Glass International June 2017 by Quartz

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June 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Vol.40 No.6

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VERESCENCE CEO INTERVIEW PRAGATI GLASS FURNACE OPENING GRAPHOIDAL COMPANY PROFILE I N T E R N A T I O N A L

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

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GPS, the future is clear

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Contents

June 2017 Vol.40 No.6

WWW.GLASS-INTERNATIONAL.COM

June 2017—Vol.40 No.6

Editor’s Comment

International news

Company proﬁle: Verescence Relaunching in the perfumery sector

Company proﬁle: SGD Pharma Fully focused on pharma

Glassman Europe show preview: Lyon: The home of glass in Europe September 2017

Company proﬁle: Graphoidal Autoswabbing to increase plant efﬁciency

Company proﬁle: Pragati Pragati Glass invests in furnace

History: Prof. John Parker

Technical Topics: John Henderson

Company proﬁle: Henry F Teichmann 70 years of service

Plant utilities: VPInstrument Compressed air energy savings in the glass industry

Temperature control: Ametek Achieving temperature accuracy in low emissivity environments

Furnaces: PaneraTech SmartMelter advances furnace Inspection techniques

Coatings: Stewart Engineers Advantages of CVD Coating in

IHS Soda Ash overview: Turkey set to dominate the market

Environment: Glapor Werk Cellular glass for thermal insulation

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VERESCENCE CEO INTERVIEW PRAGATI GLASS FURNACE OPENING

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

Glass International June 2017

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Front cover image www.teco.com

Plus ﬁnd us on Linked-In and Twitter.

@Glass_Int

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GRAPHOIDAL COMPANY PROFILE I N T E R N A T I O N A L

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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 Designer: Annie Baker Tel: +44 (0)1737 855130 Email: anniebaker@quartzltd.com Sales Director: Ken Clark Tel: +44 (0)1737 855117 Email: kenclark@quartzltd.com

Glass industry set to embrace the digital age

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igital technology has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently. The recent WannaCry cyber attack and then, just weeks later, the British Airways IT glitch highlighted just how much business relies on new technology. While the causes of both incidents were entirely different, the result in both cases were catastrophic for the companies affected. The WannaCry attack hit countries in hours and caused disruption to businesses in at least 99 countries. Global brands such as Nissan, FedEx, Renault and, in the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) were struck. Computers were locked by a ransomware programme which demanded a payment to access blocked ﬁles. In the UK patients were pulled out of surgery, hospitals closed and ambulances diverted elsewhere. Thankfully there were no reports of glass plants infected by the virus but it does highlight that the industry must always remain vigilant. The industry is becoming ever more digital, with terms such as Big Data, The Internet of Things, ‘smart’ manufacturing and Industry 4.0, in particular, becoming increasingly prominent. This new digital age is being embraced by all sectors of manufacturing, not just

glass, in their quest to achieve operational excellence Glass industry commentators state the ﬂat sector has welcomed this new concept more readily than the hollow division. There is no doubt that the hollow sector will follow and several companies have taken steps to do so with their recent plant modernisations. As a result of this increased interest in this new world, Glass International has organised a free-to-attend conference to discover more about this concept. What is Industry 4.0 and how can it assist the global hollow glass industry in its desire for greater efﬁciencies? Two questions, among many others, that will be answered by experts at the Future Glass Forum in Lyon, France in September. It will endeavour to cover all bases, including the all-important subject of cyber security. Every glass container manufacturer wants to be the fastest to market, the leanest and to shorten its lead time between the processes. This conference will provide an introduction to Industry 4.0 and hopefully ensure glassmakers are ready to respond to the next digital age. � Greg Morris, Editor gregmorris@quartzltd.com

Directory 2016 Annual international reference source

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Production Executive: Martin Lawrence Managing Director: Steve Diprose 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. Email: glass@quartzltd.com Website: www.glass-international.com

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Member of British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation

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Glass International annual subscription rates including Glass International Directory: For one year: UK £169, all other countries £238. For two years: UK £295, all other countries £416. Airmail prices on request. Single copies £46.

Printed in UK by: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontlanfraith, Blackwood, Gwent NP12 2YA, UK. Glass International Directory 2016 edition: UK £206, all other countries £217. Printed in UK by: Marstan Press Ltd, Kent DA7 4BJ Glass International (ISSN 0143-7838) (USPS No: 020-753) is published 10 times per year by Quartz Business Media Ltd, and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Glass International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437.

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Glassman specialist exhibitions rotate between America, Asia and Europe © Quartz Business Media Ltd, 2017 ISSN 0143-7838

Glass International June 2017

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...so that nothing bad gets in or out!

Closing up your doghouse is a really good way of ensuring that you stay open for business because the less energy that escapes and the less cold air that comes in, the better – and this is where the new improved HORN batch charger comes into play. HORN's innovative design results in a tight doghouse, greatly reducing energy and emission values. Just some of the advantages: • preglazing of the batch inside the doghouse – for furnaces with or without batch preheating • reduced carry-over of raw materials • reduced energy consumption • reduced NOx emissions • reduced wear and tear

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International News

£20 million UK glass centre of excellence plan revealed

100 people. The furnace will be housed in a previously unused area at Magna known as the ‘dark space’, with the intention of integrating it into the existing Magna visitor attraction. Richard Katz, director of Glass Futures, a not for profit company, said: “We are very excited to be working with the team at Magna, which is the perfect venue for this project being at the heart of the

Advanced Manufacturing Investment District and part of science education.” Dave Dalton, chief executive of British Glass, one of the partners, said: “The glass industry has amazing potential for growth and, by bringing academics, manufacturers and technology companies together we can grasp that potential and bring real benefits to the UK economy.”

cooperation, the Sohar-based glass plant is going to refurbish one of its two furnaces with a new control system and cold repair, and overhaul two production lines with con-

version to NNPB production within the year. The glass plant is also improving production efficiency with specific training in melting, forming QA sectors.

Shri CK Somany passes away HNGIL chairman Shri Chandra Kumar Somany has passed away. The Indian container and float glass company said he had passed away in Kolkata after a long illness. It said: “With heavy sorrow – this is to share with you friends that Shri C.K. Somany, the Champion, Doyen and Father-figure of the Indian Glass Industry and Chairman of HNG Group of Companies is no more with us.

Praxair and Linde have confirmed they have reached an agreement in principle to merge. The agreement is subject to approval by the Board of Directors of both companies. If the boards do agree, the transaction will then be subject to federal approvals.

BA Vidro revises bid for Drujba Glassworks

Strong growth for Oman’s Majan Glass with BDF Industries Italy’s BDF Industries is co-operating with Oman container glass manufacturer, Majan Glass, in a major renovation of its production lines. Thanks to BDF Industries’

Praxair and Linde set to merge

“He left for his heavenly abode this morning at 11.40AM in Kolkata after a prolonged illness. He was 84. May his soul rest in peace.” The company said Mr Somany was a renowned technocrat with in-depth experience in glass technology. He had been the driving force behind the company’s performance over the years. At HNG, he played a key role in forming and proving policy

guidelines for the management and administration of the company. He held a F.B.I.M (London) degree and a degree in Glass Plant Instrumentation from Honeywell Brown, Minneapolis, USA. He had held reputed positions in his long association with the Indian glass industry, such as the President of the All India Glass Manufacturers’ Association (AIGMF).

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Portugal’s BA Vidro has published a buyout bid for the remaining 405,652 shares in Bulgaria’s Drujba Glassworks. Bareck Overseas has published a buyout bid for the remaining 405,652 shares in Bulgaria’s Drujba Glassworks, which BA Vidro does not already own. The deadline for accepting the offers is 28 days following its publication on 15 May, Drujba said in a filing.

Emhart celebrates 10 years of Johor plant

Bucher Emhart Glass is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its manufacturing plant in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. In its first 10 years, JB has produced 200 machines for 88 customers in 45 countries. The shipments went to customers on all five continents who visited the JB plant for machine acceptance tests. The 200th machine was a 6 1/4” double-gob AIS unit destined for Vetropack St Prex in Switzerland.

UK prefers glass

More than half of UK consumers want food and drink in glass packaging. They prefer its higher recyclability compared to other packaging materials, according to new research. The findings of the independent pan-European survey are the latest research to be commissioned by Friends of Glass and FEVE. For more information visit www.news.friendsofglass. com

www.glass-international.com

Plans have been unveiled for a £20m global centre of excellence in glass at Magna in Rotherham, UK. The Glass Futures project, the brain-child of British Glass in Sheffield, is backed by a consortium including Owens-Illinois (O-I), Guardian Industries, Siemens and Leeds University. At the heart of the project will be a furnace producing 30 tonnes of glass per day for windows, bottles and fibre glass. The facility will bring together world experts to carry out research into energy and emissions reduction, glass formulation and new high-tech products. Work on the project is expected to start later this year and when fully operational the facility will employ around

NEWS IN BRIEF

5 Glass International June 2017

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International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Glaston completes sale

Emhart launches ‘Stronger together’ at Leipzig ofﬁce integrate its glass forming and business functions to be more powerful, and combine its customer-facing teams to offer better service. The event featured presentations on Emhart’s strategies, together with equipment demonstrations, and discussion forums to understand customers’ points of view. Martin Jetter, Emhart Glass President, said: “End-to-End is an industry-first. We have

given a unique vision to truly unite hot end and cold end to provide previously untapped benefits and profits.” Matthias Kümmerle, Vice President, Technology, said: “The fact is, we now don’t think of hot end or cold end only, but of End-to-End. “Through our systems, glass plants will be able to automatically react to data, enabling them to achieve greater performance and profitability.”

Stewart’s Kazakhstan joy Stewart Engineers has installed production equipment support steel structures at the Orda Glass float glass manufacturing and processing plant in Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan. The installation crew on site, under the supervision of Stewart Engineers, has ramped up the installation of support steel structures for the tin bath and melting furnace of the float glass plant. Nearly 80% of the support steel installation is expected to

be complete in July, at which time sufficient steel will be in place to begin installation of the melting furnace and tin bath, which comprise the heart of the float glass production line. It is critical, however, that a new construction company be appointed shortly to continue the civil works, as the melting furnace and tin bath cannot be installed until civil construction is advanced. The batch plant (for mixing

of glass-forming ingredients) must also be completed in order to commence heat up of the melting furnace. “Stewart Engineers is delighted that work continues and we applaud the efforts of our partner Orda Glass in searching for a new civil works construction company to fulfill Orda’s civil works responsibilities,” said Stewart Engineers’ Vice President of Technology, Chris Cording.

Engineering Company (CTIEC), Mr Sun Jian’an, executive vice president, on behalf of CTIEC signed the export contact with Mr Anwaar Ahmad Khan, CEO of Ghani Glass, in Shanghai. Ghani Glass made a prompt decision to agree the coopera-

UK-based Parkinson-Spencer Refractories has redesigned its company website. The site is now optimised for mobile devices and has full functionality across a range of devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops and PC’s. The site is divided between Engineered Products and Refractory Products to reﬂect the current make-up of the business. www.parkinson-spencer. co.uk.

BA Vidro installs Talos Transport Simulator

BA Vidro has installed the Transport Simulator from Talos Packaging Systems on a trial basis at one of its plants. The Transport Simulator has been specifically designed to aid glass manufacturers in reducing costs and ensuring damage-free, environmentally sustainable delivery of glass products to their customers. The Transport Simulator is based on a 4-axis model that can simulate backwards, forwards, side/side and tilt movements.

FEVE wins web award

CTIEC signs Ghani Glass contract China’s CTIEC will supply the complete sets of equipment for the cold repair and reconstruction project of Ghani Glass’s 450t/d float glass production line in Pakistan. Authorised by Mr Peng Shou, board chairman and president of China Triumph

PSR revamps website

tion due to CTIEC’s thorough understanding of technical strength and equipment manufacturing capacity. Mr Ahmad Khan also mentioned that projects with wider coverage and a deeper level would be carried out in the future between the two groups.

