Electric Melting And Boosting For Glass Quality Improvement

Each year, new electric boost systems are incorporated into new fuel or oxy-fuel-fired furnaces, and a much greater number of boost systems are added, reinstalled or enlarged in the course of furnace repairs. In many of these cases the boost system is still seen primarily as a means of increasing furnace output, to be used only when necessary. But this underestimates the potential of electric boosting to influence overall furnace operation, energy consumption and glass quality, as well as just adding energy to the melting process and increasing output. In the first part of this article, the author looks at how electric boosting can help improve the quality of glass being produced.