTIFIRETM Wide Flame Burner, Gen III Optimized for Oxy-fuel Glass Furnaces

Praxair’s newest generation wide flame burner features a staged combustion process that provides high flame luminosity and low momentum, allowing optimum heat transfer during the melting process.

Key Features: • Highly luminous wide flame enhances heat transfer to glass melt • Low momentum flame reduces particulate emissions & crown corrosion

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• Wide flame pattern results in fewer burners required per unit area of melter • Burner staging has been shown to reduce NOx emissions • “Quick-release” feature for easy installation & removal of internal burner components • Effective at foam mitigation

Learn more at www.praxair.com/glass © Copyright 2018, Praxair Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Praxair, the Flowing Airstream design, Making our planet more productive and OPTIFIRE are trademarks or registered trademarks of Praxair Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

97 Glass International September 2018

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Environment Furnaces

A modern control system for a hollow glass furnace Mr.Tiziano Biondo* discusses an automation platform that allows for the integration of the various critical areas of the plant into a single project.

www.glass-international.com

A

new overseas greenfield project and the desire to innovate with more efficient systems has driven BDF Industries to develop its latest Automation Business Unit entry.

It is a complete process control for the Furnace and Forehearths that uses DCS technology to replace the PLC and SCADA systems used up until now.

The choice to use a DCS system was dictated by many factors, including the request by the customer to have a userfriendly system where the traditional SCADA graphic interface was integrated with the programming environment and the process control logics.

98 0 Glass International September 2018

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Furnaces

� Furnace

The system developed and proposed by BDF Industries for the greenfield project is based on PlantPAx, designed together with Rockwell Automation for use in hollow glass.

It involves a common automation platform that allows for the integration of the various critical areas of the plant into a single project, thereby combining process control with the operator interface.

The modern DCS system is based on open communication standards such as EtherNet/IP that not only enable

the exchange of information in real time between all company levels, but also improve decision-making and management processes.

Another benefit of the system is the option of using modern technologies aimed at breaking down the barriers that in the past made the implementation of a DCS too complex for use even in medium-sized plants, such as a hollow glass furnace control.

The installation of a standard DCS automation system typically requires several days of work and is complex,

� Reversal.

while today with PlantPAx this is no longer the case, thanks to the partial use of virtual templates (made available

by Rockwell Automation) that include system servers, operator stations and engineering stations.

This solution reduces and simplifies the installation of the entire system and at the same time also makes maintenance quicker with the system started up.

For BDF Industries, the DCS system is a new way of conceiving furnace control automation: it includes a wider library of process objects, which contribute to improving interactions between operators and processes, including the management of alarms and anomalous situations.

The library also includes historical models that allow users to view information about events by comparing real-time data with historical data, thereby maintaining a data log and the option of seeing performance levels over time. The simplified layout of the masks also ensures a more intuitive user experience, simplifying training and assistance.

Finally, there is the DCS safety level in the BDF system that allows users to define access rights both on the basis of roles and areas, guaranteeing a new level of safety through authentication procedures and access privileges, which means greater benefits, efficiency and safety for the glassworks. �

*CTO, Automation Department, BDF Industries, Vicenza, Italy www.bdf.it

www.glass-international.com

� Forehearths.

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PEN-4081-18_ANZ_Annealed_by_Pennekamp_A4_hoch_4c_RZ_ZW.indd 1

10.04.18 22:23

Company profile: GTS

� GTS has expanded its range of glass services into consultancy.

Glass Technology Services (GTS): a one-stop shop for the industry G

lass Technology Services (GTS) is a wellknown provider of testing, analysis, measurement and assessment.

Since its formation in 1999 it has provided the international glass industry with a full range of support required to ensure that standards in glassmaking are met.

But in recent months the company has expanded its portfolio and branched out into a variety of other roles. It does much more than take someone’s broken bottle and produce a report.

The Sheffield, UK-based business can now provide consultancy advice on subjects as varied auditing, finance and troubleshooting.

The organisation prides itself on its understanding of glass as a material and its potential. It focuses on all sectors of glassmaking and brings in knowledge from other industries to apply to problems with glass.

Consultancy offering It is this extra, outside knowledge that made the company realise it had the skills to expand into consultancy.

GTS Commercial manager Chris Sorsby said: “We’ve got a much wider offer at GTS now. Over the last couple of years we’ve looked at how to bring it all together, how we package that up and

actually add benefit and value to our services.

“GTS is a unique solution and almost a one-stop shop. Other companies tend to specialise within a particular area; be that modelling of the furnace or specifically in a sector, whereas we work across all these different sectors.

“We’re bringing in knowledge from other industries that we can apply to problems within our industry.

“We’ve got the people and skills here where we’re able to offer more of a one-stop solution rather than possibly some of the others who are more specialist.”

The idea to branch out into a consultancy business wasn’t new. It always had the skills to do it, but the team didn’t have the confidence to kickstart the idea.

The company worked with several organisations around the world and received requests to become involved in a number of different industries and expand its knowledge base. These included the biomedical, environmental, oil, gas, nuclear, orthopaedics, womb care, fibreglass, photonics and finance sectors.

At the same time, within GTS itself, the group was working as separate departments and not sharing enough knowledge internally.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

Gareth Jones* and Christopher Sorsby** spoke to Sheena Adesilu about how Glass Technology Services (GTS) has evolved to become much more than just a testing laboratory.

101 Glass International September 2018

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� Gareth Jones.

GTS Operations Director, Mr Jones said:

“Glass is probably the most Mr Sorsby, with GTS Operations Director Gareth Jones, decided to pool the knowledge base and start the consultancy offering.

Mr Jones said: “We started to do a lot of knowledge management internally and we assessed how we share our knowledge.

“We also needed to assess what we needed to do to make sure that staff have the knowledge they need to do their jobs in terms of ability.

“We have made sure that staff are going to the right training courses, technical groups, meetings and committees as well as going out into the industry to spend time understanding it and the customers that we work well with.”

The consultancy business has started to grow considerably since it started and can consult on any number of glass-related subjects.

important material in the history Mr Sorsby said “If something has failed, we can tell a customer things. But people outside the industry have why it has failed and work with them so it forgotten about it – doesn’t happen again or reduce the number of it’s fallen off the radar. failures that they have on their lines.”

Similarly it has been involved in new products and development � GTS is a one stop shop for thanks to its Product Performance Manager, all things glass. who has a lot of good experience with product design.

of the world because it’s enabled so many

”

Continued>>

...works for you

www.glass-international.com

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103 Glass International September 2018

Company profile GTS.indd 2

13/09/2018 09:38:38

WHAT’S NEXT. See the next evolution in coating measurement at glasstec 2018.

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Company profile: GTS

Mr Jones said: “When a brand is looking at developing a new bottle or a line of an existing product, we get involved in helping them to do that.

“So looking at the modelling of the bottle and what the issue might be in terms of pressure points, we might get a design from a brand owner that’s possible to make into glass.

“But obviously we like to work in between the glass manufacturers and the brand owner to make suggestions.

“We like to make sure that it’s normally around capacity and everything is as it should be.”

Investments

Mr Sorsby and Mr Jones are well known to one another. Both started working at British Glass – based in the same building at GTS – on the same day in December 2012. They were two of five new starters who had been employed as part of the Glass Academy by British Glass. The aim GTS Commercial manager of the Academy was to encourage more young, talented people to work in the Chris Sorsby said: glass industry.

Since then the pair have not looked We’ve got a much back and enjoy their roles in the industry. Mr Jones took over as a wider offer at GTS and over the last couple Director at GTS two and a half years ago while Mr Sorsby followed suit a of years we’ve looked at how to bring it all year later.

Mr Jones said: “Glass is probably together, how we package that up and the most important material in the history of the world because it’s actually add benefit and value enabled so many things. But people outside the industry have forgotten about to our services. it – it has fallen off the radar.

“

� Chris Sorsby

”

Continued>>

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105 Glass International September 2018

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www.glass-international.com

“But it’s actually a very advanced material and the industry has lots of opportunities. We want to be involved in that and to drive it forward.”

GTS has made several investments in recent years in equipment and its people.

“It’s about making sure that our knowledge is up to date and current,” added Mr Jones.

The first investment was a Visual Measuring System. This was because the tolerances to work to were so high and specific that a new system was needed which provided quicker, more reliable and accurate measurements.

The second investment was a small-scale 5kg furnace, mostly used for R&D and manufacturing, while it has also recently invested in a Virtual Reality System, which enables workers to get to grips with an IS machine inside a glass plant .

Mr Sorsby explained: “The Visual Measuring System was a big investment - £100k in total for the kit, which is a big step for us.

“We’re using that to increase our opportunities, mostly in the pharmaceutical and food and beverage sector.

“The level of accuracy we get from that machine is magnitudes better than the equipment we were using before or the equipment that is typically used in the glass industry.

“That’s the sort of thing used at high profile engineering companies for precision parts. And we’re using that technology for glass.”

GTS’ usual client base includes raw material suppliers, glass manufacturers, brand retailers, fibre manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies.

The business works with its clients throughout different stages, including recycling and the whole supply chain in terms of packaging.

It is still focused on its traditional role as a testing laboratory. The furnace allows it to do batch composition analysis.

It can also do trial melting, as well as research and development into trying various batch compositions to give different colour effects.

� GTS recently launched a Virtual Reality-based training system for IS machine operators.

�GTS is based in the same

This includes projects such as Enviroglass, which looks at an alternative to using waste stream from another industry to benefit glass.

The aim is to reduce waste and use an alternative batch, which will reduce energy usage emissions and bring an overall environmental cost benefit to the glass industry. This involved reviewing different waste streams to see if they would work.

Options included changing the batch to reduce the melting temperature or reducing the overall cost of the batch.

GTS has also had enquires from finance and investment companies in the Middle East and Africa. The companies were financing mergers and acquisitions, and they needed assistance with due diligence and their investments.

GTS has a finance manager who was originally brought in as a business analyst. As a result, the team has learnt the market knowledge and finance that the company has to work with. The customers want to know that the numbers are representative around the world. GTS will normally go and audit the sites for them and make sure that they are buying the correct product.

Some of the projects the consultancy and testing laboratory are working on have started to show a ‘Matrix type structure’, in which more than one department works together to solve and give another viewpoint on problems.

It is clear that GTS has changed since its original inception as a research centre within the University of Sheffield.

Mr Jones appreciates the ‘unbelievable amount of things’ to get involved in. He stated that ‘no day is ever the same’. The ‘interesting, diverse and exciting’ aspects of his job include things like; talking to an oil and gas company about their project to looking at contract IPs and patents to talking to a brand owner about the market in Ethiopia.