FEVE and communications agency Weber Shandwick have won the 2017 International & European Association Award for Best Social Media Campaign. The Europe-wide ‘Endless Lives of Glass’ campaign by Friends of Glass ran in 11 countries last year. This is the second year running that Friends of Glass has won this prize.

www.glass-international.com

Bucher Emhart Glass launched its ‘Stronger together’ philosophy at a two-day customer event to mark the opening of its Leipzig office. ‘Stronger together’ – building on the recent launch of End-to-End, which ‘closes the loop’ between the hot end and cold end container glass processes – will see Emhart focus on working closer with customers. It will also see the company

Glaston has closed the sale of its pre-processing business in the USA and Canada to Bavelloni. Glaston will still continue as a reseller of Bavelloni’s pre-processing machines in Mexico, Brazil and Singapore. The transaction applies to 10 Glaston employees in the USA. Net sales of the sold business were approximately €4.9 million in 2016.

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International News

Tiama’s IQ track receives Wiegand-Glas approval

Introducing the Cleanfire® ThruPorte™ burner A prescription for aging regenerators Undergoing regenerator repairs or having difficulty maintaining full production in an aging furnace? Turn to Air Products’ new Cleanfire® ThruPorte Oxy-fuel burner for an onthe-fly heating solution to avoid downtime or extend your furnace campaign. This patented and commercially-proven technology, installed

German glassmaker Wiegand-Glas has approved the use of the Tiama IQ track intelligent software, designed to provide real-time plants’ performance data. The glassmaker has adopted the technology at its four plants in Steinbach am Wald, Großbreitenbach, Schleusingen and Ernstthal. It produces more than eight million glass containers for the beverage and food industries a day. Managing Director, Oliver Wiegand, approved the technology at the beginning of May after a threemonth trial. The group is an early technology adopter so it was a logical choice to take advantage from all a dig-

itised glass plant environment can offer. The IQ’s role is to deliver targeted Key Performance Indicators (KPI) from the four plants. With the IQ’s

view-at-a-glance dashboard, plant managers of the four facilities can focus on critical trends anytime, anywhere leading to better decision making.

Besides helping to develop an efficient quality programme immediately by placing the right kind of information at fingertips, the IQ Track is a smart tool offering internal benchmark possibilities: multi-furnace, multi-line, and multi-plant. The latter was a Wiegand priority as the management has to coordinate over the different sites. There is a focus on articles and job histories allowing management to have a quick view of the container produced and their metrics. “We did market research and could not find any other system like the Tiama IQ track. We now have one system covering the four plants,” said Mr Wiegand.

from the underside of your port, allows you to

New City Glass and Mavsa deal

add heat where and when its needed. Key features: • Tandem water-cooled oxy-fuel burner and oxygen staging lance • Proven durable design that can be easily installed in an existing port, while the furnace is running • Adjustable flame length and angle for optimal heat distribution and surface coverage • Remote, wireless and continuous online

will produce tumblers, also in double gob. The double gob mugs lines will produce 60 mugs per minute. The coffee mug weight is 113 grams on line #13 while the tea mug weight is 190 grams

on line #12 Mavsa Director, Gustavo Fuentes, said: “It was a pleasure to form a great working team between New City Glass and Mavsa. We thank NCG for putting its trust in Mavsa.”

Kumbi installs Xpar technology

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Egyptian tableware group New City Glass has installed three MAVSA press machines at its Cairo site. Two of the MDP 24-34 machines are the first in Egypt to make mugs in double gob. The other line

South Korea’s Kumbi Corp has selected Xpar Vision to supply hot end technology for its inspection and process monitoring. Mr Ko, the company’s Vice Chairman said: “We want to improve our efficiency and quality level and believe this investment is a necessity to maintain our position as a leading

supplier to the South Korean market.” Paul Schreuders, Xpar CEO, said: “We are proud to welcome Kumbi Corp as our first customer in the Korean market. It is the result of our fruitful cooperation with Mr. Sang-Young Kim, which started about one year ago.” In the meantime, Kumbi

Staff have been trained at Xpar’s base in Groningen, The Netherlands. One InfraRed Dual camera system has been installed on a production line in Onyang and an Xpar Vision consultant/ trainer has executed onthe-job training at the plant. The first results are very good.

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, Tomorrow s Technology Today

E L E C T R H I G I C D H F U S H V Q H R R N P F O L A C O R D E T E I B U E H R L B B E A N E L E R T E S R S H C Y S M O M T T E D E A R M L L O E N I N U G G B I N O E E I R O I N T S G T 1

U C F D 1

Why bother scrabbling around for a solution?

International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Glass Service website

Glass Service has renewed its image and invested in research and new technology, as well as a new website, www.glassservice.it. The website is made up of sectors where visitors can look for what they need to create glass furnaces for container glass, neutral and borosilicate glass. Customers can also search for other types of furnace equipment, such as Forehearths & Distributors Combustion Systems, OxyGas Combustion Systems, Furnace Melting Combustion, Water-Cooled Bubbling Systems, as well as Furnace Control Boards.

Verallia unveils style book 2018

Verallia’s Selective Line has unveiled its style book for 2018. The book reveals the design trends identified for 2018 from which new bottle shapes and decorations are imagined. The style book is presented to customers and design agencies to inspire their future developments.

www.glass-international.com

Glaston receives Mexican order

Finland’s Glaston Corporation has closed a deal with Mexican glass fabricator Crisvisa for a Glaston FC series tempering line. The order is booked in Glaston’s Q1/2017 order book and the line is to be delivered in the final quarter of 2017. Crisvisa has a production area of 25,000m2 and manufactures architectural glass. Crisvisa bought its first Glaston FC500 in 2014 and the line was installed the following year.

PCI Gases appointment

PCI Gases has appointed Neil Hannay as its European Representative. He will forward its new CE range of Low Energy VSA Oxygen Generators into the European glass market. Neil has worked for more than 20 years in the industrial gas applications area.

Top 10 stories in the news 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 Plans unveiled for £20 million UK glass centre of excellence � 2 Iris Inspection, Zippe and Electroglass confirm Lyon event � 3 Shri CK Somany has passed away � 4 FEVE to talk at Glassman Europe conference � 5 Emhart launches ‘Stronger together’ philosophy at Leipzig office � 6 Henry F. Teichmann acquires E.W.Bowman � 7 Wiegand-Glas adopts Tiama’s IQ track plant performance monitor � 8 Industry 4.0 comes to Lyon � 9 BA Vidro installs Talos Transport Simulator to reduce breakages � 10 Strong growth for Oman’s Majan Glass with BDF Industries

Consumers approve of glass More than three-quarters of European consumers see glass as the most environmentally friendly packaging material – 50% higher than 2008 – according to a Europe-wide surveyed conducted by industry body Friends of Glass. Almost 18,000 consumers in 11 European countries were surveyed, with the findings suggesting that perceptions of glass packaging are improving. Friends of Glass said that, while glass is regarded as one

of the most sustainable and eco-friendly forms of packaging, more education on its benefits is needed. There are still many Europeans who are not fully aware of the benefits glass offers to the environment, including many not realising that glass is infinitely recyclable. Adeline Farrelly, secretary general of FEVE, the European Container Glass Federation, said: “It is encouraging to see that consumers have become

more conscious of the positive sustainable benefits of glass packaging. “While these results are reassuring, as an industry, we cannot be complacent, and we remain committed in our focus to inform consumers about the sustainable and recycling properties of glass. “No matter how many times it is recycled, the permanent nature of glass means that its quality never diminishes,” she added.

All set for Heye symposium Several high-level speakers will provide particular added value to this year’s Heye International conference and networking events. The scope of the conference will cover digital transformation – challenges and chances; investment decision in times of uncertainty; a forecast on glass packaging around the world; digitalisation in the steel industry, concepts for managing operational excellence. The event takes place in Hamburg, Germany from June 19 to 21 and is enriched by

professional speakers such as Erik Nielsen, Head of Economics at UniCredit; Karine Dussimon, Senior Research Analyst at Euromonitor International; Premal Denali, CFO and CF Strategy at Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Henrik Bonné, Director of Operational Excellence at Ardagh Group. With this fourth symposium for customers and friends Heye follows a valued and long-time tradition. “We are always keen on giving new impulses to our customers for their daily work

and consider this event as ideal platform to communicate latest achievements and findings,” stated Mark Ziegler, Marketing Manager at Heye International.

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, Tomorrow s Technology Today

E L E C T R H I G I C D H F U S H V Q H R R N P F O L A C O R D E T E I B U E H R L B B E A N E L E R T E S R S H C Y S M O M T T E D E A R M L L O E N I N U G G B I N I C O E E U K I R O L T I N S D G T 1

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GLASS SERVICE

A Division of Glass Service

Company proﬁle: Verescence

Recently French glass manufacturer SGD divided its perfumery & cosmetics and pharmaceutical divisions into two separate businesses. With SGD Perfumery able to focus solely on the beauty industry, the company relaunched itself as Verescence and invested significantly in its flagship Mers-les-Bains plant. Sally Love spoke with Thomas Riou, CEO of Verescence, to find out what has changed at the company over the past few months.

Relaunching in the perfumery sector

How many plants does Verescence have and how many people do you employ? With 120 years of expertise, Verescence is focused on glass packaging for the beauty sector. It has nine plants, located in Europe, North America and South America, with three sites in France, two in Spain, two in the USA and two in Brazil. Four plants are dedicated to ‘bare’ glass and ﬁve to decoration. If we add the headquarters, located in France, and the sales ofﬁces around the world, the company employs 2950 people, half of which is outside France. Verescence is able to manufacture 1 billion bottles per year.

www.glass-international.com

How many furnaces does the Bresle Valley plant have? The plant in Mers-Les-Bains is the historical plant of the group and also the biggest one - 28 acres - in the world of manufacturing perfume and cosmetic glass bottles. It has three furnaces and produces around 300 tonnes of glass daily. It operates 24h/7 and employs around 800 people. It is certiﬁed ISO9001 and ISO 14001 and can produce white glass but also speciﬁc coloured glass with a colour feeder process. The R&D team for the whole group is based in Mers-Les-Bains, and a team of engineers and glass specialists work to constantly bring solutions to a demanding market.

Have you made any recent investments at the plant? As a market leader, our objective is to have the best performance and proﬁtability, as these are the main assets to ensure the long-term activity

of our company. We launched a major investment plan - €100 million over three years - from which various plants are beneﬁtting including the one in Mers. The Mers plant, following the split with the pharmaceutical business, needed a refurbishment after the pharma furnaces were dismantled. A total €30 million was dedicated to Mers to make it the most advanced plant in the industry in terms of technology and efﬁciency. For example, various working units will be relocated much closer to the manufacturing units in a lean approach, improving the manufacturing process but also the working conditions of the staff.

� Examples of the COLOR’in and METAL’in effects produced by Verescence.

Continued>>

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Company proﬁle: Verescence

There will also be some investments on high technology and digital projects.

What caused the change of name from SGD Perfumery to Verescence? Following the split between the two activities of SGD Group, we thought that it was an extraordinary opportunity to ﬁnd a name reﬂecting what the company is today: a market leader going through a major transformation process, targeting excellence both for our clients but also for our employees.

What beneﬁts have you noticed following the division from the pharma business?

� The Verre Inﬁni Neo bottle, made from predominantly recycled glass.

Since the split, our plants and teams are all solely focused on our core activity – essentially perfume and cosmetics with a small activity on spirits and insulators - and on addressing our customers’ very speciﬁc demands. We had great feedback from our clients after the brand change was announced in 2016, which comforted our strategy. Verescence was identiﬁed as a partner of choice that brings innovative and eco-friendly solutions in the cosmetic and perfumery industry.

