It is estimated that over 20% of glass produced globally is melted using oxy-fuel technology.
The melting of raw materials to produce glass primarily relies on the combustion of natural gas or fuel oil with air. Since the 1980's, the glass industry has increasingly adopted oxy-fuel technology, or the use of oxygen instead of air for combustion to improve economics through higher throughput, better quality, fuel savings and reduction of air pollutant emissions such as NOx and SOx. It is estimated that over 20% of glass produced globally is melted using oxy-fuel technology. Oxygen is also used to reduce NOx emissions by 30-40% in air-fuel melters via technologies such as Oxygen Enriched Air Staging (OEAS). To further expand the use of oxy-fuel and OEAS to potential new users. PCI's VSAs provide oxygen on-site using an innovative approach using less moving parts to improve overall cost and reliability.