“We’ve got a really wide understanding of glass as a material and what it can do,” he concludes. �

office as the British Glass association and the Society of Glass Technology, located in Sheffield, UK.

*Operations and Commercial Director, GTS, **Commercial Manager, GTS, Sheffield, UK www.glass-ts.com

Projects GTS has an R&D team involved in projects with Innovate UK, which looks at commercialisation and what will benefit the wider industry through links with British Glass.

106 Glass International September 2018

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ELECTRONIC ASSET MANAGEMENT

VISIT US AT GLASSTEC 2018 HALL 15: BOOTH C56 www.smartmelter.com

History

Prof. John Parker

Arsenic and old lace Prof. John Parker discusses the role of arsenic in refining and opacifying art glass.

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n the July issue of Glass International, I described how European REACH legislation was threatening the production of red, orange and yellow glasses on the island of Murano by limiting the use of cadmium.

Under the spotlight there is a similar issue - the arsenic in their batches, popular as a refining agent and as an opacifier for white glasses, is already banned.

Refining is the global name for the removal of bubbles from glass melts. Two processes are involved. During melting, larger bubbles rise to the melt surface because of buoyancy but their ascent velocity depends not only on the melt viscosity but also on the radius squared, i.e. doubling the size of a bubble means it rises four times as fast and disappears in one quarter of the time. Conversely smaller bubbles can be trapped almost indefinitely. Now, at low temperatures arsenic is present in the melt principally in its 5+ (oxidised) state but at higher temperatures it converts to a 3+ (reduced) state, simultaneously releasing oxygen.

The oxygen concentration is low enough that it diffuses into pre-existing bubbles, causing them to grow, rather than creating new bubbles. These bloated bubbles rise more quickly and are lost to the atmosphere, a process termed fining.

Conversely cooling the melt after melting but before forming increases gas solubility, causing shrinkage and reverses the above reaction. Oxygen in the bubbles diffuses out and oxidises As3+ in the surrounding glass back to As5+; thus any small bubbles (seed) remaining after the first refining step shrink further.

Now small bubbles have a higher internal gas pressure than larger bubbles, and the higher pressure increases the gas solubility, encouraging further solution and ultimately giving a seed free melt.

The temperature range for these redox

processes for arsenic are well suited to hand-formed glasses. The refining action of the sulphide/sulphate system was recognised with the introduction of pure sodium carbonate in the mid 19th century; it is now commonly used by container and flat glass manufacturers operating at higher temperatures than in Murano and is more suited to their melting conditions. For higher temperature glasses such as borosilicate NaCl (salt), it has been used to aid refining, in alkalifree glasses or the redox couple: Sn4+/Sn2+.

Finding the ideal replacement for arsenic in Murano depends on matching its lower breakdown temperatures. Historically, one alternative has been the antimony system (Sb3+/Sb5+), but this has toxicity issues. If suitable chemical alternatives cannot be identified then ultrasonic or low pressure fining may be necessary.

Opacification on the other hand is achieved by precipitating small particles; key to the whiteness of the final glass are a) the size and number of precipitated particles and b) the refractive index step between them and the matrix - the bigger the better. For a given mass of precipitated material, the optimum particle size which maximises opacity is half the wavelength of light (around 250nm).

Larger particles present fewer boundaries to the transmitted beam and hence scatter less efficiently. If the particles are much smaller than the wavelength of light, they become â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;invisibleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and scatter much less. Of course, total concentration is significant. More particles lead to more scattering, which causes greater opacity.

Historically many different opaque glasses have been created and some may need to be re-invented for use in Murano.

Calcium antimonate has been identified as the opacifier in white opal glass on the Portland Vase made by the Romans. By the fifth century, tin oxide (cassiterite)

had taken over the role of antimonates and was the norm in early Venetian production. Calcium (fluoro) phosphate opals, derived from bones or horn, were developed particularly in the 17th century and arsenic opals were trialled. Lead arsenate opals (using smalto) appeared in the mid 18th century. The growth of the porcelain industry in the 18th century stimulated the production of white glass that mimicked its appearance, if not its feel. Opals based on calcium fluoride (fluorspar) were not developed in the West until the second half of the 19th century, though had been made in China from the seventh century. Some modern commercial productions use barium fluoride.

The step in the refractive index from crystal to glass in fluoride opals is less than 0.1, but is greater for phosphates and can be much greater when compounds of tin, lead, antimony, arsenic and titanium are present as the crystalline phase. These form the whitest opals, i.e. the ones with the greatest opacity or covering power.

Opaque glasses have also been used to glaze ceramics. An interesting approach, although not used commercially to my knowledge, is hollow glass microspheres.

The title of this article refers to a murder-mystery play written by Agatha Christie. Its central character, an old lady, is identified by her style of clothes. In Murano, a key use of white glass canes is for twisted white threads resembling lace.

The fact that bones may be involved raises an interesting question.

Bibliography: Newton & Davison, Conservation of Glass, Published by Butterworth Heinemann (1989). ďż˝

*Curator of the Turner Museum of Glass, The University of Sheffield, UK www.turnermuseum.group.shef.ac.uk j.m.parker@sheffield.ac.uk

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Celebrating 50 years of quality UK manufacturing

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Environment Forming

Investing in glass gob gathering robots Christophe Duplan* discusses the use of ball gatherer robots in glassmaking and the investments his company has made in this field.

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ince its creation in 2004, the French company Novaxion has developed a complete range of ball-gatherer robots, able to gather gobs of a few grams weight up to 6kg of glass.

Novaxion formed a partnership with industrial robotics group Fanuc which allowed it to offer customers an 18-month guarantee with a stock of always-available spare parts and an after-sales service in every region of the world.

Novaxion Manager, Christophe Duplan has installed more than 160 robots in different glassworks around the world, since he began to work in the field of robotics for the glass industry in 1989.

The company provides glass gobs gathering robots to glassware producers such as Rogaska in Slovenia, Iittala in Finland and Waltersperger in France.

Mr Duplan said: “After a challenging period from 2010 to 2015, glass gathering robots’ sales are now picking up, meeting the demand for high quality robots.”

Innovation is the leitmotiv of Novaxion and the company is always looking to

innovate to provide robots that gather high quality glass gobs.

Mr Duplan said ball gatherer robots are more flexible than slow feeders.

“There are many advantages offered by ball-gatherer robots which balance the comparison with slow feeders.

“Slow feeder systems can be installed only on a constant level furnace that excludes day-tanks and pot furnaces.

From this first principle, the possibility of working with colour glass is limited.

“Putting a feeder into operation is long and difficult to realise by an operator. It comprises ring clearing, gob regulation and thermal stabilisation of the feeder.

“This period practically does not exist with the ball gatherer robot. These feeder disadvantages are important when production is not done in three shifts.

“Each machine stop for maintenance, breakdown or production change causes important glass losses. With a slow speed there is a necessity to flow down a glass trickle and to make a pre-gob before being able to get the right gob.

“So there is less flexibility with a gob feeder. The glass shape obtained is more limited due to passing through a ring.

“This fact eliminates production of large flat articles, which require spreading out of glass in the mould.

“With a feeder, people are obliged to work in the range of lower temperatures, which is inconvenient for production of some glass articles and sometimes for glass technology since the phenomena of deglazing can appear on the feeder.

“A glass gatherer robot imitating human work enables articles similar to hand-made quality to be obtained with more advantages.”

Novaxion 6 axis Glass Gatherer robots have soft movements that reproduce the hand-gatherer way and are easily movable from one furnace to another. They can work at high speed combined with high precision and they can feed up to two forming machines simultaneously.

For the gathering of glass from daytanks and pots, the company offers a glass gob weight control system to ensure constant weight of the gob while the glass level decreases.

Simple programming methods are used: a new software was developed, allowing more flexibility for the endusers and more adjustment possibilities.

Three models of 6-axis ball-gatherer robots are currently available to gather small to large glass gobs, up to 6kg of glass, from all type of furnaces.

Novaxion offers also two models of pneumatic shears to cut the melted glass: � Shears with V blades (feeder type) to reduce the cut mark. � Shears with transfer and long blades to cut glass down into the mould. � Meet us at Glasstec Hall 13 / A77

Novaxion, Paluds de Noves, France www.novaxion-robots.com

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NOSCO ASIA NOSCO ASIA is one of the leading group in Asia and fast growing group in other continents since 2010.

Provides excellent services of hot repairs and customer satisfaction is our main focus.

After Repair

Before Repair

NOSCO ASIA is providing service of ceramic welding repair to all kinds of glass furnaces in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Japan, Pakistan, UAE, Oman, India, Saudi Arabia and more.

NOSCO ASIA Services: * Endoscope Inspection * Ceramic Welding Repair * Rider Arch Welding Repair * Hanging Crown & Bottom Paving Repair * Checker Cleaning

Tel: +60 127110788 (MY) Tel: +86 13923111639 (CHN)

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Nosco Asia Hot repair specialist

Environment Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 for palletizing Palletizing group Emmeti has launched a range of technology based around Industry 4.0 software for the maintenance of cold end lines.

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mmeti now offers Industry 4.0 innovations to support the service and maintenance process of cold-end lines equipment.

Interactive 3D catalogue With a free programme provided at the time of purchase, the customer can perform a progressive navigation ‘inside’ the machine to locate the piece needed (by zooming/rotating or hiding parts of the model), highlight the features of the piece and retrieve the related codes.

By searching or selecting the component, it is also possible to easily fill in the purchase order for spare parts; the software, for each machine, indicates where the individual components are used and also provides an overview of first and second necessity spare parts lists.

Among the functions of the 3D catalogue, worthy of mention is the possibility of highlighting the lubrication points of the machine, greatly facilitating maintenance work.

The software is so thorough that it also integrates the interactive electrical diagram of the machine, the datasheets of components and lubricants used (useful for finding alternatives of equal characteristics if the components are not available on the market), while still providing a link to the Use and Maintenance manual in PDF format.

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Field tablet The tablet, available to plant managers and/or maintenance technicians, allows access to all the functions and tools of the 3D catalogue directly on the production line, providing concrete help in maintenance processes, leading to a reduction of machine downtime.

An additional feature of the tablet is the ability to quickly recognise the components by reading QR Codes applied to the parts of the machine. In addition to 3D visualisation, if available, maintenance procedures and video tutorials are shown to facilitate operations.

� Emmeti MT598 glass palletizer.

The video tutorials and the illustrated procedures also make it possible to speed up, make more effective and precise job change operations, which are essential for cold-end equipment, saving time and increasing the efficiency and productivity of the lines.

Machine-driven maintenance A further step is the possibility of providing a wireless connection between the machine (for example, palletizer) and the operator’s tablet.

