Glass Furnace Technology
Minergy’s Glass Furnace Technology is used to process fly ash, bottom ash, contaminated sediments and soils into glass aggregate. The system builds upon Glass Furnace Technology that has been used for centuries to melt minerals into glass. The primary feature is a melter constructed of refractory brick that has a high melting point and provides a high degree of insulation.
A series of oxy-fuel burners directed into the side of the melter combine natural gas and oxygen, raising the internal temperature of the melter to 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit. At these temperatures, organic contaminants (such as PCBs) are destroyed (View PCB Destruction Animation) and the sediment melts and flows out of the processing system as molten glass. Molten glass flows into a water-quenching tank, where the cool water is used to harden the molten glass into glass aggregate. Quenching with water improves the hardness of the glass, yielding it inert to the environment.