Hosted by the Equipment Development Center for the Glass Industry under the China Association of Equipment Management, and co-organized by the Fuyao Group, the 10th Summit Forum on Energy Economic Transition and Glass Industry Development-concurrently serving as the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Equipment Development Center for the Glass Industry-was successfully held in Shanghai from December 26 to 28, 2017.
This conference primarily served to implement the "Green Development" philosophy articulated during the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of my country. It emphasized that energy conservation and emission reduction constitute the primary battleground for advancing the nation's ecological civilization, as well as a long-term priority for fostering sustainable economic and social development.
The conference agenda centered on several key themes: industrial upgrading and transformation, energy conservation and emission reduction, policy dialogue, consensus-building, pragmatic cooperation, and mutual benefit. To open the proceedings, Mr. Guo Tao-Director of the Glass Center at the China Association of Equipment Management-and Mr. Wang Tuanjie-Director of the Investment Promotion Bureau for the Huaibin New District in Fengyang County-delivered opening remarks. They extended a warm welcome to the dignitaries, experts, and entrepreneurs in attendance, offering their insights and perspectives regarding China's energy-economic transition and the development of the glass industry.
Subsequently, representatives from the glass industry and its supporting enterprises took the floor to present their corporate perspectives and opinions, addressing the conference theme and focusing on the specific nature of their respective sectors.
During the conference, our company's manager, Mr. Lü Zhenhao, delivered a report titled "The Production and Application of Electro-fused Zircon-Corundum Bricks for All-Oxygen Combustion Glass Furnaces." The report highlighted the critical situation currently facing my country-namely, a shortage in energy supply and an urgent need to address environmental pollution. Against this backdrop, and in response to the national mandate to "establish an energy-conserving and environmentally friendly" circular economy, "all-oxygen combustion glass melting furnaces" are garnering increasing attention from glass manufacturers due to their inherent advantages of being "green, eco-friendly, and energy-efficient."
The report summarized several key advantages of all-oxygen combustion furnaces: increased melting rates and fuel savings; reduced exhaust emissions and environmental improvement; and superior glass melting quality, enabling the production of a wide variety of high-quality glass products. Particular emphasis was placed on the critical importance of researching refractory materials and their configurations for all-oxygen furnaces-as well as the necessity of selecting these materials judiciously-in order to successfully promote and implement all-oxygen combustion technology.
Regarding the selection of refractory materials, the furnace crown (main arch), breastwalls, and tank walls were identified as critical zones. Based on a combination of chemical and physical analyses, as well as practical field experience, it was concluded that for the superstructure of all-oxygen combustion furnaces, the optimal choice is an AZS refractory material characterized by a low rate of glass-phase exudation-a product we refer to as "low-exudation brick."
The lower the content of the glassy phase in AZS bricks, the less material is exuded; consequently, both resistance to corrosion and the potential for contaminating the molten glass are minimized. To this end, we have specifically developed a "low-exudation" AZS brick formulation characterized by minimal glassy phase seepage. In AZS bricks, the silicon content determines the quantity of the glassy phase, while the sodium content dictates its viscosity. Higher levels of Na2O result in lower glassy phase viscosity, making the material more prone to softening at high temperatures and accelerating the rate of exudation. By reducing the levels of both silicon and sodium, we can effectively slow down the rate at which the glassy phase exudes, decrease the total volume of exudation, and thereby extend the service life of the furnace. Drawing upon the silicon-to-sodium ratio of AZS41# bricks-as well as the compositional specifications of low-exudation bricks produced by Asahi Glass-and following numerous setbacks, we successfully overcame the technical challenges involved and achieved stable production of these low-exudation bricks.
On the second day of the conference, attendees visited Fuyao Group Shanghai Automotive Glass Co., Ltd. and Taiwan Glass Group (Kunshan) Changjiang Glass Co., Ltd. As exemplary enterprises within the glass industry, these companies serve as valuable models for the transformation and upgrading of traditional glass manufacturing sectors, the accelerated development of emerging industries, and the optimization of energy structures. Furthermore, they represent critical focal points for the implementation of energy conservation and emission reduction initiatives, while also holding immense potential for fostering new drivers of economic growth.