This evolution opens the door to several interesting scenarios: on one hand, sending the production data in real-time allows plant managers to have a complete overview of KPI and, through the analysis of historical data, understanding how to proceed in optimising the production cycle.

On the other hand, all alarm signals and preventive failure indicators (based on work hours and component use parameters) allows maintenance technicians to intervene promptly

with a focus of ensuring continuity of production.

The tablet also contains a Fault Ticketing system: operators can open a fault report, so technicians can quickly intervene to re-establish machine operation and communicate progress or completion of the job, while production managers have an updated overview and can check the efficiency of the line.

It’s a new concept of machine-driven maintenance, where the machine itself provides information on its operation and requires assistance from the technician when it is absolutely necessary.

Evolution never ends The next step in the evolution of the 3D MaintenEasy project will be the use of ‘intelligent’ sensors on the machines, enabling the ability to monitor the wear and tear of the components (based on noise/vibrations/and other related issues) and warn in advance of possible Continued>>

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www.xparvision.com

Bright ideas. Better glass.

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09-02-12 11:37

Temperature Sensors & Components for the Glass Industry

RECKMANN GMBH

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Quality made in Germany

Visit us in Düsseldorf at the Glasstec October 23 to Oktober 26, 2018 Hall 13, booth no. A60

Calibration Laboratory for Temperature ATEX ZQS/E156

Industry 4.0

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Emmeti, Montecchio Emilia (RE), Italy emmeti@emmeti-spa.it www.emmeti-spa.it

FOR VARIOUS APPLICATIONS

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breakages. Predictive maintenance and statistics applied to the history of recorded data will make it easier to identify the components most prone to failure, consequently ensuring the future possibility of having more reliable, performance and long-lasting cold-end lines.

Emmeti was established in 1982 and is a supplier of palletizers and depalletizers to the global glass market and beverage industry.

The synergy between it and its sister company SIPAC, allows the group to offer a range of palletizing, depalletizing and conveying lines. Emmeti is well known for manufacturing high or low level equipment, from semi to fully automatic, including sweeping or gripping/pick & place systems with flexibility and efficiency.

In conjunction with SIPAC, Emmeti can design complete coldend and packaging lines manufactured, assembled and entirely tested in its own plant, as well as incorporate third party systems on the line. �

High releasing properties No graphite transfer Low swabbing frequency Manual or robot application Minimize your glass defects Sulfur-free solutions

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� A Interactive 3D catalogue software – machine overview. � B Field tablet – maintenance procedures and video tutorial. � C Alarm reporting and component selection on 3D MaintenEasy software.

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Hall 14 Stand G13

CONDAT - F-38670 Chasse-sur-Rhône - Tel +33 (0)478 073 838 www.condat.fr - info@condat.fr

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Conveyor Tooth Chains Made in Germany Some suppliers show CAD images, Quality suppliers display masterpieces of Art. All interested customers are welcome to see our capabilities and this true masterpiece of craftsmanship.

Excellent guiding characteristics, a long service life, reliable operation: our laser-welded inverted tooth conveyor chains are convincing in any production setting.

Original link plates and components, designed by the

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Renold GmbH • Zur Dessel 14 • 31028 Gronau (Leine), Germany Phone +49 5182 5870 • toothchain@renold.com • www.renoldtoothchain.com REN_Zahnketten_2018_A4.indd 1

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Refractories

Refractory solutions for the industry Stefan Postrach* and Markus Dietrich** discuss what the merger of RHI and Magnesita means for the glass industry. goal is to be in close contact with the customer to avoid problems and to take full-advantage of RHI Magnesita’s refractories and concepts.

INNOREG The performance of the glass furnace regenerator has a direct effect on the energy efficiency of the production process. To achieve the best performance with optimum regenerator design, operational conditions and customer expectations have to be considered.

RHI Magnesita’s INNOREG system has captured all features of top performing regenerators into a flexible regenerator solution. INNOREG is a tool box, combining material solutions for the checkers, the casing and the rider arches, with new optimised checker shapes, that provide improved characteristics. This enables the execution of tailor-made regenerator solutions.

The heat exchange surface of the checker work is one of the key factors that influences the energy efficiency of the regenerator. Therefore the INNOREG system introduces a new fluted chimney block solution to increase the heat exchange surface area of the chimney block (TLW shape).

Compared to the present TL chimney block, the surface area increase is 15%, leading to a calculated increase in efficiency of a typical regenerator by approximately >1%.

At the same time the new format maintains the advantages of today’s chimney blocks, including fast and easy installation as well as stability of the checker work.

In regenerators, with a high sulphur and particulates load in the flue gas, a risk of clogging of the flue gas channels can be observed in the lower regenerator area, the condensation zone. In this case a chimney with a larger flue size may prevent such problems.

The INNOREG system incorporates a new checker format, the Large Channel Pieces (LCP), allowing the necessary increase of the flue size of the regenerator channels by two, compared to standard chimney blocks. This larger flue strongly reduces the risk for clogging in the condensate zone. The cleaning of the channels from condensates is facilitated with LCP. The use of Large Channel Pieces together with the new TLW chimney block is made possible with a transition layer of chimney blocks with a flue size of 320mm.

This is a double chimney block that transitions from the LCP to the more traditional 142mm flue chimney block.

� New checker shapes TLW (with increased specific heat transfer area), TG32/175, and LCP (with large flue size).

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n 2017 RHI Magnesita became the world’s largest refractory producer with the merger of Austrian company RHI and the Brazilian company Magnesita. With this merger the Glass business unit was integrated into a newly formed business unit, Process Industries and Minerals, which includes the Environment-Energy-Chemistry, Foundry, and Minerals industries as well as Installation segments.

RHI Magnesita’s (RHIM) strategic approach to the glass sector has been updated and the total divestment of the fused cast production completed.

One important future aspect of the business will be the glass furnace regenerator. Many excellent refractory material solutions for regenerator applications are available.

At glasstec 2018 RHIM will unveil an extension of the refractory technology with a new shape concept for the regenerator checkerwork.

The latest developments of the INNOREG system will be presented.

Furthermore, a large product portfolio of proven refractory grades will also be available including high-end products such as the no lime silica, Stella GNL; calcium aluminate blocks, SUPRAL CA, for tin bath bottoms; and a range of chrome corundum and zircon-containing materials. The objective of the expanded company is to use the increased research capacities and market expertise to create new solutions.

Another focus of the new company will be service and consulting.

Refractory performance is influenced by the handling of the refractory products during selection, installation, heating-up and operation. A strong relationship between refractory and glass producers is important to prevent problems arising from improper use or handling. This was the starting point for the service activities of RHI Magnesita, which are becoming increasingly established in the glass industry. The

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Environment Refractories

ďż˝ Incomplete filled joints between silica wedges

compliance with the highest standards are equally as important as specialist knowledge and the relevant experience necessary to interpret results correctly.

If necessary an accurate repair concept will be developed under consideration of the customer expectations. In this case the repair method and the right material selection is important as in many cases expensive solutions can be avoided.

Consulting for fused cast products Rounding out the INNOREG system are the proven chimney blocks (TG and TL shapes), which are compatible with the new INNOREG shapes.

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Silica Stella GNL Silica based bricks are the most common solutions for the melter crowns of container and float glass furnaces. For many years the first lime free solution for silica bricks for this application, Stella GNL, was an excellent alternative to conventional quartz sand based, lime bonded products. Stella GNL has proven its characteristics in many applications, even in oxy-fuel fired container-glass furnaces. But in certain cases the advantages cannot be observed if the installation or the heating-up process is not accurate. If joints between silica wedges are open 3-4mm and incompletely filled with mortar, the performance of the crown is clearly no longer determined by the quality of the silica bricks.

The infiltration of the furnace atmosphere into the excessive joints results in advanced corrosion. This phenomenon is known as rat-hole formation and can be easily avoided by accurate installation together with a proper heat-up process. Therefore, it is essential to work with experienced and capable installation teams.

As additional protection, RHIM suggests the sealing of the crown with a gunned monolithic silica layer to seal open joints on the cold face. Stella GNL bricks can also be supplied in a honeycomb shape.

When installed, this design results in a profiled hot side of the crown, which increases its surface area and by physical effects, the emissivity coefficient. The result is an improved energy efficiency of the production process.

Tin bath bottom block material Supral CA, the first alternative for tin bath bottom blocks not based on fireclay, has

ďż˝ Silica honeycomb shape (available in Stella GGS and Stella GNL).

been an excellent solution for modern tin baths for 13 years. In contrast to CalciumAluminate, the raw material base for Supral CA, the traditional fireclay bottom blocks react with sodium from the glass belt and form nepheline.

Under unfavourable conditions, particularly temperature changes, the nepheline formed at the surface of the tin-bath bottom blocks can peel, which causes problems in the production process. In more than 35 applications no peeling has been observed with Supral CA, which proves that the approach of a changed raw material base for the corresponding blocks is a viable solution.

With application experience, it became apparent that during the heat-up process of a tin bath, the humidity within the metal casing and the tin-bath bottom blocks needs to be removed prior to filling with tin.

If this is not done properly any remaining humidity might lead to production problems. Sufficient drying can be ensured by adequate measurement in the tin bath atmosphere during heat-up.

Technical Services Hot Inspection RHIM offers furnace inspection during operation, supported by endoscopic investigation or infrared measurements.

This helps to follow the condition of the refractories and the furnace. For this purpose, inspection devices and

Fused cast products are the preferred refractory choice for glass contact material and are also frequently used in the superstructure of the melting basin and other areas in glass furnaces.

Thus, the quality level of fused cast products is essential to ensure the performance and lifetime of glass furnaces.

Based on experience and profound know-how with fused cast materials, RHIM offers advice and quality control to the customer.

The lifetime of fused cast blocks is influenced by several quality factors, particularly the inner structure of the shapes. At present, the most sophisticated method to check the internal structure of fused cast blocks is radar measurement.

Here RHIM provides not only the corresponding test equipment, but also the expertise to interpret the measurement data.

Other important quality aspects are the finishing of the blocks to evaluate resulting joints and the precise installation in the field.

RHIM experts support the customer by examination of preassembled furnaces and cold inspection of the completed furnace before heat-up.

Unfortunately defects are a constant challenge. In some cases refractories are suspected to be the source of defects.

The investigation of glass defects are necessary to accurately identify their source and to start appropriate measures to find a solution to stop the problem.

RHIM has the know-how and provides independent expertise to identify and overcome glass defects.