Our clients want their glass packaging to be unique, each one different from their competitors, especially in a complex market such as the luxury one. A sophisticated and complex decoration or a speciﬁc type of glass has become a differentiating factor for our clients and therefore plays a key role in our business. We have been investing in R&D and our decorating facilities in order to offer the most innovative techniques, some of them being Verescence’s exclusivities such as COLOR’in and METAL’in, which are interior decorations compatible with the perfume. We also noticed a greater sensitivity to CSR issues, such as glass recyclability or sustainable products used to decorate bottles. We are proud to say we have been focused on these aspects for years and, for example, we launched a highly recycled glass (Verre Inﬁni Neo) that has the same qualitative characteristics as the standard glass.

What plans do you have for the next ﬁve years? For the time being we are focused on a major transformation plan called Excellence 2018 that has three main Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

What trends are there in the perfume and cosmetics industry?

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Company proﬁle: Verescence

“€30 million was dedicated to Mers to make it the most

� Thomas Riou, CEO of Verescence.

advanced plant in the industry in terms of technology and

”

efﬁciency

objectives: modernise our industrial equipment in all our plants worldwide; improve our employees’ work conditions; and reinforce our CSR policy. All of this contributes to a more global objective, recognised as the best-in-class glassmaker providing quality products and services to the beauty industry.

Do you have any news that could be interesting to share with the industry?

glassmaking expertise with the general public. With more than 500 bottles made in the Mers and exhibited at every level of the museum as well as a video and some samples of our decorating techniques, we hope that the visitors will discover and appreciate the complexity of the glass manufacturing and decorating processes. We think that it is key to preserve this know-how in the glass industry that we, at Verescence, do it with passion. �

As the only partner in the glassmaking industry of the recently opened Parisian Perfume Museum, Verescence wanted to share and promote the

Verescence, Puteaux cedex, France www.verescence.com

� The Mers-les-Bains site in the Bresle Valley.

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02/06/2017 10:54:54

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Company profile: SGD Pharma

Fully focused on pharma

� Laurent Zuber, Chief Commercial Officer of SGD Pharma.

www.glass-international.com

SGD Group separated its pharmaceutical and its cosmetics businesses. How has this decision benefitted you? SGD Group decided in 2014 to separate its pharmaceutical and its cosmetics businesses to better serve very different markets. The idea was to create two global leaders with dedicated industrial equipment and teams. Our clients, who are the main pharmaceutical players and are very sensitive to all product safety issues, were happy to have a company fully focused on their needs. As a result, to transfer the pharmaceutical equipment and skills from the historical plant located in the Bresle Valley, in 2015 SGD Pharma built a brand new plant close to the historical one.

Laurent Zuber, Chief Commercial Officer of SGD Pharma, spoke to Glass International about the developments at the company following on from its recent division from the perfumery business and the creation of the first new glass plant built in France for 20 years. This new plant at Saint Quentin Lamotte was the first new glass facility built in France for 20 years. What were the main challenges, and how did you overcome them? SGD Pharma decided for a greenfield solution – build a new plant from scratch – close to the Mers historical plant in order to keep the local know-how and benefit from the most up to date technologies. The main challenge was to build a modern and energy efficient plant in a short time, keep it within the budget and with no disruption to clients. The investment amounted to €65 million and the first bottles were manufactured 18 months after we laid the plant’s foundations! We are now able to manufacture 1 billion vials per day thanks to our two furnaces.

Continued>>

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Company profile: SGD Pharma

Why is the Saint Quentin plant SGD Pharma’s Centre of Excellence? What sets it apart from SGD’s other plants? Each plant at SGD Pharma is dedicated to a type of glass and serves a specific geographical market. The Saint Quentin plant is focused on Type I moulded glass, the highest glass in terms of quality and purity, which makes a perfect container for medication such as parenteral drugs (non-oral medication injected directly into the body). The plant supplies the ‘mature markets’ such as line equipped with a software-based technology enabling the machine to detect the slightest glass defect during the control phase. We also invested in Narrow Neck Press and Blow (NNPB) technology to have a lightweight glass for type II glass bottles.

Have you noticed any recent trends that are influencing your production?

Europe and the USA for these kinds of products. It obtained the highest certifications and is now Centre of Excellence for type I moulded glass for the whole group.

How many plants does SGD Pharma have and how many people does the company employ?

� The new SGD Pharma plant has had €65 million

Our products and our processes are clearly influenced by the pharmaceutical market and its standards. For example, all our production lines need to be equipped with clean rooms. When we manufacture bottles for parenteral drugs, we need to provide the highest safety standards and that’s why our R&D teams are focused on constantly improving all the processes and the performance of the inspection machines used for these medication. We expect the parenteral market to grow significantly, specifically in the Asian area due to major health campaigns, so we have to be on top of all these issues if we want to benefit from these growth opportunities. �

of investment, including in equipment such as Iris Evolution inspection machines in the cold end.

Laurent Zuber, CCO, SGD Pharma, headquartered in Paris Cedex, France. www.sgd-pharma.com

SGD Pharma has five manufacturing facilities and 10 sales offices over various continents, employing 2750 employees around the world.

What are the strategic priorities of your group for the coming years? We have three main strategic objectives since the split with the cosmetics business: confirm our strong position on the moulded glass in the mature markets; take advantage of the growth opportunities coming from the emerging markets; and develop our offer on the tubular glass market through our Indian plant, which will be able to serve the whole Asian region.

Are you planning any major investments in the near future? In terms of industrial equipment, we invest regularly in the most up-to-date machines in all our plants, as we want to provide the highest product and service quality all around the world. We recently invested in an automatic pilot

17 Glass International June 2017

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Glassman Europe show preview

Lyon: The home of glass in Europe September 2017

www.glass-international.com

Glassman exhibition

This autumn, the picturesque city of Lyon, France, will be transformed into a hub of glassmaking in Europe. The Cite Centre de Congres (CCC) will host a series of events on September 6th and 7th catering exclusively to the hollow and container glass sectors. Glassman Europe returns to the hall for a twoday exhibition, featuring a free-to-attend exhibition and conference. As well as this, the European Glass Container Federation (FEVE) will host its annual meeting, bringing together container glassmakers from around the continent. A separate conference will focus on the sector’s latest hot topic, Industry 4.0 and digital glass manufacturing. In addition, Glass Service is set to host a four-day seminar in Lyon, with a condensed training event at the CCC.

Glassman Europe returns to Lyon, bringing with it numberous industry events designed to create an all-round experience for visitors to the show. The free to attend exhibition is once again accompanied by the Glassman conference, which will take place inside the same hall. The exhibition will once again welcome leading suppliers to the global container and hollow glass sectors including Lyon-based group Iris Inspection Machines. Other global companies who have confirmed their participation include familier names such as Emmeti, FIC UK, Sorg, Zippe, Electroglass, Agr International, Heye International, All Glass and Pennekamp, among others. Exhibitors cover the entire range of glassmaking, from raw materials and batch plant to packaging, and everything in between. The last event in 2015 was well attended by associations, suppliers and glassmakers alike. Visitors included glassmakers from O-I, Verallia, Saverglass, Stoelzle, SGD, Pochet du Courval and Arc International from France. International glassmakers which attended were Ardagh, BA Vidro, Bormioli Rocco, Heinz-Glas, Sisecam, Carib Glassworks, Vetropack, Moldova’s Glass Container Company, Russia’s Ekran, Beatson Clark, Verallia Germany, Saudi Arabian Glass Co, Noritazeh Glass and Italy’s Zignago Vetro.

Glassman conference: Trends in Glassmaking In a change to the regular technical Glassman conference, this event will look at general trends in the glassmaking industry It will provide an overview of what is happening in the sector today and will point towards the glassmaking of tomorrow. Decision makers and experts will provide informed debate, exchange views and learn about the future of glassmaking. Confirmed speakers include O-I; FEVE Secretary General Adeline Farrelly; Heineken; the Dutch bank, Rabobank; Etienne Gruyez, Managing Director of Stoelzle's Masnieres site in France; Glass Futures, which will discuss the recently announced £20 million glass academy being built in the UK; Richard van Breda, an independent consultant to the glass industry and former Global Category Director at SABMiller; and Pavel Bobosik, Director of Russian container glassmaker Ekran.

Glass International June 2017

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Glassman Europe show preview

Industry 4.0 conference

FEVE meeting

Glass Service training course

FEVE, the Federation of European Container Glass Manufacturers, is once again participating in Glassman Europe. The organisation is hosting its Policy and Environment (P&E) meeting and has invited all its member companies - container glassmakers throughout Europe - to attend. FEVE’s Secretary General, Adeline Farrelly, will also provide a presentation at the free-toattend Future Glass Trends conference. Hollow glass manufacturers from the container, pharmaceutical and tableware industries will convene for the exhibition and conferences, making Lyon the central hub for the hollow glass manufacturing community.

The Czech Republic’s Glass Service will host a four-day training session at the CQ Masso offices in Lyon between September 4 and 8. The event will focus on glass defects, refractory and technology training. Glass Service will also host a condensed training event at the CCC in collaboration with Glassman Europe, right next to the show. This half day event will be entitled ‘Glass defects and the possible sources, heat balance and benchmarking’ and will be available at the reduced rate of €399 to Glassman visitors. Presentations will include ‘Bubble analysis and possible sources’, by Filip Janos; ‘Solid defect analysis and possible sources’, by Martina Jezikova; ‘What is the difference between corrosion and exudation of fused cast AZS’, by Jerome Canaguier; and ‘heat balance and benchmarking’, by Hans Mahrenholtz. Glass Service is renowned throughout the industry for its expertise in glass melting, conditioning and forming efficiency. Attendees will be able to visit the Glassman exhibition at the same time, displaying the latest in technology and innovation from the hot to the cold end of the glassmaking process. People interested in registering for the event should contact Jérôme Canaguier: jcanaguier@cqmasso.com.

www.glass-international.com

One of the industry’s talking points of recent months has been the subject of Industry 4.0. The term encompasses many subjects including Big Data, the Internet of Things and cloud computing. It is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. Using Industry 4.0 in a manufacturing plant will create a ‘Smart Factory’, say experts. Industry commentators suggest the flat glass sector is far ahead of the hollow glass business in terms of Industry 4.0. In light of this, Glassman has organised a conference dedicated to this latest hot topic, called the Future Glass Forum. It aims to clarify what is Industry 4.0 and will attempt to make sense of some of the confusing jargon associated with the term. The event, titled Future Glass Forum, will include a number of glass industry suppliers will provide a selection of papers in Lyon at this free to attend conference. Global engineering group Siemens will provide the keynote speech. Other speakers confirmed so far include Erik Muijsenberg of Glass Service of the Czech Republic, Roger Knuttel of German company EME, Daniel Schippan of CM.Project.Ing, Rene Meuleman of Schneider-Electric, Ulas Topal; CEO of Vertech, Pascal Laurin of Bosch, and Heye International.

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Company profile: Graphoidal

Autoswabbing to increase plant efﬁciency G

raphoidal is a lubrication and coatings specialist for the glass container industry based in Chesterfield, UK. Since its inception nearly 60 years ago in 1958 as a producer of graphite mould release compounds it has become a specialist solutions supplier for glass shearing, IS machine lubrication, autoswabbing and glass coating. In a competitive sector, it prides itself on its ability to provide new designs and techniques to improve the production process of container glassmaking. One of its recent innovations is its new generation of automatic blank swabbing machines, Autoswab. It was officially unveiled at last year’s glasstec and AFGM events, but only after one system had been running on a 12 section double gob AIS machine at Encirc’s Elton plant in the UK for a year. Managing Director Mark Johnston said: “Autoswab is the future. The future is to try and reduce operator dependency for the machine so if you can have something automatic and consistent, that’s the way forward. “We were reluctant to say anything until we had the machine running for a period of time because the worst thing you can do is tell somebody you have something when you’re not ready yet. “We wanted to be sure it was a solution that was

� Graphoidal’s site in Chesterﬁeld, UK. Inset: The Autoswab system installed in a glass plant.

working and we were happy with it. It’s proved itself and is still running today.” Without lubrication, there would be no glass production. The hot end needs are critical and Graphoidal has the expertise to deliver the right lubrication systems to provide optimal conditions for production, saving money from over-lubrication. Autoswabbing has resulted in a reduction of lubricant by more than 75% when compared to conventional manual swabbing methods. The reduction in airborne pollution provided environmental benefits, and the need for less interaction results in better health and safety conditions for machine operators. The lubricant is heated and controlled at temperature so that the lubricity is constant, providing consistent spraying conditions. The operator has more time to make adjustments to the machine to avoid production losses due to many different causes not associated with mould lubrication, which also improves overall efficiency of the machine. “We’re being told we’re getting up to 3% improvement on the lehr and that is massive in terms of efficiency of the plant. “When you start adding what you save in glass, Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

Graphoidal’s autoswabbing system was only officially unveiled last autumn but initial results have been promising. The lubrication system can improve the container glassmaking process and plant efficiency. Greg Morris met the company’s Managing Director, Mark Johnston, to find out more.

