Patent ID: 8904823

Claim:
A method of operating a glass melting furnace, the method comprising an ordinary operating mode and a temperature maintaining mode, the ordinary operating mode comprising: introducing batch materials at an upstream end of a channel-shaped melting tank; recovering molten glass at a downstream end of the tank; heating the furnace by oxy-fueled burners so that at least 80% of combustion energy supplied to the furnace is by oxy-combustion; continuously supplying oxygen to the oxy-fueled burners from an oxygen production plant or via a gas pipe supplying oxygen from a remote location; and in the event of a cessation of the continuous supply of oxygen, operating the furnace in the temperature maintaining mode comprising: storing a quantity of oxygen on site sufficient to maintain operation in the temperature maintaining mode for a minimum period of eight hours; ceasing the introduction of batch materials; maintaining the batch materials and molten glass in a molten state in melting, refining, and conditioning zones of the furnace, and keeping the burners active such that crown temperatures in the melting and refining zones are not less than 1100° C. and crown temperatures in the conditioning zone are not less than 1050° C.