A compact system cleans fluegas from glass-melting furnaces

Furnaces used in the production of glass are normally equipped with fluegas-cleaning plants that have separate steps for the treatment of particulate matter, acid crude gases and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). GEA Group AG (Düsseldorf, Germany; www.gea.com) has developed a technology that performs all these tasks in a single step, in a single reactor. The fluegas is cleaned using ceramic candles — rigid filter elements consisting of coated mineral fibers (diagram). These candles are well-proven and very flexible to use, even with regard to modifications of operating parameters, especially at high gas temperatures. Even stricter future requirements set in German Federal Administration’s Regulation “Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA Luft)” will be underrun, says GEA. Dust emissions are reduced to near detection limit, the company adds.

Although GEA has already delivered plants of this kind for the purpose of hot-gas filtration, the company has now recently refined these plants in order to include deNOx capabilities, under the tradename BisCat (Bischoff Catalysator). The ceramic candles are installed in a walk-in clean gas chamber to ensure easy access for maintenance and inspection.

The BisCat technology will be introduced at glasstec 2018 (October 23–26; Düsseldorf). The first commercial system has been ordered by Glashütte Freital GmbH (www.glas-freital.com) for use in its new 150 ton/d glass-melting furnace. The new furnace, along with GEA’s emission control plant, is scheduled to be commissioned in March 2019.