Online monitoring of the melting process in glass tanks
Task
In glassmaking the mixture is supplied to the glass melting tank and thereby melted to a liquid glass melt and refined. The furnaces are constructed from refractory materials and as an energy source the burners used natural gas, heavy and light oil or electricity. The temperature in the furnace is approximately 1500 ° C, the exact temperature depends mainly on the melting temperature of the respective glass and the refractory lining. For efficient operation, the furnaces are usually – apart from minor repairs planned interim – operated continuously. A so-called furnace campaign can take up to 15 years. To avoid damages, a continuous monitoring of the process and the state of the refractory lining in the oven is recommended.
Solution
Infrared furnace camera PYROINC 768N in stationary installation with transfer unit. In addition to the previously known visual systems, the following information with the PYROINC 768N are available:
- monitoring of the burner function (temperature, expansion, flame behavior, changing the burners)
- temperature monitoring of the lining (vault, exterior walls)
- Visual inspection of melter interior
- temperature monitoring and flow behavior of the mixture
- archiving function of the furnace campaign
- signal transduction and alarm output to the process control system
This simplifies the control and optimization of the process; Irregularities can be recognized at an early stage in order to take countermeasures. Likewise, temperature values can be monitored and if necessary transferred to a process control system to optimize the glass melting process.
