The new oxy-fuel furnace to be installed at Steklarna Hrastnik is being supplied by Sorg. The new furnace will replace furnaces G and H with higher capacity and improved energy efficiency in glass melting.
Slovenian group Steklarna Hrastnik is undergoing a scheduled two-month refit.
Technologists at the Vitrum-owned business unit closed down the G melting furnace the second week of January, and will close the H melting furnace on 1 February.
Furnaces G and H will be replaced by a new EUR 7 million glass melting furnace with a higher capacity and improved energy efficiency in glass melting.
The new furnace, supplied by German company Sorg, will be driven by oxy-fuel combustion technology that uses pure oxygen to combust natural gas.
The new melting furnace will have a similar capacity as furnaces G and H combined, between 80 and 90 tonnes a day. Burners in the furnace will be installed transversally to the direction of glass melting and will supply a precisely defined mixture of natural gas and pure oxygen uninterruptedly.
Oxy-fuel technology will contribute to a higher quality of glass, while energy efficient production will have a lower environmental impact.
Commissioning of the new melting furnace is planned to take place after the refit in early March.