Patent ID: 7937969

Claim:
A method of controlling the melting of glass batch components in a glass melter to yield a glass melt characterized by a resident melt temperature and a glass melt viscosity, comprising: providing a plurality of raw material batch components in amounts according to a predetermined batch recipe, wherein the plurality of raw material batch components further include at least one glass-former material, at least one modifier material, and boron; combining a first portion of the plurality of raw material batch components to yield a first pre-batch mixture characterized by a first pre-batch melting temperature from about 60 percent of the resident melt temperature and further characterized by a first pre-batch viscosity at the first pre-batch melting temperature greater than the glass melt viscosity; mixing the first pre-batch mixture and a remaining portion of the plurality of raw material batch components to yield a batch mixture; and introducing the batch mixture into the glass melter; wherein the first pre-batch mixture includes a first plurality of first discrete reaction members; wherein each respective first discrete reaction member is formed by pelletizing the first pre-batch mixture prior to the mixing step; and wherein each respective first discrete reaction member substantially has the composition of the first pre-batch mixture; combining a second portion of the plurality of raw material batch components to provide a second pre-batch mixture characterized by a second pre-batch melting temperature of between about 60 percent to about 90 percent of the resident melt temperature and further characterized by a second pre-batch viscosity at the second pre-batch melting temperature greater than the glass melt viscosity; wherein the second pre-batch mixture includes a second plurality of second discrete reaction members; wherein each respective second discrete reaction member is formed by pelletizing the second pre-batch mixture prior to the mixing step; and wherein each respective second discrete reaction member substantially has the composition of the second pre-batch mixture; and wherein at least some of the second discrete reaction members include a core portion substantially composed of the first pre-batch mixture and an outer shell portion substantially surrounding the core portion and substantially composed of the second pre-batch mixture.