Stara Glass will install its first industrial SUGAR system at Vetrerie Meridionali (VEME)’s glassworks in southern Italy.
VEME’s glass plant is located in Castellana Grotte close to Bari, Puglia, in southern Italy.
Stara Glass will reconstruct the second furnace, F3, at the facility from a standard end-port furnace to a Centauro furnace together with the high efficiency air staging system (HEAS).
Stara Glass’ Centauro system is an end-port furnace, but the heat recovery system is hybrid; half ceramic and half metallic.
The furnace will have a capacity of 250 tpd of glass.
The Italian engineering company will also install its first Sustainable Glass Architecture of furnace heat recovery system including a steam Reformer (SUGAR) system on a pilot scale.
The project will start mid-November, and glass is expected in the first half of February 2025.
The Stara Glass team at this year's Glasstec.
Giorgio Minestrini, Chief Project Officer of Stara Glass, said: “We will install the first SUGAR system that is not on a mock-up scale, it’s bigger, it will be the first pilot.
“This will help us understand how the syngas generated through the steam methane reforming reaction (SMR) could work, and be integrated, in a real furnace lowering the overall energy consumption.
“VEME also accepted to be our technological industrial partner in this, giving us the opportunity to install a real system. It's an idea that has become a reality.”
Stara Glass first worked with VEME in 2019, when it rebuilt one of its furnaces with Centauro technology.
For the 2024 project, the company will work with VEME Plant Manager Leonardo Spinelli.
The Castellana Grotte plant has two furnaces, and primarily serves the soft drinks market.
VEME has been active for over 60 years in the production of glass containers for food and beverages.
Half of its share capital is owned by O-I, the world's largest container glass manufacturer.