RHIM has R&D centres in Austria, China and Brazil and offers all common methods to investigate the refractory products for the glass industry. ďż˝

*Vice President Marketing, **Project Manager Marketing, RHI Magnesita, Vienna, Austria. www.rhimagnesita.com/en/solutions-services/glass/

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Company profile: AGIS

An engineering group for the Mexican glass industry

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A Mexican company was formed to assist in the logistics, organisation and in turnkey projects in glassmaking. CEO Isabel Gonzalez Castro discusses AGIS.

Can you explain why you formed AGIS? We got the idea of forming AGIS from the industry itself. All the partners have worked for a long time in the construction of batch plants, furnaces and installing IS machines and lehrs. We saw that working hand in hand as a team made the logistics and organisation of the project much easier.

We do not have to deal separately with various companies but we take decisions, organise all the work together as a team and everybody is in the loop and knows exactly what to do. We always know, first hand, the status of the project and what will be the next steps. We manage our own time schedule in accordance with the proceedings of the project and customers needs.

We also saw a lot of problems due to missing information about the project during the engineering phase. We will put together all the information and engineering of the batch plant engineering company as well as the furnace engineering company and we will make a 3D presentation out of it. The customer will see upfront where there are interferences with buildings, roads, cable trays or tubing lines etc.

The project can be seen virtually on the computer screen even before starting the construction phase.

We can eliminate bottlenecks and obstructions before they occur. This saves time and money during construction.

Customers increasingly request turnkey solutions. We wanted to form a company that could follow this request. It is difficult for a single person to offer these solutions but as a team, where every partner has an ability and other skills, it is easier to act, capable to offer the full service requested by customers.

“As a team, every partner has ability and skills, so it is

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easier to act

What role will the company carry out?

As can be seen on our company logo, the ‘A’ as the first letter is inverted and forms a raw material reception hopper. The ‘I’ symbolises a glass gob.

Initially AGIS will offer and perform turnkey solutions starting with the reception of raw materials up to the gob. This means that we can offer starting from the analysis of the pre-project to the construction, start up and commissioning of the batch plant, furnace, distributor and forehearths.

AGIS can offer the whole scope of services but if the customer wishes only part of the services because he does not require the whole range, we will accept that and integrate the customers part together with AGIS’s as it was a turnkey project.

Therefore I always say AGIS can… if the customer only wants special items out of our range of services, we are able to do so.

For example, the services can include: � Analysis of the pre project. � Elaboration of bidding documents. � Elaboration of time schedules. � Getting offers from the different suppliers. � Comparison schemes of the offers. � Assistance during the engineering phase � Project modelling (3D) � Integration of various, different engineering concepts into one final project � Project management � Refractory pre-assembly inspections � Equipment reception before shipping � Supervision during construction or turnkey installation � Heat up of the furnace � Endoscope inspection of the furnace � Training of furnace and batch plant operation � Troubleshooting and solutions � Maintenance of batch plants and furnaces Will you only focus on the hot end? Or is there scope to expand to the cold end?

For the time being, we will concentrate on the hot end. One of our partners has a lot of experience in installing IS machines and lehrs. If the customer Continued>>

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requires this service, we can also include it in our scope for the project. We are open to individually discuss the customer’s needs for the project and if there are installations of other parts of the project where we can help and be of service we will evaluate the possibility to include these services.

When was AGIS formed?

AGIS was established in June 2018. It is based in the city of Cuernavaca in the state of Morelos in Mexico. We will start serving the Mexican market but we are also prepared to serve

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Hall13/G49

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* latest swabbing-robot installed in July 2017 in Germany

The company is formed of three glass professionals.

Who are they?

The idea of forming a company like AGIS was the long term project of my husband Hans Mehl. He worked in the European and US glass industry and was involved in a lot of turnkey projects. He saw the market and the need for these services in Latin America. As Managing Director of MGFS and Heat Up Latin America he does not have the time to work full time with AGIS. He could never let this idea go so he spoke about AGIS to me, Marco Bejarano and Francisco (Paco) Lopez and asked us if we would establish this company.

The three of us agreed because we saw the necessity and market for this company. Mr Mehl is not part of the company but is always available in case of consulting needs. His companies, MGFS and Heat Up Latin America, are part of our team of subcontractors.

Marco Bejarano has more than 12 years of experience in the industry and is the Technical Director. He has managed minor and major glass furnace repairs, new constructions of furnaces and forehearths, construction of new batch plants, maintenance of batch plants as well as greenfield projects.

He was in charge starting with the basic engineering of the different constructions up to the commissioning. This included structural calculations, mechanic and electric engineering and automatisation.

He elaborated time schedules, project budgets, economic feasibility studies, detailed engineering and 3D modeling.

Francisco (Paco) Lopez is the Director of Operations for AGIS. He has more than 17 years of experience working for the glass industry. He owns the company, FAESI, which is based in San Luis Potosí, Mexico and he is dedicated to the manufacture and installation of complete metal structures for furnaces and the manufacture and installation of all tubing lines for water, gas, fuels and compressed air as well as furnace cooling air ducts.

FAESI can also install IS machines and lehrs. FAESI owns a complete set of heavy machinery to install all the materials they manufacture. This means they have all kind of forklifts, cranes, trucks, gantries and other lifting equipment for installing equipment necessary to the glass industry.

Isabel Gonzalez Castro only has two years experience in the industry but has a lot of knowledge and experience in finances and project management. She is also the author of the book “Disfruta de tu dinero y aprende a generar más” (Enjoy your money and learn how to generate more). She is the major shareholder of the company and also the CEO. Isabel will elaborate all of the project calculations, intermediate financial reports and final financial reports of the projects. She will also be elaborating offers, financial feasibility studies and she will be in contact with the customer all the time, overviewing the cost situation of the project.

Experience in glass and financing are both important to us.

Glasstec booth

12/09/2018 15:46:36

the Latin American market. I would like to say that I hope that maybe one day somebody from another continent will require our services. We are also prepared for this scenario.

What differentiates AGIS from other firms?

With our partners and our technical assistance partner MGFS, we have more than 30 years experience in the glass industry. We know the market and the subcontractors. We only work with experienced subcontractors who have already performed work in the glass industry.

The customer speaks to us and we take care of communicating with our partner companies. Every department of the customer’s facility can call us and everybody at our team will be entirely aware of the project and its details and can therefore answer questions right away or in a short time. As we have the whole project, changes made by the customer or changes due to technical needs can be done right away and in case suppliers have to be informed about these changes because it will affect items they are manufacturing, they will be informed right away and revised drawings can be sent to them rapidly.

Communication between the customer and other subcontractors can be done through AGIS. The customer does not lose time in dealing with subcontractors. We will take care of the supplies of every subcontractor.

A lot of customers have more than one furnace in their factories. They need their staff to run production in their factories and not to supervise a construction or repair project.

AGIS will do that for them. Valuable time and manpower is saved for production and benefit to the customer.

What is the long-term plan ?

Like every company, we have a desire to expand and take on more projects. It is important to employ more staff as we grow because we want to train more people in the glass industry. We want specialists to serve our customers. We will train people on the job as we feel that this is the best way to learn and get experience in what they do. We are starting but we will not limit our activities to Mexico or Latin America. If we can have more projects overseas, we will go for them. �

More information about AGIS: Mrs. Isabel González Castro E-mail: i.gonzalez@agisglass.com Phone: 0052 777 202 2969 Ing. Marco Bejarano E-mail: m.bejarano@agisglass.com Mr. Francisco Lopez E-mail: f.lopez@agisglass.com Its website is under construction.

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Environment Forming

Glass container factory uses less air

Flow meters measure the production and consumption of compressed air. They provide a wealth of data to maintain efficiency in the machines and compressors, and quickly detect any compressed air leakages. Pascal van Putten reports on the benefits they have brought to a Dutch container glassmaking factory.

www.glass-international.com

N

o less than 40.000 Nm3/hr of air is produced at a large Dutch glass container factory. A total of 20 VPInstruments flow meters measure the production and consumption of compressed air.

They provide data to maintain efficiency in the machines and compressors, and quickly detect any compressed air leakages.The factory manufactures 1.3 billion bottles per year for global brands and small breweries.

Compressed air is needed to drive the bottle-blowing machines and to blow the liquid glass into the mould. The company aims to reduce its energy consumption by 50%. Compressed air is an area on which it has focused, which makes sense because compressed air accounts for 30% of the total electrical power consumption. As a comparison, in all of industry this figure is on average 10%.

Compressed air system design There are two compressed air systems. One

at 5.5 bar to drive the bottle machines and one that delivers 3 bar to blow the bottles.

To drive the compressed air systems its large compressor room houses no less than ten compressors.

There are four centrifugal compressors: two for the high-pressure and two for the lower-pressure system. There are also six rotary screw compressors for the highpressure system. They all deliver oil-free air and operate 24/7, 365 days a year.

Each type of bottle means a different level of air consumption. A compressor management system ensures the optimum combination of compressors.

Comparison On each compressor, as well as on several main lines to the bottle-blowing machines, there are flow meters which monitor the production and consumption of air. All measurement data is logged in a real time monitoring system, VPVision.

This monitoring system is connected to a central EMS that also keeps track of gas,

power and water consumption. The data provides energy-saving measures.

The compressors’ efficiency is determined by comparing the amount of compressed air produced with the power consumption. As soon as a compressor shows a performance drop, the cause can be looked at. For example, this could be an internal leak or a clogged inlet filter. By using the same method, the consumption of compressed air for the bottle-blowing machines is analysed. The flow meters also play a role in creating employee awareness about responsible energy use.

The customer stated: “The great thing about flow meters is that they respond immediately to any changes in the machine settings, so we have linked them to the VPVision monitoring system we bought from VPInstruments, that displays real-time data over a web interface.”

Continued>>

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Glasstec booth

Hall13/G49

* latest swabbing-robot installed in July 2017 in Germany

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Environment Forming

Accuracy or trend VPFlowScope insertion meters are easy to install without having to shut the compressed air system down. There needs to be a straight length of pipe before and after their position for them to take accurate measurements. It is often a challenge to find the right location in existing factories. The factory in this case has a complex compressed air system with lots of corners and elbows in the pipework. By help of VPInstruments, the best position for the flow meters were allocated for accurate measurements.

For some cases no right location could be found, and a slightly greater level of inaccuracy was accepted since the flow meters still provide useful trend monitoring data.

Energy reduction The flow meters have already led to substantial annual savings and improvements. For instance, the customer was able to map out the compressed air consumption in the glass furnaces. It emerged that savings could be made in cooling the sides of the furnaces. It has switched from compressed air cooling to

ventilator cooling, saving energy.

The glass industry and compressed air In all four primary glass industry segments (flat, container, speciality and fibre glass), energy makes up a large portion of total glass production. A reduction of energy costs, immediately results in decreased production costs and thus an increase in profit. Compressed air is an indispensable utility in the glass industry, required to drive production machinery and more importantly needed for the glass blowing process itself.

