Industrial engineering group Fives has been entrusted by a glass bottle manufacturer to design and supply the first hybrid furnace in France.
The new technology is the first air-gas hybrid furnace for glass packaging applications.
The furnace is capable to replace up to 70% of conventional fossil fuel with electricity.
CO2 emissions at the site will be reduced by 43% in comparison to conventional technology with an average electricity usage of 50%.
In addition to the decarbonisation impact, the new technology will also further reduce NOx emissions.
O-I announced last week its decarbonisation plan at its Veauche site in France.
The furnace is equipped with a revolutionary heat recovery and air preheating system which creates further efficiency gains.
The Heat Recovery Area (HRA) is designed to recover heat from waste gas.
It enables preheating of batch blanket in a lowered superstructure section and reduce fume temperature without the needs for additional equipment, such as regenerators.
The HRA also incorporates multi-zone electric-boosting technology, which replaces much of the conventional combustion.
Alexandre Brusset, Vice President of Glass at Fives, said: “The hybrid melting technology offers greater flexibility in all aspects and is a game changing technology for the glass packaging market.
“It allows glassmakers to manage changing pulls and different glass colours, while significantly reducing energy consumption and emissions.
"This technology represents a step further down the road of decarbonisation for glassmakers.”