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Company profile: Graphoidal

what you gain in extra productivity and what you reduce in lubricant, the cost is considerable. You’re talking a payback time of a few months.” The technique is available in NNPB and Press and Blow production. The next step is to use it for Blow and Blow production, something the company is already working on. The company was originally involved in autoswabbing in the 1980s but unfortunately its machines suffered from lubricant blockages at the time and the idea was put on hold. The machines have since been completely re-designed and the problems of the past addressed. “We were so close to a perfect solution back then and could have been pioneers in the market at that time,” states Mr Johnston.

Technology pioneer

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Graphoidal describes itself as a pioneer of new designs and techniques for the production process in container glassmaking and says its equipment is always at the forefront of technology. Approximately 15 to 20% of its turnover is given to R&D, which is a huge investment for a company. “We spend a lot on our future because its important for us and that is the only way can keep making relevant products. “Anybody, anywhere can reverse engineer something and make a copycat but they have not got the R&D costs. It is why we will never be a big volume producer, we develop something and bring it to the market and after a while somebody comes along and says they can make it cheaper. “There are a lot of copies out there but they have limited functionality compared to ours. “We go for the high-end side, the quality side, the people that want something that is fitted and works and don’t have to worry about it anymore and know it will do the job properly. “There are still advantages and there are companies out there who will pay a little bit extra to have that, and that’s where we fit in, that niche lubrication side.” The majority of its equipment is fitted with software and its focus on new technology extends to its website. The website was recently revamped to create an image more suited to the company. Such was its sleek look that website designer Wix shortlisted the site for an award as one of its top websites.

Managing Director Mr Johnston has been with the company for 10 years and until recently combined his role as Managing Director of fellow Groupe Rondot company, Sheppee. In March Simon Holmes was appointed MD at Sheppee, allowing Mr Johnston to focus solely on his role at Graphoidal. “Simon was always destined to be Managing Director at Sheppee, it was a case of me being a caretaker there for a while and making sure the transition from Sheppee to our group and

� Its shear spray systems installed at a plant.

ultimately to Simon was a smooth one and that Sheppee was on track. I’m pleased to say it has gone exceptionally well. Sheppee is great company with a great team with a very capable leader. “It had been slightly detrimental to Graphoidal because I could not spend enough time here. The company could still run and produce good products, but it needed someone to drive the company forward in terms of developments and innovations. “We have a good team here, the staff like developing new innovations and working in new areas that provide something the customers want.” In Mr Johnston’s time at Graphoidal the company has expanded its workforce from 19 to 29, and the time has flown by. “There’s always another challenge, the glass industry is very addictive, once you’re in it’s difficult to get out because you want to stay. I like the industry and am happy where I am. There are a lot of good people and companies in this industry and I think glass is a tremendous material.” Graphoidal is one of four manufacturing divisions owned by Groupe Rondot. Graphoidal is managed separately and autonomously in terms of the company itself and is only linked to the larger group financially. It also benefits from the support of Rondot’s global sales team. “It means there is always someone relatively close who can come and see you on the sales and service side. A small company like Graphoidal could not afford to have sales people all around the world.”

Evolve Autoswabbing will be the main driver for the company over the next few years. It is where the expansion will come and is growing at a substantial rate, states Mr Johnston. “Our Autoswabbing systems are a real revolution that we will soon be able to offer to all types of production – including Blow and Blow. We anticipate that this new development will expand the business significantly over the next few years.” �

Graphoidal Developments, Chesterfield, UK http://www.graphoidal.com

22 Glass International June 2017

Company profile graphoidal.indd 2

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Company profile: Pragati Glass

Pragati Glass invests in furnace Indian container glass manufacturer Pragati Glass recently installed a 130 tonnes per day Horn furnace at its Kosamba plant. Its Managing Director Mr Dinesh Kumar Gupta discussed the investment and the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in the industry with Greg Morris.

What is your most popular product and who are your biggest customers?

r Dinesh Kumar Gupta has worked in the glass industry for 27 years and is currently Managing Director of Pragati Glass in India. The company was formed in 1982 and has a production plant in Kosamba, Gujarat. In April 2009 it formed Pragati Glass Gulf in Oman in the Middle East and was set up to take advantage of lower input costs, such as gas. The company is mainly into the cosmetics and perfumes and food and beverages sectors.

www.glass-international.com

You are the Managing Director of Pragati Glass in India. What makes you most proud of this business? As a Managing Director what I love about this business is the challenges that it keeps throwing at me. I love solving problems and new challenges is what excite me. I have been in this industry for about 27 years now. The glass industry and its nature are very unique. You have to be ready to invest in your plant every six to seven years and for that you need to ensure you earn money everyday. The 24/7 nature of the business is what keeps me alive I think.

We have two plants, one in India and the other in Oman. Our products vary, in India we focus on our strength of providing a complete solution to the perfume industry. Oman is mainly focused on the food and beverage segment.

What geographical markets does the company serve? ďż˝ Mr Dinesh Kumar Gupta has worled in the industry for 27 years.

About 50% of Indian production is for domestic and the other half is for export. In Oman production is 100% exported. The main countries where we export to are USA, Canada, UK, France, Spain, Egypt and UAE. We export to about 40 countries in all.

Can you tell me more about the new 130 tonnes/day furnace being installed at the Kosamba plant. Will this replace an older furnace or is it an additional furnace to the two you already have? The new 130 tonnes has replaced the old furnace. Continued>>

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Company profile: Pragati Glass

We initially had 70 tons and 80 tons furnace. We combined our capactity to make 130 tons with 8 production lines.

What will be the plant’s total capacity once the new furnace is installed? In Oman we are doing 135 tons while in India it is 130 tons. The total today is 265 tons.

Who supplied the furnace? Did you have to take into account environmental considerations when you ordered the furnace?

ANNEALING LEHRS

Horn had designed this furnace with refractory from SEPR and Kenhan and local people. We had submitted the report of the same to the environment ministry to get our license renewed

How many production lines do you have at the plant and are they single/double/triple gob? We have single gob, double gob and quadra gob in this furnace.

Did any other upgrades take place at the same time as the furnace capacity expansion? We had modiﬁed our hot end with stirrers in the feeders and technology upgrade from Feeder Mechanism to Stacker.

HOT-END COATING

What will the new furnace mean for your customers? We are hoping to maintain our prices for the long term with the saving in the fuel and cutting costs from two operations to one operation. This will help us beat the normal price rise for quite some years.

What do you consider to be the plant’s strengths? We have always been into low runs and ﬂexibility. That has been the USP of our company

When you select your equipment suppliers for your glass plant, what key attribute should they have in order for you to consider them? We have been dealing with Shandong Jiafeng for about 14 years now. From the feeder mechanism to the cold end we have been closely working with them and incorporating new changes to save in manpower, fuel efﬁciency etc. For material handling in the cold end we deal with a few suppliers and are always on the lookout on the ways to make our system more lean.

COLD-END COATING

Is there much of a link between your Indian plant and your Oman plant? Yes we do share the latest R&D. Oman is like a baby to our India plant and is always following the new things which we develop. We hope in two to three years that the plant becomes our next stop for R&D. �

Pragati Glass, corporate ofﬁce in Mumbai, India, production plant in Kosamba, Gujarat. info@pragatiglass.com www.pragati glass.com

MOULDS PRE-HEATING KILNS • Belt and Spindles Tempering lines • Decorating lehrs • Stackers + cross conveyors • Thermal shock test Machines • Dosing systems • Scraper conveyors • Cullet crushers Contact us: vidromecanica@vidromecanica.com

Company profile Pragatti.indd 2

www.vidromecanica.com 02/06/2017 15:11:44

History

Prof. John Parker

Go with the flow Prof.Parker discusses viscosity in molten glass and the attempts to understand the shape of the viscosity curve.

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he dictionary definition of viscosity is the degree to which a fluid resists flow under an applied force. Remarkably etymologists suggest a link to the mistletoe we suspend in anticipation from the ceiling at Christmas. Early ornithologists had realised that the mistletoe’s DNA was transported between trees by the local avian population. The appellation for bird-lime in latin became ‘viscum’, the name for mistletoe, and the name stuck. Molten glass is known for its high viscosity, which facilitates shaping while it cools and sets in its final solid form. Consequently early 20th century glass technologists set about quantifying viscosity and characterising its temperature and compositional dependence. A formal definition of viscosity and measurement units already existed for simpler liquids. The poise was the preferred cgs unit, derived from the name of a French physicist, Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille (1799-1869), and glassmakers have retained it although 1/10th of the SI unit. The range of viscosity values is so large, from 102 to 1015 poise and beyond, that normally log (viscosity) is quoted i.e. 2 to 15. Approximate viscosities (log(poise)) for different process steps include: melting and refining (1.5 – 2.5), casting (3.5), gob formation (4), tube drawing (5.5), sintering (7), annealing (13). Early measurement methods were designed for room temperature and materials more fluid than hot glass. One, named after the English scientist Stokes, used the terminal descent velocity of a metal ball falling through the liquid. Another measured the frictional forces generated when an inner cylinder was rotated inside a larger fixed cylinder filled with the liquid under study. Such methods were adopted by glass technologists and adapted for high temperatures but were inappropriate for the exceptionally high viscosities observed at annealing temperatures.

For day-to-day quality control, measurement techniques were created that gave standard fixed viscosity points e.g. the glass transition temperature (TG, 13.0) and softening point (MG, 11.5) both found by dilatometry, the annealing and strain points (13.0 and 14.5) determined by stretching fibres using kg weights, using beam bending or observing stress release optically, the Littleton softening point (7.65), the temperature when a fibre suspended in a specified furnace sags at 1mm/min under its own weight, and the forming temperature when a platinum rod sank into a melt at a given rate (Einsinktpunkt, 4.0).

