Combustion, Glass, & Metals
All Combustion Applications Benefit
Combustion
Combustion applications include cement & lime kilns, glass, ceramics, mineral wool, non-ferrous metals, steel, and more. Each application enjoys both economic and environmental benefits when using oxygen instead of air in the furnace. For older furnaces that just need an extension to its useful life or and/or an increase in output, oxy-boost can be used – where a portion of the combustion air is substituted with oxygen. For new furnaces, oxy-fuel can be utilized – where 100% of the combustion process is served with oxygen. New oxy-fuel furnaces achieve significant increased product yields, increased product quality, and increased furnace useful life, with a sustainability additional bonus of reduced emissions and carbon footprint.
Glass
Oxygen is used during a furnace campaign to increase throughput, at the end of a furnace campaign to extend the useful life and reduce total emissions, and for new furnaces maximize throughput return on investment (ROI). In all cases, energy use, NOx and particulate emissions are reduced. Every type of glass, from beer bottles to sophisticated computer flat glass, has seen extraordinary quality benefits with the increased use of VPSA oxygen. For fiberglass and mineral wool smelter production, all the same economic and environmental benefits are achieved.
Metals Production
Oxygen is used in ferrous metal blast (integrated mills), electric arc furnaces (EAF or mini mills) and foundries to improve the economics of making steel at the same time achieving reduced stack emissions and bag house loading. Oxygen helps increase operating temperatures and lessens coke and other carbon consumption. Cutting and lancing speed is increased with the use of oxygen.
For non-ferrous metals such as copper, lead, zinc and aluminum roasting and leaching processes, oxygen use increases recovery and reduces bag house loading and emissions. In many facilities, wastewater treatment use provides additional benefit.
For lime and cement kilns, capacity maximization and lower energy consumption are achieved in addition to reduced emissions.
For recycle reclamation of metals such as lead, oxygen is used to increase the throughput of an existing furnace toward the end of a campaign or in oxy-fuel application to improve the economics of recovery and reduce emissions.