Since compressed air is the most inefficient and expensive form of energy in a factory, compressed air use should be limited to the maximum. Compressed air

savings measures in glass factories easily have a ROI shorter than one year.

All typical compressed air savings measures apply for the glass industry, including permanent monitoring, leakage management, lowering pressure and proper maintenance. Compressed air is also used for cooling processes. In some cases, the IS machine internal cooling can be modified to run on low pressure air instead of high pressure air (1). �

(1) Further reading: https://www. airbestpractices.com/industries/food/propercompressed-air-glass-container-machines

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... a passion for precision.

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Glass International September 2018

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WHEN QUALITY MATTERS www.parkinson-spencer.co.uk

ADVERTORIAL MASSO - FORMING

Rotor-tube: Improving glass quality for Container Glass Mathieu Girard discusses the correlation between physical study, mathematical simulation and industrial experiences on the rotor-tube design which has helped improve glass quality within the feeder [Registered Community Design].

Obviously, we cannot design a rotor-tube for each feeder, which would be the best solution for a glassmaker, adapting parameters to real flow and glass properties. We have to work with an optimised solution fitting with most cases and hopefully, there are still parameters we can play with. We will introduce two of them and explain the influence on glass quality. The first is rotation speed. The second, which is also a way to describe our philosophy when developing the rotor-tube, is the number of helixes. Based on our industrial experience, mathematical simulations and physical studies, we are glad to show the qualitative results of the rotor-tube.

1. Physical study: The experience runs on a 1:2 scale feeder with, under real conditions, the following parameters: 30 tpd; 1140°C; 218 Pas; glass level 196mm. Fluid is glycerine and tracer is made of phenolphthalein.

Room temperature is controlled to fix fluid viscosity.

RPM and glass quality When we talk about tube rotation, we know that almost all lines work with a speed value between

1 and 6 RPM. This value is mainly based on local observation and global experience to fit with process constraints. Feedermen know that moving from clockwise to anti-clockwise or increasing speed rotation may help to deal with some glass defects. Our study is based on three cases: 2, 4 and 6 RPM. Only a clockwise rotation is considered here.

Number of helix and glass quality Introducing helixes on a tube is easy to understand based on the stirrer effect point-of-view.

Nonetheless, there is a risk to badly influence the gob weight stability and, then, to generate more issue than we get initially especially on the NNPB process.

That’s the reason why we made a step with two helixes before going now up to four helixes. Our study is based on three cases: 0, 2 and 4 helixes.

Figure 1: Rotor-tube helix,

Defects

part of the innovative

The transversal section of the feeder is divided into 15 areas, with three vertical positions (top, middle and low) and five horizontal positions (right, midright, middle, mid-left and left).

For each area, we can introduce a coloured tracer representing a glass defect as a ‘heterogeneity in the glass structure’. Highresolution cameras record the behaviour of the tracer.

Expendables set

Results More than 150 trials were made covering all the above cases.

To evaluate the performance of the rotor-tube, we established a ranking from one to five as:

*Sintered Refractories Manager, Comercial Quimica Masso, Lyon, France www.cqmasso.com/en/

1. Sharp cord in the spout 2. Nearly sharp cord in the spout 3. Part of the tracer is mixed, part is nearly invisible cord in the spout 4. Tracer is mixed, mixed tracer is visible in the spout 5. Tracer is mixed, no colouration in the spout

One being the lowest rank when the defect isn’t mixed and fully rejected in the spout, five is the highest rank when the defect is fully mixed before going through the spout.

Our intention is to release the raw data as well as our analysis, giving everyone an opportunity to perform extra interpretation of the results. � 130

www.glass-international.com

I had opportunity to introduce our rotor-tube design in the April 2018 issue of Glass International, talking about solutions to improve glass quality from an OPEX point of view. Many people are tempted to try our rotor-tube, but they wonder how efficient it will be when applied to their process. It is time to release R&D data and try to drive glassmakers in the proper way when using this tool.

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Environment MASSO - FORMING ADVERTORIAL

Figure 2: Lateral view during trial Figure 3: Bottom view during trial Figure 4: Top view during trial with 15 areas in transversal section Fig 2

Fig 3

Considering first the impact of RPM on mixing ranking, calculated here as the average of mixing rank in the 15 areas for each case, we establish the obvious conclusion that increasing the RPM results in a better dilution of the defect in the glass. The main reason is the higher tangential speed around the tube and that dilution is a function of that speed.

www.glass-international.com

From 2 to 4 RPM, the performance increases by an average 17% in our cases. From 4 to 6 RPM, the performance increases by an average 9% in our cases.

In details, it appears that the efficiency is increased for the upper part of the glass, for the left side of the glass and also for the right part of the glass.

We can see the right part also called the ‘dead zone’ with already a good rank, with only slight improvement going from 0 helix-2 RPM to 4 helixes- 6 RPM. For the lower middle part of the glass, we haven’t any significant improvement for these cases.

To deal with defects originated from lateral and top parts of the glass, we can advice to increase a little bit the tube RPM, whatever you get 0, 2 or 4 helixes. This solution is already frequently used by feedermen when they have to clear some defects.

Fig 4

31%, especially on the top and lateral parts. For the lower middle part of the glass, we haven’t any significant improvement for these cases, again.

But, except within the 6-RPM case, moving from 0 to 2 helixes doesn’t show an improved dilution of the defect since it’s even slightly worse.

Considering then the impact of helix numbers, it appears that the study was a surprise for us. Being known that we run this study after years of industrial experiences, we expected the results to fit with these experiences. If we take out the two-helixes cases, then we are fitting at the most with glassmaker’s feedback.

We decided to keep this twohelixes case for several reasons: firstly, it is our ethic and integrity to show the complete results, even if it doesn’t feed easily our communication; secondly, it is an interesting case to develop further in the ‘Industrial feedback’ section.

2. Mathematical simulation

Let’s start saying that moving from 0 to 4 helixes greatly increases the glass quality, about

Mathematical simulation is a powerful tool to drive R&D projects or give expected results before trials. Although this tool

After introducing the first design of two helixes rotor-tube, we worked in various parameters such as helixes position, size, angle and so on. The next step was to offer this solution with higher number of helixes, four being our internal consensus.

Following the above results, we advise people facing glass defects to earnestly consider a trial with a four-helixes rotor-tube, which is an additional tool to RPM changes.

is limited by several factors, we paid a lot of attention to the given results and we are discussing the way to improve models by any new input from physical studies or industrial feedback.

A mathematical simulation was done with similar parameters to the physical study, for fixed 6 RPM and variable number of helixes, on four different areas: left, right, top and bottom parts. For the two laterals and the upper parts, we have seen a significant increase of the defect dilution when we increase the helix number. For the bottom part, we have seen a better dilution for 0 helix case, the two and four helixes cases being slightly equivalent.

3. Industrial feedback With more than 100 feeders around the world using the concept of rotor-tube (mainly the two-helixes version of our innovative design but we are currently implementing everywhere the four helixes version) we have built a strong empiric experience of its � 132

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Fig 5a

Fig 5b

Fig 5c

Figure 5: Mixing rank for 15 areas with 0, 2 and 4 helixes and 0.2 and 4 RPM cases

www.glass-international.com

Figure 6: Average rank versus RPM for 0, 2 and 4 helixes

performance. From 6 to 14’’ inner diameter, from 20 to 130tpd feeder, from extra flint to various colour and glass chemistries, from cosmetic to pot through pharmaceutical and tableware products, we collected plenty of data and we came to a tricky conclusion: it is impossible to fully predict the performance of our rotor-tube in detail. At least, we can ‘feel’ that this defect will be corrected, this one will be not be cleared and so on. But feeling isn’t enough when it comes to decision time. When we analyse the feeder and create its ‘ID card’, we have to consider the design, the status of the refractory new, almost new, mid life or bad condition -, the process operation - stable, almost stable, subject to huge tpd change up to 30-40% and the defects currently causing trouble in terms of quality. The already very-subjective notion of defect will change drastically

from one line to another and from one factory to another, driven by glass products application. Then, the appreciation of the tube-rotor performance will be also affected by this conjunctural expectation of the glassmaker.

We have to start with the very rare cases where the rotor-tube doesn’t give full satisfaction.

The first case was a container-line producing bottles for alcoholic beverages but not luxuryoriented. Half of the products were affected by cords and subject to rejection.

The use of the rotor-tube didn’t help with such a critical situation and only the refurbishment of conditioning area gave back a proper quality for the glass.

The second case was a line producing bottles for wine in a famous French wine region. One

Figure 7: Average rank versus helixes for 2, 4 and 6 RPM

line gave tremendous cords and a second one gave slight cords but still acceptable. The installation of a rotor-tube on both improved the line with tremendous cords but on the second line, it appears that defect level was worse with the rotor-tube than without.

is able to reduce the intensity level and/or duration by 40 to 60%. Nonetheless, in case of old furnace and conditioning area giving high amounts of cords, the rotor-tube may not be efficient enough to reach an acceptable level.

The third case was similar to the first one, with an old furnace giving many cords. The rotor-tube brought improvements but only the stirrer system, until a recent refurbishment of the furnace was able to clear the defects.

For the cat scratches, the rotortube gives positive results but not over 100% of the running period.

That means cat-scratch episodes keep the same intensity, only the frequency is reduced.

Then, for the remaining majority of positive results on glass quality, we have, defect by defect, extrapolated the expected results.

Many people know about the rotor-tube and its success, so the following positive results may sound familiar.

For the cords, the rotor-tube

For the glass suffering light streaks or coloured streaks, the rotor-tube showed a significant improvement, especially in the case of bigger machines, from 10 to 14’’ tubes.

For industrial feedback, we sometimes fail in collecting all necessary information from glassmakers and we rely only � 135

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Figure 8: Visual representation of defect speed and trajectory

on global impressions, which is something we try to consider inside our studies. The consensus from feedermen and quality control operators is that rotortubes help improve glass quality.

Internally, some major glass producers recommend all their factories to implement the rotortube as a standard, considering that payback is almost immediate, bringing additionally more comfort to feedermen.

feedback, mathematical simulation and physical simulation, we have seen that for lateral part and upper parts, moving from 0 to four helixes step-by-step increases glass quality. Unfortunately, for the middle bottom part, we have mixed results. But why industrial experiences still give the rotortube more credit for glass defect reduction than a standard design without helix?

Another positive point we heard about the rotor-tube is the improvement of gob homogeneity, for shape and temperature.

Unfortunately, even we are very satisfied that the rotor-tube brings such advantages to our customers, we have no way in our current studies to evaluate this behaviour. We will start to collect data on industrial experiences using an infra-red thermometer to confirm this delta-T decrease.

