Furnaces
Extended Life and Times of an Oxy-Fuel Furnace Collaboration between companies leads to successful projects. One such project between TECO and a customer had led to an oxy-fuel furnace operating successfully for 17 years reports Brian Naveken.*
� Fig 1. Project overview of major elements.
� Fig 2. Project timeline.
� Fig 4. Oxy-fuel furnace near completion.
� Fig 5. “Birthday” of furnace.
� Fig 3. Project timeline adherence to schedule.
� Fig 6. Degradation of spinel material in melter due to carryover.
Design based on total cost of ownership - 2003 A
project
defines
the
relationships,
roles and responsibilities of the design, engineering and construction team required to provide the realisation of a glass furnace from concept through shutdown. Originally, one of our clients was operating a TECO double square all-electric melter, to produce glass tubing. The client contacted TECO prior to their next rebuild scheduled for 2004-2005. Discussions on the rebuild centered on whether to rebuild the existing electric melter or build a new 200 USTPD oxy-fuel furnace with three new Zedtec forehearths. The rebuild was also to include converting the forming method from a Danner to a Vello process to increase productivity of tubing manufacturing necessitating an increase in the glass line elevation. A new oxyfuel furnace would involve batch plant
modifications, building modifications, an emissions system and an oxygen farm. With all of these changes considered, higher quality, higher yield target and a 10-year versus four-year life, an oxy-fuel furnace was selected to achieve the lowest Total Cost of Ownership.
Construction begins – September 1, 2004 Construction on the furnace and forehearths began September 1, 2004 and was completed in 140 days, within budget and on schedule, using the Design-Build project delivery method. The existing TECO electric furnace was decommissioned on November 21, 2004.
Continued>>
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C
ollaboration is synonymous with outstanding leadership and teamwork. Companies that work collaboratively benefit from greater resource access, communication and trust. It is also the key to innovation and innovative practices and is the cornerstone of Design-Build projects. The bottom line is, companies that work together closely during a project and furnace campaign are more successful. One such project is an oxy-fuel furnace producing glass tubing which is currently operating into its 17th year of continuous operation. The following is a timeline or diary of the lifecycle of this furnace.
15 Glass International June 2021
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