Viscosity curve Understanding the shape of the viscosity curve became the holy grail of many research laboratories in the mid 1900s and standardisation of methodologies warranted an ICG technical committee. A quantitative description of viscosity and the conflation of data recorded by different methods over overlapping temperature ranges, required an equation for the curve. The simplest that fitted most commercial glasses was the Vogel-FulcherTammann (VFT) equation: logη = A+B/(TT0). A, B and T0 are fitting constants. This equation was empirical although various theories were proposed to validate it. Measuring viscosity-temperature curves remains difficult but now sufficient data for different compositions and temperatures are available to global companies that computerised number crunching is an effective means of calculation. Marathon efforts by Lakatos and co-workers at Glafo in Sweden (1970s) gifted the glass industry expressions for A, B, and T0 as linear functions of composition. For typical commercial compositions the published factors give results for logη within ±0.05 of experiment. They are invaluable to find the effect of a composition change on for example optimum gob temperature or

annealing temperature. New functional forms for the equation have been proposed recently to fit measurements even more closely. A glass with a low value of TG is termed soft while one with a high value is hard. The slope of the temperature curve is also important. A fast setting or short glass may suffer forming defects such as crizzles (cracks) produced by mechanical and thermal stresses during forming while slow setting or long glasses are great for hand-forming but may slump in machine operation. The machine speed for automatic forming is controlled by the slope of the viscosity temperature curve over the setting range (e.g. 104 to 107.65 poise). Glass scientists have also used changes in the slope of the curve over different temperature regions to introduce the concept of fragility for glasses ranging from silica to exotic compositions found mostly in the lab. The mathematically astute will have noticed that the VFT equation suggests an infinite viscosity when T=T0, often just below 3000C. Such a value would instantly discredit the widespread apocryphal stories of church windows thickening at their base over centuries by room temperature flow. In fact flow and permanent densification can occur even at 200oC as witnessed in experiments using pyramidal diamond indenters. Even so predictions suggest a time scale much longer than the life of the universe for any observable thickening of windows. �

Bibliography Tiffany Stern, Time for Shakespeare: Hourglasses, sundials, clocks, and early modern theatre in http://www.britac.ac.uk/sites/default/files/01%20 Stern%201817.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hourglass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_sandglass

*Curator of the Turner Museum of Glass, The University of Sheffield, UK www.turnermuseum.group.shef.ac.uk j.m.parker@sheffield.ac.uk

26 Glass International June 2017

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ENDTOEND Full-Process Excellence

Technical Topics

John Henderson Henderson Technology

Electronics in glass John Henderson reflects on the rapid rise of electronics in the industry, culminating in increased use of electronic control in modern day glassmaking, such as computer modelling and in forming.

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am sure some readers will be aware that I started in the glass industry some years ago; this has allowed me a first hand view of how the advances in electronics have impacted on the industry. The reverse title is also true as I have been involved a little in the impact glass has had on electronics, from valves and reed relay switches to high-lead sintered support packages and glass for low noise particle detectors. In those first years we had a variety of instrumentation mostly for recording temperature or furnace pressure. The continuous tanks, one sodalime one borosilicate, had the best instruments with different coloured stamps, depending on the location of the thermocouple, made on a roll chart through a multi-colour ink ribbon. No feedback loop, of course, just the fireman checking and adjusting valves if necessary. Some of the older furnaces had rotary charts continuously inked by a small pen attached to a mechanically activated arm. Again the fireman checking and adjusting valves with the additional responsibility of inking the pen every time it ran dry! This was not very sophisticated but it worked although it was labour intensive. A tank rebuild and the increased importance of sodium vapour street lighting led to some changes with an air lead governor gas burner system installed controlled via a thermocouple feed to a PID controller. It took a while to get the hang of the ‘proportional’, ‘integral’ and ‘differential’ elements of the control strategy. Temperature over-swings were common in the early days.

Game changer The advent of microprocessors was a game changer for many industries including the glass industry.Furnace and forehearth control was an obvious place to start and great strides were made in the electronic control of temperature with thermocouples still providing the primary signals. However, advances in electronic detectors, particularly infra red, have seen the resurgence of direct reading high temperature radiation thermometers which can look at glass surfaces and under the surface with the right wavelength combinations. These improvements in detectors have been translated to the production line with the size and shape of gobs measured when they drop from the orifice and hot end infra-red cameras that read thermal signatures of containers immediately out of the mould cavity. They feed that information to a computer which will in turn make a decision on the future of the container according to a set of predefined rules set by the manufacturer, all this done in the blink of an eye. All of the information is cavity specific and this can allow the operator to make informed production decisions. With the correct computer algorithms and a lot of confidence many decisions could be taken out of the operators hands particularly when you consider that electronic control of IS machines is increasingly common either through new installation or retrofit. At the cold end, coating application is controlled by electronics and coating thickness is measured using light based detectors. Inspection by vision systems based on LED lighting and colour specific

cameras have made an impact. Packaging and pallet wrapping use computer controlled machines to complete tasks and in some more advanced factories warehousing is automatically controlled by RFI tag identification. In tubing production, the diameter and wall thickness of the tubing is measured on the run by laser light and the information used to control the line speed and air pressure. In processing tubing, once it has been made, laser cutting has become more common compared to traditional methods, although interestingly the use of high intensity light in glass processing goes back to the days of reed relay switches (but that is another story). Perhaps one of the most significant advances of electronics in glass has been the use of computer modelling. Most will be familiar with the modelling of the movement of glass in a tank or forehearth but it has been much more widespread than that. There are two that spring to mind. The glass flow and shear forces around the plunger forming a parison has been extensively modelled and led to improved plunger design and wear. The modelling of potential stress points in containers has led to better understanding of strength and allowed for major lightweighting through redesign. The advance of electronics has seen the advance of glass and on the whole it has been good for the industry but I still wonder who should be there when it goes wrong, the glassmaker or the ‘techie’. �

Henderson Technology, Sheffield, UK www.hendersontechnology.com

28 Glass International June 2017

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Company profile: Henry F. Teichmann

70 years of service 2017 is the 70th anniversary of US engineering company Henry F. Teichmann. Sally Love met Daniel Chen, Vice President of Business Development, to discuss how the company plans to develop going forward.

What does the company do? The company is in a very healthy business situation at the moment with a backlog up to 2018, and our main focus is still engineering and services to the glass industry. Our office is currently being remodelled and is under reconstruction, so sometime in the summer of 2017 we will have a brand new, modernised office.

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Is there a lot of equipment being brought in for this? Yes, it’s being updated with newer pieces of equipment. The company has been under new management and leadership for almost two years now, so we’re seeing a lot of new changes, good changes, for the company’s future.

Are you doing anything specific to celebrate the 70 years? At this moment we’re thinking of holding some celebrations, most likely in combination with the launch of our new office in the summer. We have some plans but nothing specific for this year.

What do you contribute the lasting success of the company to?

Where is Teichmann seeing the most activity at the moment?

Well, we have always said ‘the customer is our number one asset’. Over the last 70 years we have put the customer first, and that’s something that has always been true. We want to make our customers happy and satisfied and continue the good service, to keep the customers coming back. Our repeated business is really great.

Projects in the USA are doing really well, we have a lot of activity there. In Asia it’s not quite as much. In the USA all sectors of the glass industry, flat glass, container, specialty, fibreglass, are seeing a great jump in new activity. Continued>>

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Company profile: Henry F. Teichmann

� Engineers at Henry F. Teichmann have provided services to the glass industry for 70 years.

How important a region is South America to Teichmann? Teichmann has not really done well in the South American region in the past several years. We have developed in other markets, but South America will definitely be a market to further explore, and we are seeing good opportunities. It’s got great potential, and actually here at Glassman South America I’m talking to quite a few good, potential clients.

Are there any trends in the industry that are influencing your business? The trends are saving costs and saving energy; being more efficient. This trend is true and consistent.

Will you be venturing into any new sectors in the industry? We are looking at opportunities to expand ourselves. As we speak we are looking into new territories in the glass industry. We’re not at liberty to disclose at this moment without a final agreement, but we are going to expand into a new territory in equipment making, in addition to the engineering and services.

Glass industry engineer and contractor Henry F. Teichmann, has acquired glass annealing lehr manufacturer E.W. Bowman. Teichmann and Bowman have both served the global glass industry for decades. This year, Teichmann is also celebrating its 70 years of engineering and contracting services to the glass industry. Jointly, Teichmann and Bowman will provide more engineering, project and annealing solutions to the glass industry across the world. Both Teichmann and Bowman are located in Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania, USA.

How do you see the company developing over the next few years? With expanding our current product lines and also enhancing our services and engineering. In the meantime we have hired a lot of new engineers and service people, and we will be providing a better service and covering a wider range of services in the glass industry. In the next three to five years, short term, we definitely will be more prominent in the industry, and 10 years from now we see ourselves doubling in size. That’s where we see ourselves. �

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

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Henry F. Teichmann acquires E.W.Bowman

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Plant utilities

Compressed air energy savings in the glass industry � Fig 5. An energy monitoring dashboard provides real time feedback

Pascal van Putten* describes how energy management data plays a huge role in creating employee awareness about responsible energy use in a glass plant.

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n glass packaging plants, compressed air is a key utility for the production of virtually any type of glass container. In a typical glass packaging plant the demand for compressed air can easily exceed 30,000 to 35,000 Nm3/hr. At 1 to 2 cents per Nm3, and given the fact that most plants operate 24/7, this results in an annual energy bill of €3 to 6 million(1). With these figures, every percentage counts, and proper management of compressed air pays off rapidly. Since compressed air accounts for about 30% of the total electrical power consumption of a glass plant, it makes sense that reducing compressed air consumption is a priority. Most glass plants have separated compressed air networks: A high-pressure network (between 5 and 7 bar) for driving the

kW meter

Compressor

Flow meter (wet air)

Flow

�Fig 1. Permanent condition monitoring of a compressor with kW meter and Flow meter (suitable for wet compressed air).

machines and a low-pressure network (between 2 and 4 bar) for blowing into the moulds. Common issues with compressed air systems in glass plants are: � Bad efficiency of centrifugal compressors, due to lack of maintenance.

� Bad overall efficiency, due to wrong configuration of the control system. � High inlet temperatures of the compressors due to the location of the compressor house. � Old pipework with too many branches, due to add-ons over time.

(1) The 1...2 Eurocent is an European average number, based on various studies. Costs can be influenced by kWh price for electricity, running hours, compressor efficiency and demand fluctuations.

Continued>>

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� Leakages in production equipment. � Downtime waste of compressed air during machine maintenance, mould exchange. � Misapplication of compressed air: cooling in the processes downstream or near furnaces is commonly found. Compressed air ﬂow meters provide data to maintain efficiency in the machines and compressors as well as rapidly detect any compressed air leakages. Compressed air ﬂow meters can also put a financial number on misapplications and help to calculate the potential return on investment. They should be a three-inone type combined with pressure and temperature measurement, to get the complete picture. Combined with an overall energy monitoring system, they help plants to establish energy savings. In some cases, 30 to 50% energy savings on compressed air have been reported. The next segment of this article highlights some practical examples.

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Compressor control system Compressors in most factories are installed in dedicated compressor rooms. The compressor rooms can contain multiple types of machines, grouped together. Most compressors in glass plants will be oil free. Typically, centrifugal compressors combined with screw compressors are used, which generate compressed air for the high and low pressure network. Common issues when combining centrifugal machines with screw compressors are related to the master control system, or the lack thereof. In some older plants, cascade type controls are found, which may lead to unwanted blow-off of the centrifugal machines, or short-cycling of a screw compressor when demand changes. A ﬂow meter is needed to determine the real demand profile at the main header. This is a crucial step to determine the right combination of compressors and the optimal control sequence. A properly configured sequencer can make the right decision which compressor combination is best to meet the actual demand. There are also sequencers available which combine ﬂow and pressure measurement, to make the right selection of compressors.

Condition monitoring A ﬂow meter combined with a kW meter can be used to calculate efficiency, which

Fig 2

NO FLOW Everything in balance

� Fig 2 and 3. Bi-directional three-inone flow meter and the bi-directional measure-

FLOW FROM LEFT

ment principle

The left part is cooled down; the right part of the bridge is heated up

� Fig 4 . Wrong installation can result in errors.

FLOW FROM RIGHT

In this CFD simulation,

Vice versa. Now the left part is heated up and the right part is cooled down

the swirl is shown, which occurs right after a dou-

Fig 3

ble 90-degree elbow

is the most common key performance indicator to check the condition of a compressor over a longer period. It is important to realise that this type of efficiency trending is not the same as official performance testing. One must be aware that an official performance test at the compressor manufacturer’s test lab will show different numbers than in the field. When installed, there are external factors which can result in another efficiency number. For example, centrifugal compressors are sensitive for inlet temperature and inlet pressure. An undersized fresh air supply duct or extreme heat in the compressor

room can influence the performance dramatically. One should always consult an independent compressor auditor before skipping to a conclusion regarding the efficiency. As centrifugal machines are sensitive to inlet pressure, temperature, intercooling and backpressure, it is beneficial to monitor their output flow continuously. For example, when the inlet filter will be clogged the output flow at a given input power will go down. When it reaches a certain number, it is time to change the filters. The efficiency data will also reveal intercooling issues, inlet temperaturerelated issues. In one case, a flow meter combined with kW meter saved a glass plant around €35,000 per centrifugal machine per year. This required an up-front investment of €5,000 per compressor. The return on investment was less than two months!