So, connecting industrial

4. Missing a dimension?

Conclusion For our team of ceramic engineers skilled in fluid mechanics, it was fastidious to understand these unexpected results through mathematical and physical studies. The answer came with one dimension we didn’t mention until now in our previous results: Time! Considering the time as an extra source of interpretation turned these studies and experiences into evidences.

For a closed system, if we increase the residence time of glass somewhere, we necessarily decrease it elsewhere. This information isn’t accessible through our industrial feedback, but we got the data from both physical and mathematical studies. For the mathematical study, it appears that increasing the number of helixes increases the residence time for upper and lateral parts, decreasing the residence time of lower parts.

For physical study, it is hard to determinate the residence time when the tracer is fully mixed, so we cannot consider these parts for this analysis -but because mixing is good enough, we don’t have to wonder about residence time- and we focus on the lower part, where the mixing rank remains poor, whatever you are using 0, 2 or 4 helixes between 2 and 6 RPM. The results globally showed a consistently reduced residence time for the lower part of the glass when we increase RPM and/or helix number. That helps to understand why the rotortube is efficient to remove cords: even if the stirring effect is far away to be enough in the dilution process of a cord -mainly due to the chemical nature of a cord generally made of ZrO2-Al2O3-, a lower residence time in this area, where cords are known to be mainly located, means a faster evacuation of the defect origin.

That fits with feedback we get from many feedermen who say that cords appear for a shorter

period of time: naturally, rotortube works as a purge.

As a general conclusion, I would recommend first to use the right quality refractories when building a new furnace because most of these painful defects come from refractories, and then, when the furnace starts to age or already gives unexpected glass defects, to use the rotor-tube with four helixes, working on the RPM to get optimal efficiency but knowing that after a certain level, it is worthless to increase it. In certain cases, the rotor-tube will not give the expected results, especially for old furnaces or young furnaces made of lowquality refractories, especially fused-cast AZS. At the end, hopefully, mathematical simulation, physical study and industrial experiences converge to the already-known result that four helixes rotortube is a must-have solution for anyone concerned with glass quality.

5. Acknowledgement and co-author I would thank first Mr. Tomas Krobot (Glass Service) for running this study for us with patience and professionalism; Mr. Erik Muijsenberg (Glass Service) for the fruitful cooperation between our companies; Mr. Szabolcs Zoltan (REFMON) for the technical and financial help of his company to support this study; and Mr. Canaguier Jérôme (MASSO) for his global contribution.

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Figure 9: Case of very frequent and massive cords

www.cqmasso.com

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Technical Topics

John Henderson Henderson Technology

The return T

his column was last published over a year ago and I hope that some of our readers have missed it.

I have a little more freedom with the subject so while it will still be ‘glass’, there might be a few other things cropping up from time to time.

There will still be a technical bias and some history (not in the same league as John Parker’s column) and possibly some SGT discussions; I am after all the Honorary Secretary (at the time of writing I still have not been sussed as they say in all the best/worst crime dramas).

What has caught my eye over the past few months? One cannot ignore the difficulties plastic packaging is going through with regard to the environment and recycling.

As a dyed-in-the-wool-glass man it is hard not to gloat a little. However, where is the message about the benefits of glass?

Reading the packaging trade press, all the comments and analysis are about the troubles of plastic and the need for consumer education.

The only pieces about glass were the contenders for the UK Packaging Awards and its new design of bottle. There were no comment articles from the glass industry extolling its virtues; perhaps they were not asked!

Now, I have been around long enough to know that glass and plastic must live alongside each other but that should not mean that our great, untainted and infinitely recyclable material should play second fiddle all the time.

In my last column, I mentioned the use of lasers in glass processing and measuring and suggested that the use of high intensity light was around before lasers. I ended that

paragraph with ‘but that is another story’ well here is that story.

Before telephone exchanges were converted into electronic switches, they were mechanical, then electrical.

It is the electrical part that should concern us. How do you get a fast acting, reliable and robust electrical switch for use by the millions in environmentally challenging buildings around the country? You put the switch into a glass tube, of course.

The switch was a couple of gold plated contacts separated by a precise distance and sealed within a small piece of glass tubing about 4mm in diameter and 20mm long, including the connectors. So where does the light come from?

It comes in from a high wattage quartz halogen lamp within a gold plated parabolic reflector, focusing the visible and infrared heat on the ends of the tube to seal them onto the matched expansion contacts.

Many of you will immediately be asking how this was possible, as the heat generated would not be enough to create an efficient glass to metal seal quickly enough for this to be economically viable in production (remember the ‘millions’).

This is true, but the answer lies in the glass technology, as I suspect you knew it would. The glass tubing was standard soda-lime silica, but the key was the high level of infrared absorbing species in the glass, which in this case was iron.

And not just any old iron, but a high ferrous to ferric ratio controlled by adding the iron as red iron oxide and ferrous oxalate for a total iron of about 3% with a bit of graphite to help maintain the ratio.

There was a small amount of cobalt

added to make the tubing blue rather than a yellowish-green, but essentially it was the ferrous iron in the glass that allowed it to react to the infrared fast enough to seal the ends of the switch on an inert atmosphere production line.

This was a long time ago and in a different era, but it is still interesting.

It is possible that you know the SGT organises and runs a conference or two.

Furnace Solutions is probably the best known to predominantly industrial readers and the SGT Annual Conference to a wider audience.

The SGT has a wide experience and a considerable reputation in organising and running larger international conferences such as ICG, ESG, and most recently the Borates & Phosphates Conferences at St Anne’s College in Oxford.

The breaking news is that in the last few days the SGT has been entrusted with hosting, organising and running the prestigious internationally renowned Physics of Non-Crystalline Solids conference (PNCS) in 2021.

Details are obviously limited at present but the venue is expected to be the University of Kent in Canterbury.

This conference is unlikely to have general appeal to industrial companies but I mention it to try to persuade you to keep an eye on the SGT website and see what other events are available and how you and your colleagues can benefit from both the content and the networking opportunities.

Incidentally, it is rumoured that these events are also really enjoyable.�

Henderson Technology, Sheffield, UK www.hendersontechnology.com

www.glass-international.com

John Henderson returns with his regular column to discuss the glass technology in electrical switches used in telephone exchanges.

137 Glass International September 2018

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Furnaces

Refractory Thickness Sensor Expands its Scope Yakup Bayram* discusses Smartmelter and how it has become a standard part of regular furnace health monitoring programmes.

advanced radar technology to develop sensors that could successfully identify the exact location of glass penetration and measure the remaining thickness of the refractory block.

At the time, the glass industry had grown doubtful that a solution could be developed, and therefore had not begun to imagine the full scope of applications that such a technology could provide.

Today, SmartMelter offers a complete monitoring programme facilitated by a system of patented sensors and proprietary software. The SmartMelter team first maps the entire furnace into sections that can be identified in XSight software for data collection and visualisation of the furnace. XSight also keeps comprehensive furnace health records. Early stage glass penetration is identified using the Furnace Tomography Sensor (FTS), which interacts with the insulation layers from the outside of

the insulation wall. Residual refractory thickness is measured using the Refractory Thickness Sensor (RTS), which records the interface between the glass and the refractory wall from the outside of the refractory block. All of the data is reviewed for quality control, analysed, and presented to customers in XSight along with recommendations.

Validation on Sidewalls and Bottom SmartMelter technology was first validated in a blind trial on the sidewalls of a container glass furnace that was scheduled to be drained for cold repair. Before the furnace was drained, measurements were taken in 11 spots on the furnace on both sidewalls, a doghouse, and the area between the throats. The original blocks were recovered after the Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

W

hen PaneraTech first released SmartMelter technology to the public in 2017, it was a validated solution for assessing the thickness of furnace refractory sidewalls and bottoms.

The glass industry responded with excitement, finding areas of application across the full cycle of asset management and expanding the scope of materials that can be monitored. In some cases, it even influenced the development of new variations of the patented sensors.

SmartMelter is a furnace life optimisation solution that provides deterministic data using advanced radar technology. PaneraTech first partnered with Libbey glass to address speculation when assessing the condition of furnace below the glass level. Although decades of research had been invested into solving the problem, no one had found a solution that provided precise information.

PaneraTech used its experience with

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Environment Furnaces

drain and measurements were compared.

The actual block was found to be within 4mm of SmartMelter’s measurements.

One of the first companies to approach PaneraTech for an alternative use of the technology was a float glass manufacturer that wanted to monitor the condition of a furnace bottom.

PaneraTech worked with the company to develop a sensor that would accurately measure the furnace bottom and was sized right for data collection.

SmartMelter was used to closely monitor the furnace bottom during its last several months of operation. Just before the furnace was drained for rebuilding, the SmartMelter measurements were recorded for a blind trial.

After the drain, the furnace bottom was measured, validating the SmartMelter measurements within 5mm.

Expanding capabilities

target specific areas, or identify exactly how far a glass line should be lowered for hot repair.

Once customers start using SmartMelter, they often find ways to make informed decisions earlier in the furnace lifecycle. For example, some customers have used SmartMelter to determine the best product mix for their furnace.

Some have identified batching problems early enough to make adjustments.

Problems can also occur with a refractory when the furnace is first heated if expansion joints don’t close well and glass leaks through the joints into the insulation. A baseline inspection after heat-up can prevent a surprise leak in the early years of operation.

SmartMelter monitoring has been welcomed and adapted rapidly within the glass industry to meet needs and improve operations.

The programme has become a standard part of regular furnace health monitoring programmes, affecting decisions at all stages of furnace life. �

*CEO, Paneratech, Chantilly, VA, USA www.paneratech.com

www.glass-international.com

The successful use of SmartMelter to detect glass on furnace bottoms led to the testing and use of the technology to identify metal infiltration on the bottom of furnaces that use recycled glass.

XSight software is now able to display extensive 3-D imaging of furnace bottoms showing the location and extent of wear

for both glass and metal.

After SmartMelter technology was used successfully on fused-cast AZS, specialty glass manufacturers started to request the technology for high zirconia. Using PaneraTech’s careful three-step method of internal validation, field testing, and blind trial, a SmartMelter programme for high zirconia was developed. There is now a high demand for SmartMelter monitoring programmes in the specialty glass industry, where furnaces carry a higher cost and shorter lifespan.

In addition to this diversification of materials that can be monitored, SmartMelter customers have expanded the purpose and use of the technology to inform decision making across the life cycle of their furnaces.

The most common use of the technology is to monitor a furnace that is at a critical stage. This is the stage that usually produces the most tension between optimising furnace life and mitigating risk, and accurate data reduces this tension, often allowing the furnace to operate longer.

