GLASS INDUSTRY


Glass industry

In the glass industry, refractories are an important part of the investment of a glass furnace. This investment has a service life up to 10-12 years. Consequently, the glass producer

and the furnace designer pay attention to use the most suitable materials with the best cost/performance ratio in all parts of the production plant.Because Andalusite is a very constant and reliable material, it has been chosen for long time to be the major component of so called sillimanite bricks.

Andalusite based fired bricks are characterised by their high hot mechanical properties, high thermal stability (low expansion) and high alkali resistance.
Regenerators
Regenerator crown and walls are presently designed with andalusite based fired bricks because the full mullitisation gives a combination of resistance to thermal shock, batch carryover and high temperature creep resistance.
In the upper part of the packing zone, andalusite based bricks give a good stability.
In the middle part of the packing zone where chemical resistance is critical (alkali condensation) andalusite based bricks are highly recommended.

The rider arch that has to support the pile of checkers is a must for andalusite based fired bricks.

Feeders
In glass melting furnaces, feeders are used to bring and pack the liquid before forming.
The main glass maker requirement is the glass quality. As a result, the feeder refractories must have a better corrosion resistance to avoid defects in the finished product. Andalusite sintered products are suitable to achieve an appropriate quality.

Glass tank (see the above image)
The bottom safety lining is manufactured with andalusite based blocks for their high chemical and mechanical properties.