Flow meters Flow meters can be placed downstream, in the supply lines to the production machines. They can detect changes in air demand in real time. When ﬂow data is correlated to machine output (in containers per day) an ‘air/product’ efficiency ratio can be determined. This Continued>>

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Plant utilities

ratio is a key performance indicator used to compare identical production lines, or even compare multiple glass plants on their performance (Fig 1). Issues found with ﬂow meters include: � Major air leaks in or under the (hot) IS machines, which cannot be seen; � Reverse ﬂow due to wrong supply pipe design; � Waste of air during machine maintenance and stops.

Bi-directional flow meters Bi directional compressed air flow meters can sense the direction of the compressed air flow. This is important when monitoring complex networks with multiple compressor rooms. In these cases, due to pressure fluctuations in the network and changes in demand, the compressed air can move back and forth into receiver tanks. If this is ignored, wrong conclusions can be drawn which may lead to wrong measures. In factories with ring networks and/or multiple compressor rooms, bi-directional flow meters are the prescribed technology for proper measurement (Fig 2/3). Issues that can be revealed include Leaking non-return valves on compressors; Leaking gaskets on air treatment equipment and interference of large air demand with low air demand at certain branches in the network.

Accuracy Insertion style flow meters are easy to install without having to shut the compressed air system. However, to have these meters take accurate measurements, a straight length of pipe before and after their location is necessary. It depends on the type of object (bend, two bends, diameter change) and how much length is required to straighten out the flow profile. In complex cases, VPInstruments can help determine which locations are best to install the flow meters, to gain accurate and representative data. CFD is used to predict the measurement error (Fig 4). But how accurate do you need to be when just recording trends? In case of a systematic error, flow meter can always be used to trend the demand, and to see the ratio between leakage and production flow. This is always far better than not trending the demand at all.

Creating awareness

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In a modern production environment, energy management data plays a huge role in creating employee awareness about responsible energy use. Real time or daily feedback of efficiency numbers to the production ﬂoor, combined with an incentive programme can help to reduce the general waste of compressed air and other utilities. When displayed in the right manner, an energy dashboard will inspire the employees to reduce energy consumption. Factories that offer incentives to reward people for their savings plans create a winning environment for energy savings; it becomes part of their daily habits (Fig 5).

Conclusions � Flow meters and energy monitoring systems are key to reduction of compressed air consumption in a glass plant. � Combining three-in-one mass ﬂow meters with kW meters provide a powerful KPI to trend compressor performance. � Factories that implement continuous awareness and offer incentives to reward people for their savings plans create a winning environment for energy savings. �

*CEO, VPInstruments, Delft, The Netherlands www.vpinstruments.com

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Lizmontagens_ad_2017.pdf

CMY

15/03/2017

14:55

Temperature control

Achieving temperature accuracy in low emissivity environments Dr Fiona Turner* looks at the challenge of creating visually perfect glass panes and how a consistent surface temperature profile can help to achieve that.

here is strong demand around the world for heat-strengthened and thermally tempered glass products. However, to create visually perfect glass panes, or lites, the stress across the entire lite must be kept even during processing and that requires precise temperature control. Infrared temperature measurement technology helps achieve that by generating a thermal map of the product that allows for better process control. The mapping of low emissivity glass, however, can be a challenge.

popular for architectural applications. Low emissivity means there is very little emitted radiation for an infrared instrument to measure. There are hundreds of different grades of low emissivity glass, all with different emissivity values, so just one compensation value cannot be used for all glass types. Low emissivity glass is also produced in the same furnaces as uncoated glass, so

Thermally tempered glass The thermal tempering process involves glass being heat treated and then rapidly cooled in a controlled manner in an air quench section. This gives the product its performance benefits, ensuring it produces harmless dice when broken, instead of sharp shards that could be potentially dangerous if used within a building.

Temperature measurement

Challenge The requirement for low emissivity glass for windows is firmly established. Low emissivity glass is effective at reducing the sun’s non-visible radiation from entering a building. It also retains existing heat inside a building, so it benefits the end user who enjoys reduced energy costs, making it

� � Fig 2. Distortion-free tempered glass – v. distorted glass.

� Fig 3. Ametek Land Thermal Tempering Infrared Measurement Solution.

any infrared temperature measurement system must cope with variations in emissivity. When emissivity is low, reflectivity is high and background sources of radiation can add extraneous signals to the measurement. Incorrect estimation of emissivity can cause errors in temperature reading, so active emissivity compensation is required.

For visual perfection to be achieved, physical distortion must be avoided and temperature controlled on entry to the quench section. Uniform surface temperature profile across the whole lite must be achieved. This provides the same even stress across the glass and ensures distortion-free viewing when the glass is used within a window (Fig 2). Infrared temperature measurement is commonly used for process control during the thermal tempering process. If a thermal image of each lite can be seen as it enters the quench, the heating profile can be adjusted to maintain the necessary uniform glass temperature.

Continued>>

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All objects emit electromagnetic radiation. Hotter objects emit more radiation and at shorter wavelengths. A perfect blackbody object emits the full radiation profile predicted by Planck’s Law. For most real surfaces, emissions are less efficient than predicted by Planck’s Law, and the emitted radiation is scaled down by a factor known as surface emissivity. Infrared thermometers are non-contact instruments that sense emitted radiation within a waveband, and then convert the received signals into accurate temperature measurement. Glass measurement solutions normally rely on measurements at 5µm, where the glass becomes opaque. With negligible transmission, emissivity is approximately 1 – reflectivity, with typical values around 0.97. However, modern low emissivity coatings can reduce that emissivity to as little as 0.05 which represents a challenge for infrared thermometry.

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Temperature control

Scanner

Scanner Tempering furnace Glass Furnace exit

lites

Air quench

� Fig 4. Instrument arrangement from each direction.

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Methodology Ametek Land’s research and development has led to the creation of an accurate infrared measurement solution for the thermal tempering process that can be used on any glass type, including those with the lowest emissivity. That solution, shown in Fig 3, uses a 5µm line scanner that measures the low emissivity surface through the narrow gap between the furnace and air blowers and aligned with one or more temperature bias sensors on the underside of the glass used for emissivity correction. A true temperature, emissivity corrected thermal map of the entire product surface with sub-spot resolution is created in software from successive scan data, which then can be used to adjust furnace control parameters and produce visually perfect glass. The gap between the furnace exit and air quench section can be as small as 10cm. However, this is sufficient for a line scanning system that use the movement of the lites themselves to provide a second measurement axis and to build a complete thermal image. The line scanner continuously scans across all glass lites as they exit the furnace at 100 lines per second. The scanner is designed to operate accurately without cooling in ambient conditions up to 60°C and to continue to operate outside its specifications, up to 70°C. A deflector plate fits to the underside surface of the enclosure, which deflects much of the hot updraft at the furnace exit and prevents the scanner from seeing its own reflection when viewing low emissivity glass. Ametek Land’s Landscan LSP-HD 50 has a scan angle of up to 80°. Industrial glass tempering lines are typically a few metres wide, so, to view the full width of the line, the scanner must be placed some distance away. In a typical glass tempering line, this means the scanner has to be positioned above the line, looking down

� Fig 5. Low emissivity glass thermal images. at the glass as it emerges from the furnace. Coated glass invariably is processed with the coated side upwards (to avoid contact with the rollers), so the scanner is always viewing a surface with a potentially unknown emissivity. Two or three small temperature bias sensors are installed on the underside of the line to provide automatic emissivity correction. The sensors measure the temperature of the uncoated surface at a particular point. This temperature reading is used to correct the emissivity of the film so that the whole scanner image displays the correct temperature without needing to recalibrate for different coating constituents or uncoated glass. Fig 4 shows the arrangement from each direction. The scanner and two underside sensors are positioned to align with two compensation zones in the scanner temperature profile. Both the scanner and underside sensors need to look at the same gap between support rolls. The system takes contact closure signals from the furnace controller door, signalling the beginning and end of a batch of lites emerging from the furnace. As the batch passes, signals from the scanner and underside thermometers are monitored. The first underside thermometer is used to give a valid reading for temperature correction. Only one of the underside temperature sensors needs to have seen the glass for correct compensation, but it is essential that at least one glass lite is seen by one of the underside sensors for the compensation to work. In practice, this is simply achieved by marking stripes on the rollers at the input, aligned longitudinally with each compensation zone, so operators can ensure a lite is over at least one of the sensors, (Fig 4). With Ametek’s Landscan process imaging software, an emissivity value is calculated that matches the scanner

radiation measurement from zone 1 to that of sensor 1, or from zone 2 to sensor 2. This emissivity is used to calculate true temperature from the scanned radiance for the whole batch of lites. Low emissivity coating processes are sufficiently controlled that the emissivity value will be consistent for every lite of the same grade. Lites of the same batch are always tempered together, partly for logistical reasons and partly because different grades of low emissivity glass pull more or less heat out of the furnace. Mixing grades would quickly cause a temperature imbalance in the tempering furnace.

Results Fig. 5 shows a selection of thermal images of low emissivity glass panes measured using the system described above. The temperature scale in the first set of images is set to 620°C +/- 5°C. Measurements within this desired range are shown in green; hotter areas are yellow / red; colder areas are blue. In both sets of images, the glass lites were travelling from left to right. Most of the glass is close to 620°C and shown in green, but the leading edge is yellow, closer to 640°C, and towards the tail in the middle there is a colder blue area at around 610°C. This is sufficient variation to cause concern. In the second set of images a more even temperature profile has been achieved, though around 15°C higher. This may also cause concern. The thermal images from the previous batch of lites effectively show the temperature profile within the furnace. Trends from batch-to-batch can be used to show if one side of the furnace is running cooler than the other. The distribution of lites is often the simplest Continued>>

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Temperature control

Conclusion The latest infrared line scanners and spot thermometers allow glass manufacturers to take temperature measurements of low emissivity coated glass during the thermal tempering process. The measurements enable informed control of the thermal profile within the furnace, which reduces waste and optimises productivity, and

ensures reliable production of distortionfree glass. As glass coatings develop infrared temperature measurement will help producers optimise glass production. ďż˝

*Physics Section Manager, Ametek Land, Dronfield, UK Email land.enquiry@ametek.com, www.landinst.com

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way to adjust the temperature profile within the furnace â&#x20AC;&#x201C; placing larger panes on the hotter side of the furnace will do much to draw heat from this area and even out the temperature within. Batch timing and other thermal controls also can be adjusted, to reliably produce lites with a uniform thermal profile within the required temperature range.

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Furnaces

SmartMelter advances furnace inspection techniques Yakup Bayram* discusses a furnace management solution that collects and visualises deterministic data about furnace health using radar technology. The solution has already been validated on several furnaces and gives manufacturers greater gains in furnace maintenance, risk management and a stable production.

adar technology has created advancements in various fields of practice, from medical applications to defense operations. The latest industry to be transformed by customised radar application is glass manufacturing. SmartMelter is a furnace management solution that collects and visualises deterministic data about furnace health. Two patented sensors launch radar waves into refractory walls to collect erosion data and measure refractory thickness. The data is then visualised using computer tomography to give manufacturers a clear view of vulnerable areas. With this new level of insight, manufacturers can begin to perform condition-based maintenance and safely extend their furnace campaigns. One of the key features of this technology is the ability to perform furnace inspections on an operating furnace without interrupting production. Sensors are designed to be used on the outside of furnace walls in a non-invasive manner. For example, the Refractory Thickness Sensor (RTS) can be placed directly on glass contact refractory such as

Validation � Hot repair.

fused-cased AZS, high zirconia or Chrome refractories. The interface between the glass and the wall is recorded to produce a measurement of the residual refractory thickness. The Furnace Tomography Sensor (FTS), used on furnace bottom and sidewalls, operates from the outer layer of insulation. The FTS maps early-stage glass penetration and measures the residual thickness of the insulation and refractory layers.

