Wednesday 13th October
Walter Battaglia, Damiano Marchese, SSV Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro, Italy
In the last years, the awareness for the environment is, righteously, increased. Environmental goals are always more ambitious and in safeguarding the environment it is necessary that these goals be achieved. The challenge for a glass manufacturer is the respect of the emission limits while maintaining the quality standard of the glass produced unchanged.
Although secondary techniques for NOx abatement, like SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) and SNCR (Selective Non Catalytic Reduction), are becoming more and more popular and used, primary techniques are still of fundamental importance since a good share of secondary techniques helpfulness derives from a well optimized furnace.
Primary techniques cover many possible aspects, like furnace design, burners optimization and the application of other technology (i.e. Hybrid air staging, waste gas recirculation). In this presentation the topics discussed will concern the understanding of NOx formation and the primary measures that can be taken to reduce them. The state of art of best practices in glass manufactory for the reduction and monitoring of nitrogen oxides (NOx), will be addressed and explained.
In conclusion the topic of combustion optimization will be discussed, since optimizing this fundamental aspect of the process is the first step for having a quality production and reduced emissions. This aspects take into account many process factors, every furnace has its own adapted strategy function of furnace type, its pull rate, type of glass produced. With an optimized furnace, the secondary techniques for emissions reduction could be less impactful.

About Walter Battaglia:
Graduated at the University of Padua in Pure Chemistry in 1999, after a period of university experience abroad and a strong working experience in the Environment and Occupational Health and Safety sector, he has been working at the Glass Experimental Station since 1999 in the Environment and Energy Sector, where his work focuses on the different issues related to the monitoring of emissions linked to the production process, process/combustion optimization and the evaluation of thermal balances, as well as occupational health and safety.
Since 2011 he has been responsible for the environment and energy sector. He is a member of the ICG-TC13 Environment Technical Committee.
Since 2021, it has also started a technical-commercial activity by promoting the sale of services of the Institute's sectors on issues related to production and product glass defects.
About Damiano Marchese
Graduated from Ca’ Foscari University (Venice) in Industrial Chemistry in 2016. Started working at Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro in 2017 in Environment and Energy department, where his work is focused in emissions monitoring and process/combustion optimization. From 2021 he has started working in R&D department in order to follow and manage different innovative project concerning not only energy efficiency and environmental aspects but also other fields of glass production process.

Wednesday 10th November 2021
Alan Stephens  Five Stein

Alan Stephens Five Stein Forehearth Audits – is glass conditioning equipment at its best? Abstract: The glass conditioning system (working end/distributor and forehearths) is a vital part of good glass production so making sure that it is functioning as it should, and knowing when it isn’t, is a prerequisite of a well-run plant. This session will be a brief outline of the steps necessary to achieve this – structural condition, combustion system setup, cooling equipment functions, and temperature control system operation.



Wednesday 8th December 2021
Pauline Darbouret  Ferro

PAULINE DARBOURET Sales and Service Engineer,
FHC P +33607670329 T +33325073312
E pauline.gateaudarbouret@ferro.com
Ferro France 43 rue Jeanne d’Arc F-52115 Saint-Dizier Cedex Ferro
Abstract Forehearth Colors technology :

Today’s performance needs and new challenges of tomorrow Coloring molten glass in forehearth, instead of in-tank, has been a key innovation for tableware and premium packaging glass manufacturers. This technology helped the customization of glass items, when mass coloration was usually dedicated to big colored glass campaigns. Nonetheless, running forehearth colors (FHC) requires expertise, patience and a deep understanding of molten glass physico-chemistry. This talk proposes a quick overview of the daily challenges of FHC. Apart from glass defects (blisters, chromite crystals, etc.), regulations commitments is a major issue for colored glasses. To prevent them from disappearing in future, Ferro is pro-actively working on alternatives. The second part of the talk will cover the safe and sustainable ways existing to keep on supplying the glass industry with colorful ideas. In more details, we would like to give a review of FHC well-known problems for users (and solutions !), and discuss in a second time the very sensitive questions of Reach reg. and other restrictions. As an example, usage of Cr2O3 in colorants could be prohibited by some end-customers (brands), which is questioning the green glass bottles.



Wednesday  12th January 2022
Matthias Hagen LTB

Matthias Hagen Senior Manager Sales Luft- und Thermotechnik Bayreuth GmbH NOx emission and possibilities to reduce Glass furnaces are in most cases heated by fossil fuel. Even with Oxyfuel technology there are significant emissions of NOx, which have to be reduced in the future. Based on European legislation there are different values to be respected, based on the produced type of glass, the fuel or use of cullets. On the long term a reduction of the NOx emission has to be considered for all glass furnaces. Instead of tail end solutions the first step to consider is the optimization of the burners, which is limited. For tail end solutions there are several opportunities, which will be compared in detail. Also the influence of other pollutants is significant for the choice of technology. With this a flow chart could be used to make an easy decision. Finally all technologies require additional utilities like ammonia or urea. Both possibilities will be compared with ad- and disadvantage


Wednesday   9th February 2021
Jan Theron   Lucideon

The title: Challenges of Tin Bath Blocks in the “Float Process” and how to test them. Jan Theron Lucideon Abstract: Tin bath blocks are exposed to a unique operating environment and if not produced correctly it will create all sorts of problems such as “Tadpole” faults, “Transpiration” faults, “Seven Inch Splitting”, and “Nepheline flaking”. To avoid these disasters in your float glass melter there are a number of unique tests that can be performed to ensure the material to be used for this application will not suffer from any of these. The training session will cover the use of some special tests such as the “Proof Test” along with flexural stress-strain testing as well as the hydrogen diffusivity test. In addition to these bespoke tests, an overview of the more standards tests, and the interpretation of them, will allow the end used to identify the risks of a specific batch of refractory material that is intendent for use in the Tin baths.