However, manufacturers also use SmartMelter to create repair schedules and improve budget planning. Data can be used to evaluate cooling techniques,

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Waste Heat

GEA supplies Saint-Gobain plants

G

EA has supplies Saint-Gobain with two Waste Heat Recovery Systems (WHRS) in Italy and India.

Each will use waste heat from the float glass production lines in Pisa, Italy and Sriperumbudur, India. Commissioning is planned for the first half of 2019.

GEA technology makes it possible to generate electricity and compressed air from otherwise unused waste heat from the production process. GEA said SaintGobain can improve energy efficiency in production and conserve resources with its solution.

The existing gas cleaning plant in Pisa will be integrated with the GEA WHRS. In Sriperumbudur the newly built gas cleaning plant supplied by GEA will also be equipped with the GEA WHRS. The reasons for going for a WHRS are different – in India the electric power supply for the plant will be insured, while for the Pisa plant the supply of compressed air was an important factor as well as the supply of thermal power for building heating.

One important reason the company chose GEA was the successfull commissioning of a WHRS with a thermal oil loop and electric power production via an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) in 2012 in the glass industry.

In a waste heat recovery system, thermal power is transferred from the waste gas to a heat carrier by heat exchangers (called waste heat recovery unit – WHRU). This heat carrier is, due to the temperatures, thermal oil.

Via the heat carrier cycle the thermal power is transferred to an ORC. The ORC, similar to traditional steam cycles, generates electric power via a turbine and a generator. However instead of water, an organic medium is used.

The turbine may be coupled with a compressor for producing compressed air, which will be the case for the Pisa plant. Both the generator as well as the compressor are installed on the turbine shaft.

No further unnecessary efficiency losses are created to run the compressor.

6252 Calumite Glass Worldwide 87x128 AW

GEA, Dusseldorf, Germany www.gea.com

Glasstec

Hall 13 Booth G39 calumite.co.uk

Calumite – an essential raw material for the glass industry.

To find out more call Calumite Ltd on:

• Reduce energy consumption

+44 1724 282211

• Improve glass quality

Email: enquiries@calumite.co.uk

www.glass-international.com

Use Calumite to:

• Increase furnace pull • Reduce furnace temperatures • Reduce NOx and CO2 emissions • Provide a high quality alumina source

Benefits in investment, savings during operation

Simullex GmbH • Thomastrasse 7 • D-92665 Altenstadt/WN Tel. +49 9602 6175 448 • Fax: +49 9602 6175 449 • info@simullex.com www.simullex.com

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WHERE THE HOLLOW GLASS INDUSTRY MEETS TO DO BUSINESS

THE EUROPEAN HUB FOR THE HOLLOW & CONTAINER GLASS MARKET Join us in Lyon for the biennial Glassman Europe event focusing on this important market for hollow and container glass manufacturers. This regular, popular event gathers together leading suppliers to demonstrate their latest innovation, products and services.

In 2017, there were over 800 attendees from 25 countries, including representatives from O-I, Verallia and Ardagh. The press coverage from the event included a wide range of articles in national and regional business media.

TO FIND OUT MORE CONTACT:

We are looking for producers, manufacturers and service providers within the following fields to exhibit their products and services:

• Raw materials

• Processing machinery

• Batch Plants

• Laboratory services & analytical equipment

• Melting furnaces • Combustion equipment • Refractories • Feeders & forehearths • Hot end handling materials & systems • Annealing & decorating lehrs • Cold end handling materials & systems

• Decoration materials & equipment • Instrumentation/process control systems • Turnkey plant construction services & technical assistance & training • Software providers

• Tempering/laminating plants

Ken Clark, Sales Director t: +44 (0)1747 855117 e: kenclark@quartzltd.com Manuel Martin Quereda, International Sales Executive t: +44 (0)1737 855 023 e: manuelm@quartzltd.com

CONTACT US TO BOOK YOUR STAND

WWW.GLASSMANEVENTS.COM/EUROPE Organised by:

Join the Glassman Group

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Official media partner:

@glassmanevents

11/09/2018 13:28

Inspection

Thermal Imaging camera system for ‘FurnaceSpection’ Erhard Niessner* discusses how special filters have allowed for accurate temperature measurement in glass melting furnaces. is working at its optimum efficiency.

The user is also able to monitor flame condition, thereby reducing the production of NOx pollution, resulting in less environmental impact, while maximising the lifetime of the furnace.

At a cost of several thousands of dollars per furnace and re-tubing costs in the millions, a large amount of capital can be lost if a furnace failure goes unnoticed or if the refractory linings are retired too early or too late.

FurnaceSpection helps operators to monitor and control process temperature uniformity through streaming images and powerful software for analysis and historical trending.

Digital and analogue outputs are available to broadcast images of the plant’s local network.

Once a suitable installation position of the camera outside the furnace has been established, the special optics allow the user to monitor temperature distribution inside the glass furnace itself, a feature which cannot be achieved using more traditional thermocouples.

With the addition of special spectral filters, the negative influences caused by burner firing can be avoided.

Alternatively, a different setup of the camera with another spectral filter can be used, whereby the flame image is visible.

The data communication between the

� Fig 1. LumaSense FurnaceSpection system with borescope lens MCS640.

� Fig 2. Thermal camera.

thermal camera and a PC takes place via Ethernet, allowing the representation of the respective thermal images even at a remote location.

The dedicated ‘LumaSpec Software’, enables the capture and recording of image sequences or frames that are event-driven. Measuring points as well as measuring zones can be freely selected by defining ‘Minimum’, ‘Maximum’ or ‘Average’ values, which can then be used for closed loop process control. The measured data can be provided via I/O modules with analogue or digital outputs.

Alternatively, all measured values can Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

A

new generation of ‘Furnace Spection’ thermal imagers by LumaSense are equipped with a borescope optic system. This system enables monitoring of the temperature distribution inside the glass melting furnace through the furnace wall.

A resolution of more than 300,000 pixels can be achieved by using optics and the borescope lens system is available in a number of different lengths to suit most applications.

The use of an 8mm diameter viewing port and the provision of positive air pressure across the end of the borescope will ensure that the lens is protected while the system is inserted into the process.

For furnace temperatures above 1400°C, the air cooling system can be supplemented with the addition of a water cooling system.

In the event of cooling water or air medium failures, a specially developed camera retraction system will automatically withdraw the camera from the process to prevent it being damaged by excessive heat, giving the user peace of mind that their valuable asset is protected 24/7, 365 days a year.

The FurnaceSpection imager provides users with a real-time tool, which identifies the process abnormalities before they develop into problems that can lead to unplanned outages.

This radiometrically-calibrated imager accurately measures the temperature of the products and refractories inside natural gas-fired furnaces. In addition to both standard for stationary (SD) and mobile (MB) versions, it can be customised to meet application needs.

For glass melting tanks, this is a critical tool to ensure that refractories remain intact and that the melting process

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Environment Inspection

� Fig 4. (small) Specially designed camera retraction system.

� Fig 5. Specially designed camera retraction � Fig 3. Thermal Image of a furnace with LumaSpec RT software.

system (2).

be transmitted via TCP/IP, Fieldbus systems, Profibus, Profi-Net or Modbus.

LumaSense has developed industrial grade thermal imaging solutions for more than 20 years, and has deployed custom

*Senior Sales Consultant, LumaSense Technologies, Frankfurt, Germany info@lumasenseinc.com, www.lumasenseinc.com

www.glass-international.com

systems around the globe to monitor processes and assets in glass plants. Its products are supported by experienced field service and application engineering teams. �

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ASIA 2019

WHERE THE HOLLOW GLASS INDUSTRY MEETS TO DO BUSINESS

REACHING THE ASIAN MARKET Glassman Asia will be the ideal opportunity to network with industry professionals from around the world whilst learning about the latest products and services on the market.

The container glass industry is becoming more prevalent in Jakarta and surrounding areas in Indonesia. With

We are looking for producers, manufacturers and service providers within the following fields to exhibit their products and services: • Raw materials

• Processing machinery

• Batch Plants

• Laboratory services & analytical equipment

• Melting furnaces • Combustion equipment

companies such as O-I, AGC and Horn heavily investing in

• Refractories

sites around the country, there’s been an unprecedented

• Feeders & forehearths

boom in production over the last few years. This investment

• Hot end handling materials & systems

in technology and innovation in the region makes it an ideal meeting place for the regional industry, to gather, learn and

• Annealing & decorating lehrs • Cold end handling materials & systems

share ideas on the future of glass making.

• Decoration materials & equipment • Instrumentation/process control systems • Turnkey plant construction services & technical assistance & training • Software providers

• Tempering/laminating plants

TO FIND OUT MORE CONTACT: Ken Clark, Sales Director t: +44 (0)1737 855117 e: kenclark@quartzltd.com Manuel Martin Quereda, International Sales Executive t: +44 (0)1737 855 023 e: manuelm@quartzltd.com

CONTACT US TO BOOK YOUR STAND

WWW.GLASSMANEVENTS.COM/ASIA Organised by:

Join the Glassman Group

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Official media partner:

@glassmanevents

11/09/2018 13:20

Environment Events: Murano glass convention

Associations discuss the future of glass at convention in Italy Associations from around the world attended the Second Convention of International Glass Associations. This included GIMAV, Abravidro, ATIV, AGGA, GGF and Glass for Europe. Sheena Adesilu attended.

T

www.glass-international.com

he two-day glass convention took place at the Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro (SSV) in Murano, Italy and was organised by Vitrum and the Italian Trade Agency (ITA).

The ITA views the glass industry in Italy as one of its most important industries.

This year’s event brought together 17 international glass associations.

Vitrum is an international trade show held every two years in Milan, Italy.

Dino Zandonella Necca, President of Vitrum, said: “I’m very happy that we can

communicate the history and future of the glass industry.

“This second meeting of the International Glass Associations confirms the importance of understanding the true market needs and those of its players.

“But, this is just the beginning - if last year we laid out the groundwork for an industry journey, this year we will map out the priorities to be pursued, aware that concrete results may only be visible in the long-term.

“The previous meetings were

compelling experiences, because they commanded group reflection.”

Mr Necca believes Vitrum is a good meeting point for the associations. He also stated that if the convention in Murano could be deemed the annual spring meeting at Vitrum 2019, Vitrum would have the opportunity to update itself and increase the value of the glass industry around the world.

The first successful Convention of International Glass Associations meeting was in 2017, which led to the

� �Laura Biason, Director of Gimav (left), Dino Zandonella Necca, President of Vitrum (middle) and Stefano Manoli, Director of Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro (SSV).

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Events: Murano glass convention

following meeting at Vitrum in October in Milan, where existing relationships with international associations were strengthened.

