Device and method for the fabrication of float glass

摘要

A device is claimed for fabricating float glass, comprising: (a) a melting and refining furnace having a melting section (10) destined to receive raw materials in batches and melting these materials to form molten glass and a refining section (12) for gradually cooling and conditioning the molten glass before shaping; (b) some means for forwarding the molten glass from the refining section towards a chamber for shaping the glass incorporating some means for forming a continuous sheet of glass by applying a force on the molten glass whilst it is cooling; and (c) some means for retiring the sheet of glass from this chamber. The melting section is made up of silica refractories and the alkaline vapours from the molten glass accumulate in a downstream part of the melting section and corrode the refractories. It also incorporates some means (36) for directing a non-reactive gas into the downstream part of the melting section at a temperature that is not as high as that of the molten glass situated in the melting section and with a volume that is sufficient to reduce the quantity of alkaline vapours in this downstream part of the melting section so that the corrosion of the silica refractory is reduced. The method used for the fabrication of float glass in this device is also claimed.