Arglass prioritises sustainability at US glass plant

Arglass has placed sustainability at the core of its glass container manufacturing operations at its facility in Valdosta, Georgia.

Evans General Contractors led the design and construction, incorporating sustainable solutions such as a closed-loop water system to process and cool water used in the plant.

Above-ground storage tanks were designed and built for the process water, which allowed for water recycling through a series of under-slab trenches that collected the process water throughout the facility.

This enables the plant to use 100% recycled water, and it emits 82% less NOx emissions than other regional glass plants.

The site includes a 437,940 ft² manufacturing facility, a 10,626 ft² batch plant with silos, and a 300 ft² gatehouse.

The manufacturing facility features a 95 ft tall production hall that houses a 20 ft elevated oxy-fuel furnace.

The 365 tpd furnace is capable of producing up to six different glass container designs at once.

This equates to approximately 265 million units a year.

The manufacturing facility also features quality control and inspection areas, sorting and palletising areas for glass bottles, a decoration and storage building, and an office area.

The batch plant is connected to the main facility via a 75 ft elevated conveyor bridge and includes a basement for raw material collection.

Materials are delivered via a dedicated rail spur or over-the-road trucks and moved to silos via bucket elevators.

The design also includes provisions for future expansion to double material intake capacity.

All inbound and outbound trucks are managed through automated gate systems, complete with on-site weighing and inspection capabilities.