The convenience of SmartMelter technology is an important step forward for glass manufacturers. However, its value is only as good as its accuracy. Is the data collected by the sensors precise? SmartMelter sensors have been validated on multiple furnaces. The first blind trial was completed on a container glass furnace that was scheduled to be drained for cold repair. Before the drain, SmartMelter measurements were taken in 11 spots on the furnace on both sidewalls, a doghouse, and the area between the throats. When the original blocks were recovered, the actual thickness was within four millimeters of the SmartMelter Measurements. Another successful blind trial was completed on a float line furnace when the glass line was lowered for hot repair. Eight measurements were taken with SmartMelter before the repair that were found to be within five millimeters of the actual AZS thickness. Continued>>

Downstream

12 10 8

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6 4 2 0

� 3D Visualisation and Post Drain Image

Residual thickness (in)

Left

Right

of Inspected Area.

� Furnace Bottom Inspection.

�Measurement of Furnace Bottom Thickness.

40 Glass International June 2017

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Furnaces

This is good news for manufacturers who are looking to lower the risk of furnace operations while also maximising furnace yield. This balance has been difficult to achieve in the past, as traditional methods of furnace inspection are speculative and sometimes dangerous. For example, drilling techniques used to monitor the condition of furnace bottoms are extremely risky. Intentional damage is done to the structure of the furnace bottom by drilling into several layers to sample its condition. Without accurate knowledge of where glass has penetrated these layers, an area can be drilled where it is already extremely thin. Adding to this risk is the fact that sampling random spots does not give an accurate assessment of the erosion that has occurred. An area that has been drilled and found to be in great condition could be just a few feet from a critical area that has not been measured.

Glass infiltration Because of this risk, several manufacturers are using SmartMelter to monitor the progress of glass infiltration on the furnace bottom. This proved to be a beneficial process for one customer who requested periodic inspection of its float line furnace bottom. The furnace was within eight months of a scheduled rebuild and was at a critical stage. However, the customer hoped to keep production on schedule with a monitoring programme. The furnace bottom was mapped for software visualisation, and initial measurements were taken to assess its condition. Monthly inspections were then made with SmartMelter to evaluate the level of glass infiltration. The customer was able to complete its production schedule and started rebuilding the furnace on the planned date. This resulted in another successful validation of SmartMelter technology. Before the furnace was shut for rebuilding, a final survey of the furnace bottom was performed using SmartMelter. The measurements were recorded to compare with actual bottom thickness once the furnace was drained. Using traditional drilling techniques, the furnace bottom was measured in several spots. All areas were within five millimeters of the SmartMelter measurements. The ability to collect deterministic data about the condition of a furnace opens up new possibilities for glass manufacturers. The value is gained when this data can be visualised and used to make strategic decisions. SmartMelterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s XSight software gives manufacturers an important tool in the process of asset life management. This proprietary system stores all inspection and maintenance records to monitor trends in the health of a furnace. Manufacturers can easily access this information from anywhere in the world to identify areas of concern and invest only in areas that need attention. The advanced radar technology in the SmartMelter solution is changing the way glass manufacturers manage their furnace assets. The reduced risk allows them to maximise production from each furnace, lower operating costs, and fulfill orders on a more reliable schedule. The confidence that manufacturers gain from SmartMelter translates into greater gain in furnace maintenance, risk management and stable production. ďż˝

*CEO, PaneraTech, Inc, Chantilly, VA, USA info@smartmelter.com www.smartmelter.com/ Glass International June 2017

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FIVES TECH + FIVES TEAM DÜZCE CAM CHOSE FIVES AGAIN TO GET PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY FIVES PROPRIETARY FURNACE TECHNOLOGY WITH ULTRA-LOW ENERGY CONSUMPTION PRIUM® MELT FLOAT L.E.M.® (LOW ENERGY MELTER) ENABLES GLASS MANUFACTURERS TO SAVE UP TO 20% ENERGY COMPARED WITH CONVENTIONAL SOLUTIONS. In order to comply with quality, output and energy performance objectives, Turkish glassmaker Düzce Cam has renewed its confidence in Fives’ Glass teams for the design and supply of its second manufacturing line. This new 800t/day float glass line will feature Fives’ latest technologies such as the float furnace, the tin bath and the annealing lehr. It will be dedicated to the production of both residential and automotive glasses.

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Coatings

Advantages of CVD Coating in warm climates Christopher Cording* and Ron Hunt** highlight the role of Chemical Vapor Deposition in glassmaking and discuss why they are more effective in warm temperatures.

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hemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is a method of applying coatings while glass is being manufactured. Chemicals are turned to vapors or gases and brought into close contact with hot glass. The vapor ‘burns’ onto hot glass resulting in permanent, durable, and functional coatings. These coatings can be more mechanically and chemically resistant than the glass itself, and are thus referred to as ‘hard coatings’. CVD coaters can be installed in the tin bath or lehr. CVD coatings can save energy in hot climates by reflecting and absorbing solar energy before it enters a building. Sputtered coatings are applied by electrically ionizing metal targets in a vacuum and directing the metal ions to the glass surface with magnets. Sputtered coatings form a weak bond to the glass as they are painted on, and are thus known as ‘soft coatings’. Sputtered coatings can have excellent optical properties, but typically lack mechanical and chemical durability. Conventional wisdom suggests that CVD coatings are a better choice than sputtered coatings for cold climates because they allow more solar heat gain. This facilitates the entry of free solar heat energy into a building, while blocking the long wavelength release of energy from the building. Sputtered coatings are normally thought of as ideal in warm climates because of solar heat blocking properties. However, Stewart Engineers has found that CVD can be preferable for warm climate with options for coatings with low emissivity, high reflectivity, and high absorption. Cold climates have a greater temperature

differential from indoors to outdoors. For example, if it is -20°C outside and +23°C indoors, the temperature difference is large (43°C), but a warm climate at 38°C is only 15°C warmer than indoors. Cold climates require more thermal insulation which is normally achieved by two pieces of glass separated by an airspace. These insulated glass units (IGUs) protect the enclosed soft sputtered coatings with a dry and contact-free environment. Warm climates can have acceptable performance with a single (monolithic) piece of glass. Sputtered soft coatings lack the chemical and mechanical resistance to be glazed monolithically. Exposed sputtered soft coatings are easily damaged by cleaning and weathering. CVD coatings are chemically and mechanically stronger than glass and extend the life over uncoated glass.

Costs The costs of a single monolithic piece

of CVD coated glass is less than a softcoated insulated unit with two pieces of glass. It is also more durable since there is no possibility of seal failure as with an IGU. Simple and effective is often the best choice. The three CVD coating choices of high reflectivity, high absorption, or low emissivity give architects and builders multiple options for monolithic glazing with good performance and excellent aesthetics. CVD is the clear winner in markets with substantial monolithic usage. CVD is also a clear improvement over uncoated glass because it can block solar heating and reduce cooling load on a building. CVD coatings can be an effective solution in hot climates for simplicity, cost and life. �

*Technical Director, **Process Engineer, Stewart Engineers, Wake Forest, North Carolina, USA. info@stewartengineers.com; www. stewartengineers.com

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Stewart Engineers International Ad.ai 1 6/5/2017 10:42:26 AM

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Soda ash overview

Turkey set to dominate soda ash market with arrival of capacity At this year’s World Soda Ash conference in Dubrovnik, IHSMarkit’s Marguerite Morrin will provide an extensive overview of the current soda ash market including recent shifts in supply/demand dynamics and what this may mean for the future. Matthew Hancock* reports.

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he story of soda ash has become more complicated over the previous year, with a mixture of temporary cost variations and impending structural changes taking their tolls on this globally interconnected market place. The biggest change to the future of the soda ash market is centred on the arrival of new capacity in Turkey, which has dominated the agenda for soda ash consumers and producers alike. The disruption this will cause to the market will be felt everywhere, but in particular in Europe, which is likely to become a major destination for Turkey’s new product. Soda ash has been produced in Turkey since the 1990s by Soda Sanayii, a company owned by glass producer Sisecam. It remained Turkey’s only domestic source of supply until 2009 when Eti Soda, a company 26% owned by the Turkish state and 74% owned by the Ciner group, began production at its Beypazari site 100 kilometres north west of Ankara. This added 1 million metric tonnes (MMT) to world production at a time when demand had fallen by around 4 MMT in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Soda ash prices in West European soda fell from $295/mt in 2009 to $225/ mt in 2010 as a result of this change in supply/demand dynamics. A similar situation is set to arise now. In February this year Ciner began production on a new 500kt/y soda ash line at Beypazari, while in August, assuming there are no unplanned construction issues, Ciner will begin production at its new Kazan facility, around 50KM north of Ankara. This facility, 100% owned by Ciner, will produce 2.5MMT from five lines and means that a total of 3MMT of

new capacity will be added to the world soda ash market, a shift in the supply and demand picture similar to that seen in 2009. Both sites produce soda ash through mining Trona, a mineral source of soda ash. The operating costs of producing soda ash through this method are much lower than via the synthetic Solvay production route, by which nearly all the soda ash producers in Europe get their soda ash. As a result, Ciner has an advantage over its European competitors when it comes to pricing, an advantage the Turkish manufacturer may look to exploit in the near future. The effect of this shift is preemptively effecting soda ash prices. At the turn of 2017, European producers began to feel pressure to lower prices as buyers eyed Turkey as a potential new supplier. There remains a number of potential challenges that Ciner must overcome for it to take a greater stake in the European market, as well as other regional markets. One of these issues is logistics. Moving the much newer product into Europe will require careful co-ordination and infrastructure spending as well as partnerships with distributers. On both fronts, Ciner has made progress. It is building a 14km rail connection between its Kazan site and the rail network that eventually reaches the port of Derince as well as facilities at the port such as silos and warehouse space. It has signed a number of contracts with distributers that Ciner will use in various markets to get its product to consumers. How effective it will be in infiltrating these regions and what effect this will have on soda ash prices particularly in the vulnerable European market is something IHSMarkit is paying close attention to.

USA Despite the US’s more protected position thanks to its low cost Trona based production, it too began to feel negative price pressure in anticipation of the new Turkish production. The US annual contract price range remained stable in 2017, although there was some movement within the range, there was pressure on US export prices though. Turkey has made clear its ambitions to supply material to South America, traditionally a market dominated by the US. This threat becomes more realistic when the cost of moving material from the Trona mines in Wyoming to the port by rail is taken into consideration. The cost of rail freight, which had been fixed in the past over a number of years, has increased rapidly in recent years, chipping away at the competitiveness of US soda ash. Another point of interest in the US is the ongoing moves by Wyoming producers supported by members of congress to lower the Bureau of Land Management royalties they pay to the government. This currently stands at 6%, however lawmakers are hoping to lower this to 2% in a bid to make US production more competitive.

China Meanwhile, as prices have suffered from negative pressure in many markets, prices in China saw increases in the past 2nd half of 2016/ early 2017. This has been driven by rising raw material costs and a shortness in supply caused by an increased focus on environmental checks. Continued>>

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Soda ash overview

5.0

FORECAST

400 350

3.0

Thousand metric tons

Million metric tons

4.0

2.0 1.0 0.0 -1.0

250 200 150 100 50 0

-2.0 2009

2011

2013 China

USA

2015

2017

Turkey

ROW

2019

Q4 2015 Q2 Q3 Q4 2016 Q2 Q3 Europe ROW

Q4 2017

� Fig 2. Turkey quarterly soda ash exports.