The associations then had a follow-up discussion about what has happened in the glass industry since the last meeting and set out their future goals.

The international associations to attend this year included Italy’s GIMAV and the Associazione Tecnici Italiani del Vetro (ATIV), the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), Abravidro from Brazil, the Australian Glass and Glazing Association (AGGA), the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) from the UK, the International Commission on Glass (ICG) and Glass for Europe from Belgium.

Each gave a 10-minute presentation outlining the role of their organisation as well as the challenges and opportunities they all face.

Laura Biason, Director of GIMAV, said: “Over the last 12 months, since the first edition of the convention, we have continued to strengthen the bond among all the delegates who participated

� Delegates at the conference.

last year, while also engaging with new industry players.

“We succeeded and this was another huge satisfaction for us, because it means we are on the right track.

“It is incumbent upon us to convey to the media an understanding of the true essence of our efforts here, based on the principles of cooperation and concerted action, that cannot help but work to everyone’s advantage.”

Ms Biason believes that thanks to GIMAV’s shared objectives, it was able to complete the list of discussion topics that it outlined last year.

Topics included communication and information, technical and production standardisation, education and training, history and culture, energy and environmental stewardship.

GIMAV’s sense of community was apparent in these contexts because by sharing the projects and outcomes achieved, as well as the difficulties faced along the way, it was possible to see the issues from different perspectives.

This often means finding an

interpretation that could be the winning solution.

Brazilian association Abravidro specialises in flat glass processors and distributors. It is the biggest glass entity in the country with 193 members. It provides content, institutional affairs, standards, training courses, conferences, trade shows and consultancies.

Its campaign, Tamo Junto Vidraceiro, guides glass processors on the best practices that must be adopted with glaziers, which consists of four topics.

These include compliance with technical standards, customer service, commercial policy and technical guidance.

Iara Bentes, Superintendent of Abravidro, said: “We [have] developed some campaigns to meet the market demands.

“In Brazil, it’s a new thing for glaziers to be so interested and worried about standards.

“The majority of what Brazil produces is tempered glass, mirrors, laminated glass Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

� Organisers and associations in Murano.

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and table-top.

“The crisis in Brazil has had a really bad effect on our economy, especially in the construction sector.

“This is because 80% of our revenue comes from the construction sector.”

Italian association ATIV aims to bring together all the specialists dedicated to the glass industry within research and technology.

Alessandro Bandini, President of ATIV, said: “In the past few years, ATIV has established deep ties of co-operation with institutions and research centres.

“We aim to organise several training days in 2019. The city of Parma has received the Italian Capital of Culture award 2020.

“For this reason, we decided that the annual ATIV conference will not be limited to glass technology but it will also include glass history and art.”

The Australian association AGGA specialises in the glazing industry. Its four main goals include improving its industry performance, recruiting apprentices, reviewing its qualification for Glazing and Glass Processing, its Master Glazier programme and its accredited company programme.

Patrick Gavaghan, National Training Manager at AGGA, believes that the process sector is getting more technical.

In the last four years, there has been a huge surge in the building of inner house flats and apartments. More than 3,000 businesses are directly employing glaziers.

The association wants to promote glazing as a lifelong trade for young people in the industry. AGGA believes in Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

Mr Gavaghan said: “I’m glad that a couple of associations are looking more towards skills in the workforce as well.

“Apprenticeship and recruitment is a crucial issue for us in Australia.

“We need qualifications for our glaziers.

“We’re making better and more technical glass, [as well as] using glass in a lot more areas.

“We want more young and confident people to install the glass. This is good for glaziers, because it gives them a profile.

[We used to only have] an apprenticeship for three to four years, where you could become a glazier.

“We’ve now added another layer onto that to become a recognised and certified glazier. And the top one is a Master Glazier. After ten years of work and being an apprentice, you can apply for that

status.”

A particularly interesting presentation was by GGF about security and safety glazing. Using last year’s tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, England in which 72 people died, as a prime example, the presentation covered how risks could be minimised in built up areas from terrorists, incidents, natural disasters and man-made disasters. Key points included the education of governments, homebuilders and homeowners.

Glass for Europe talked about communicating glass’ added value beyond energy efficiency. Bertrand Cazes, Secretary General of Glass for Europe talked about the current EU policy, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

Mr Cazes said: “A lot of our work as a policy maker is promoting energy efficiency policies.

“We have been extremely active this year in Brussels and different capital cities, because the European Union was devising its most important piece of legislation on this matter, which is called the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

“This directive is what frames all the building codes in the 28 member states of the EU. “Because this directive was just revised, it means that the 28 member states will have to revise their own thermal regulations and building codes to make sure it is compliant with this EU legislation.

“Unfortunately, the tragic event of the Grenfell Tower in London is an example [of an unsafe building].

“But of course, we know that security and health including fire safety are critical elements in buildings.”

ICG’s mission is to contribute to the achievement of more glass use in more areas. Its Technical Committee focuses on R&D. It is the backbone of international

cooperation in the glass industry. The team’s work includes basic glass science and characterisation, glass production, applications, communication, education and history.

Prof Alicia Durán Carrera, Vicepresident and President-elect of ICG, said: “Glass is an indispensable and brilliant material for a better life.

“Workshops and expert meetings are organised to develop R&D roadmaps in the most important fields of glass science and technology, such as glass melting, as well as glass and ceramics for advanced or biomedical applications.”

The German Engineering Federation (VDMA) manages 1500 member and expert networking events per year. There are 150 companies at VDMA, which deal with glass. Günther Mlynar, Board Director of VDMA talked about its goals for the future and current projects.

Mr Mlynar said: “In terms of our goals, we want to work together on a number of things such as standardisation, Industry 4.0 and technical and environmental regulations.

“Our current projects include machines and plans for the manufacture, treatment and processing of flat glass, as well as Industry 4.0 and smart glass.”

The group got the opportunity to visit the island of San Giorgio later that day.

The first activity took the group to see the Holy See Pavilion’s Vatican Chapels, which showcased 10 beautiful and grand chapels constructed by architects.

The second activity was an excursion to the church of San Giorgio Maggiore, which is a stunning and tranquil brightwhite place of worship steeped in 16th century Benedictine history.

The last activity was a trip to see ‘Le Stanze del Vetro’, a gallery-museum dedicated to the history and culture of glass processing from the early 1900s.

An eye-catching piece of art was a bold and colourful cluster of various glass shapes and sizes with contrasting angles and textures by artist Pierre Charpin. �

Vitrum 2019 will take place on 1st-4th October at Fiera Milano Rho, Milan More information about the convention at www.communityofglassassociations.org/ press-area

www.glass-international.com

Events: Murano glass convention

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WHERE THE HOLLOW GLASS INDUSTRY MEETS SOUTH AMERICA 2019 TO DO BUSINESS 14-15 May 2019, Sao Paulo Expo, Brazil

A RETURN TO BRAZIL South and Central America has been one of the most dynamic regions in the hollow glassmaking sector in recent years. There has been a host of new glassmaking facilities that have opened recently and there has been a renewed interest in the region thanks to its favourable economic and political conditions.

This, coupled with an increased disposable income among the population’s consumers, has seen a surge of confidence in glass packaging.

In short, there has never been a better time to expand your business within this region and we are delighted to be taking Glassman to Sao Paulo in 2019. Don’t miss out, reserve your exhibition stand now.

TO FIND OUT MORE CONTACT:

We are looking for producers, manufacturers and service providers within the following fields to exhibit their products and services: • Raw materials

• Processing machinery

• Batch Plants

• Laboratory services & analytical equipment

• Melting furnaces • Combustion equipment • Refractories • Feeders & forehearths • Hot end handling materials & systems • Annealing & decorating lehrs • Cold end handling materials & systems

• Decoration materials & equipment • Instrumentation/process control systems • Turnkey plant construction services & technical assistance & training • Software providers

• Tempering/laminating plants

Ken Clark, Sales Director t: +44 (0)1747 855117 e: kenclark@quartzltd.com Manuel Martin Quereda, International Sales Executive t: +44 (0)1737 855 023 e: manuelm@quartzltd.com

CONTACT US TO BOOK YOUR STAND

WWW.GLASSMANEVENTS.COM/SOUTH-AMERICA Organised by:

Join the Glassman Group

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Official media partner:

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11/09/2018 13:28

COMPANY PROFILES: glasstec 2018

HALL 13/G81

Alfred-Zippe Str. 11, 97877 Wertheim, Germany www.zippe.de Hall 13/A31

Hall 13/A71 Hall 14/F34

HALL 15/B39

TIAMA

Nikolaus Sorg GmbH & Co. KG Stoltestrasse 23, 97816 Lohr am Main Germany www.sorg.de

ZA des Plattes, 1 Chemin des plattes, 69390 Vourles, France marketing@tiama.com www.tiama.com

Serving the glass industry Hall 13/B45 HALL 15/B39 EME GmbH Wockerather Weg 45, 41812 Erkelenz contact@eme.de www.eme.de

WALTEC Maschinen GmbH Kronacher Str. 2a 96352 Wilhelmsthal - Steinberg Germany Tel +49 9260 9901-0 info@waltec.de www.waltec.de

HALL 13/D90

glass.fivesgroup.com Hall 12/C53

HALL 14/C22 Iris Inspection Machines Z.I. du chêne, 14 rue du 35eme Regiment d’Aviation, 69500 Bron, France www.iris-im.com

HALL 13/B33

ISIMAT GmbH Siebdruckmaschinen Encart media planner 2015 Asian glass.indd 1 27/05/2016 Rindelbacher Strasse 36-40 D-73479 Ellwangen Germany Tel: +49 (0) 7961 886 0

HORN Glass Industries AG Bergstrasse 2 95703 Ploessberg Germany www.hornglass.com

11:31:37

www.isimat.com

KAMMANN GmbH

DIGITAL / SCREEN PRINTING HOT STAMPING FULLY AUTOMATIC UNIVERSAL DECORATING MACHINES

HALL 12/B33

Bergkirchener Straße 228, 32549 Bad Oeynhausen, Germany kammann.de

HALL 13/ B47-5

Hall 13/D15 Laan Corpus den Hoorn 300 9728 JT Groningen The Netherlands www.xparvision.com

Hall 13 – Booth E55

HALL 13/G63 F.I.C. (UK) Limited Long Rock Industrial Estate Penzance, Cornwall, TR20 8HX, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1736 366962 general@fic-uk.com www.fic-uk.com

BDF INDUSTRIES S.p.A. Viale dell'Industria, 40, 36100 Vicenza - Italy Tel: +39 0444 286100 www.bdf.it

www.glass-international.com

HALL 13/B13

151 Glass International September 2018

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