2.50 Note: Spanish imports hidden in 2011-2012

2.00 Million metric tons

In the second half of 2016 coal in China and the wider region saw a tightness in supply as issues such as a restriction in the number of days over which the Chinese mines could operate saw coal production drop. As soda ash costs in China are linked to coal prices due to its role in energy and coke production, upward price pressure began to be felt in the market as margins were squeezed. At the same time, the Chinese government stepped up its efforts to curtail pollution, by implementing environmental checks at a number of soda ash production sites. The effect of this was an acute shortage of soda ash in the Chinese domestic market that led to further upward pressure on prices. Average Chinese domestic prices for dense soda ash illustrates the combined effect of these two factors. In July 2016, the average price was $198/mt but by January 2017, this had risen to $330/ mt. The tightness in the market and subsequent high prices drove some buyers in China to look elsewhere for product with shipments arriving from the US. This is a rare occurrence due to China’s overcapacity in soda ash and the logistical cost associated with getting product to buyers in inland China from overseas suppliers. As the increase in domestic soda ash prices held over the second half of 2016 and into the start of 2017, a ripple effect began to emanate from the Chinese market. Buyers who usually sourced some or all of their product from China, such as those in India for example, where compelled to look elsewhere. This lead to tightness in supply in other exporting regions such as the Black Sea as suppliers began struggling to keep up with the increase in demand.

2014 Q2

2021

� Fig 1. Soda ash world net capacity changes.

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300

1.50

1.00

0.50

� Fig 3. EU15 annual soda ash imports.

0.00 2008 USA

2009 2010 2011 Turkey

Over recent months the supply issues have eased in China and prices have begun to fall again as product becomes more available. Exports from the country, which because of the price hike had become uncompetitive, are beginning to grow again and balance is being restored to the market. This raises further questions: will Chinese producers want to keep prices higher to preserve margins or will they be happy to operate at lower margins, and could further environmental checks lead to tightness in 2017? On the demand side, changes are also afoot. India, which is set to become the world’s next engine of growth, has seen rapid increases in soda ash demand. Two sources of this growth are the flat and container glass sectors. As the middle class grows in India, so will the demand for glass-contained drinks and new housing. A subject of debate is whether India will seek to build its own domestic supply of soda ash to meet demand or whether it will turn to imports. The outcome of this decision may rest on the country’s internal politics. Anti-

2012 2013 CIS

2014 CEP

2015 2016 Other

dumping duties are in place on imported soda ash, which helps support the local industry but most of these are set to expire in mid-2017. Whether they remain in place beyond that is uncertain and may play a role in the future of India’s soda ash supply. India is also changing its complicated tax laws, by rolling a number of central and state level taxes into one centralised tax system. Whether this will accelerate growth in India is another question. The world of soda ash is currently experiencing turbulent times, with changes in supply, demand, price and legislation all having an impact on the market dynamics, and The World Soda Ash Conference 2017 in Dubrovnik will be the perfect opportunity for industry insiders to share their insight. �

*Senior Analyst Soda Ash, IHS Markit, The World Soda Ash Conference 2017, Dubrovnik, Croatia, September 19-21. https://www.ihs.com/events/world-soda-ash-conference-2017/overview.html

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Environment

Cellular glass for thermal insulation Hans Strauven describes how cellular glass is the first – and most probably the last – human-made thermal insulation.

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lass bottles are used to store the most precious liquids such as Champagne and spirits. The composition of glass bottles is the result of a long-term evolution and as a consequence this type of glass does not influence the taste of the liquid by leaching out. Hard foam or wool, based on glass has the same inertness and will never harm the environment. The same is valid for other ceramic base materials such as stone and aluminium-based oxides. Glass generally has a glass transition temperature above 500°C. This can be compared with other base materials, used to produce hard foams and fibers like polystyrene (95°C) for XPS and EPS, polyurethane (100°C to 150°C) (PUR), resole resin (decomposition at 220°C) for phenolic foam, PIR (decomposition at 200°C), nylon (+45°C) and polyvinyl chloride (80°C). It is clear that when these temperatures are approached for a few hours, the base materials and so the resulting foams change properties and shape. For buildings in summer, temperatures up to 90°C are not exceptional, which may induce deformation and degradation in some foams. This is never present in glass-based insulation due to the high glass transition temperature and as a consequence, application with hot thermal oil (300°C) can be geometrically stable insulated. Another consequence of the high glass transition temperature (and high viscosity) is the small diffusion of gas through the glass at ambient temperatures. This diffusion coefficient is orders of magnitude larger for base materials with a glass transition/decomposition temperature below 200°C. This is important when a closed cell structure is used for the purpose of thermal insulation. The negligible diffusion coefficient for glass at ambient temperature is the reason the cell gas composition (and thermal conductivity) is not changed during the

life time of a building. The use of other (low temperature) base materials for a closed cell structure always induces the replacement of the cell gas by ordinary air with thermal conductivity 0.026W/mK. Another consequence of the negligible diffusion of gas in a closed cell glass structure is that water vapour and water are not able to diffuse into the structure. Cellular glass is not able to absorb any humidity or any other liquid. Glass has an expansion coefficient around 9 10-6 K -1 at ambient temperature, while 3 and 7 x 10-5 K-1 for polymer-based thermal insulation. The other parts of the building have 6 10-6 for brick masonry,

materials with a low glass transition or decomposition temperature may melt or evolve combustible gases inducing fire incidents. All kind of fire and flame indexes are defined for polymer base materials while for glass they are all negative or not applicable. Glass has a static fatigue limit in tension, which is an important parameter in case of mechanical stability issues. A static fatigue limit means that a load, even cycling below this limit does not generate a crack or induce further growth to an existing crack. If this static fatigue limit is respected, glass is absolutely safe, just like reinforced concrete or steel. The many

� Figs 1/2. Cellular material and mineral wool have a distinct different thermal conductivity behavior.

14.5 10-6 for concrete, 16 10-6 for plaster and 5 10-6 for pine wood. In industrial equipment, it is 12 10-6 for carbon steel and up to 17 10-6 for stainless steel. The thermal strain due to a mismatch of the thermal expansion will be limited in the case of cellular glass and can be totally absorbed by elastic glue.

Deformation Glass is generally an oxide and oxides do not burn. With glass transition temperature of 500°C, deformation starts at higher temperatures. For that reason, glass-based thermal insulation can be used as resistance to fire. Polymer base

platforms over high depths with a floor in (thick) glass are proof of that. The glass resists all kind of temperatures, humidity, UV light and even modest earth shocks. Up to now, polymer does not show that universe of properties. Polymer-based materials keep creeping while they don´t have a static fatigue limit. Glass does not have any nutritional value and will not be damaged by any kind of animals. It is also not able to absorb or hide any kind of bacteria or viruses. For that reason, it is like steel a popular material in hospitals because it Continued>>

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Environment

Advantages of a cellular structure Thermal insulation is based on the principle to keep a gas in a structure without allowing gas movements and to block radiation transport. Gas molecules are only allowed to collide with each other and the base material but are not allowed to move organised (convection). Introducing a vacuum eliminates the collisions between gas molecules and this is the principle of vacuum-insulated panels. There are generally two methods to keep still air or another gas. In a closed cell structure with cells smaller than 2mm, the above condition (no convection) should be fulfilled. Wool with a sufficient high density should also fulfill the above conditions. A cellular material and mineral wool have a distinct different thermal conductivity behaviour. Mineral wool fibers have only a point contact with each other, which limits strongly the thermal conduction through the fibers. The huge surface blocks the radiation transport and

as a consequence, the non-convective air is the major contributor with a thermal conductivity 0.026 W/mK. The mineral wool needs a binder to keep the fibers together which is the only contribution to combustibility in case of mineral wool. On the other side, it is clear that this system is not the primary choice for applications where mechanical stability and impermeability for all kind of gases and liquids could be a problem (Fig 1 and 2). On the other side, a closed cellular structure is able to contain a gas with lower thermal conductivity than air. The stability of the gas composition (and so the thermal conductivity) depends on the diffusion possibilities of these gases through the base material. In the case of glass or another ceramic, this diffusion is negligible on a human time scale of a few hundreds of years. But the cellular structure will conduct more heat than the fiber system (wool) with only point contacts and will have a larger mechanical stability because point contacts are absent. In case mechanical stability and impermeability is an issue, a cellular structure is the obvious choice. But if flexibility is important (for example during installation), wool is clearly the only way to go. Another important difference is the viscosity needed to produce foam or to draw thin fibers (less than 10 µm) from a certain base material. For the foaming of glass, a minimum viscosity of 106.6 Pa s is required while at least 101 Pa s is needed to draw a fiber from the same base material. As a consequence, a much higher temperature for wool is required which means that it can be expected that wool fabrication needs more energy per kg to produce. The consequence is that wool manufacturers try to lower the density of the wool, creating more permeability (and risk for convection) and even less stability to reduce energy consumption. The negligible diffusion coefficient for glass at an ambient temperature is the reason the cell gas composition (and so thermal conductivity) does not change during the life time of a building. The use of other (low temperature) base materials for a closed cell structure always induces the replacement of the cell gas by ordinary (still) air with thermal conductivity 0.026 W/mK.

Combination There are many advantages if glass

is selected as a base material to build a (closed cell) cellular structure. The advantages are listed with glass or/and cell between brackets if glass or the cell structure is generating the property. These include Non–combustible (glass); Efficient fire retarder (glass/cell); high compressive strength (cell) and stable thermal conductivity (glass).

Recycled glass? Once cellular glass is selected as the material to be used, it is still a question of whether a special glass composition will be foamed or a standard recycled glass composition used. The first choice involves an extra melting step and frequent repair of a melting furnace. The melting step involves extra energy consumption and extra raw materials to get a thermal conductivity reduction of 25% compared with direct foamed recycled glass. This process also involves a foaming in a reducing atmosphere with poor efficiency combustion. Direct recycled glass can be foamed at 800°C in a neutral atmosphere with maximum efficiency combustion. The production and investment cost is about half of the above option with a special glass composition. For the same thermal resistance, about 25% more thickness is needed.

Conclusion If flexibility is not an issue, glass in a cellular structure is the obvious choice to obtain a non-combustible thermal insulation, which is in agreement with laboratory measurements. Influence from humidity, wind, deformation due to temperature or humidity, increasing thermal conductivity by in-diffusion of air is eliminated. If the thickness is not limited, cellular glass directly foamed from recycled glass is the lowest cost solution to obtain a certain thermal resistance without any interference from forces, which are not present in the laboratory. Taking into account the extreme long life time, low primary energy consumption, low emissions during production and negligible use of fresh raw materials, cellular glass directly foamed from recycled glass is the best ecologic thermal insulation. Glapor cellular glass is produced in this way. �

Glapor Werk Mitterteich, Germany www.glapor.com

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allows the highest hygienic standards. While glass is produced from minerals, polymers have crude oil as primary raw material. As a consequence, the energy content of polymers like polystyrene and polyurethane is large (85 MJ/kg) to compare with only 8MJ/kg for container glass. On top of that, glass can be produced with 100% electrical melting where the energy may come from renewable sources like wind and sun. The use of the limited feedstock of crude oil becomes ethically questionable if alternatives with 100% renewable energy are available. Glass can be endless recycled after melting with eventually 100% renewable energy. Combustion is the only end of life after a polymer has been degraded to the useless state. On top of that, glass has an endless lifetime while polymers are unavoidly degraded by UV-light. Besides glass and polymers, cellulose and sheep wool can be base material for thermal insulation. However both materials need to be protected by chemicals to increase the life time and to improve fire resistance and combustibility. The ecologic impact of these additions and the final life time are not clear today. The above shows that glass as a base material is the best ecological and most logical choice except in case the application needs to resist HF (Hydrogen Fluoride).

51 Glass International June 2017

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