(Milan / Italy) – Several Italian companies want to test the use of hydrogen to operate melting furnaces in glassworks. A working group led by the gas pipeline operator SNAM, RINA and the glass manufacturer Bormioli Luigi has set itself the goal of reducing emissions in the glass industry.
Italy is the second largest glass producer in Europe, with over five million tons per year. The production of glass objects is energy intensive and difficult to operate with electricity. The Divina (Decarbonization of the Glass Industry: Hydrogen and New Equipment) project is now intended to reduce emissions in the glass melting phase, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the total energy consumption in the production process. The initiative aims to test an increasing proportion of hydrogen mixed with natural gas in existing melting furnaces in the “short to medium term” and assess the compatibility of hydrogen combustion with the glass material under real industrial production conditions after appropriate tests have been carried out in laboratories.
According to SNAM, the current CO2 emissions from natural gas from Italian glassworks amount to around 1,5 million tonnes per year; about 3,5 percent of the emissions from the country's entire manufacturing industry. The widespread use of a hydrogen admixture of 30 percent in the glass melting process would reduce emissions by 200.000 tons.
As part of the project, the design rules for future melting furnaces will also be redefined and then optimized in order to guarantee high performance even with higher hydrogen contents of up to 100 percent.
Working group of experts
Companies from the entire value chain are represented in the Italian working group: energy sector, glass companies, fuel production and transport companies, companies for the certification and integration of complex systems as well as university and research centers.
SNAM SpA (Società Nazionale Metanodotti) is one of the largest listed companies in Italy by market capitalization. In addition to Italy, the company operates through subsidiaries in Albania (AGSCo), Austria (TAG, GCA), the United Arab Emirates (ADNOC Gas Pipelines), France (Teréga), Greece (DESFA) and Great Britain (Interconnector UK) and also has in China and India activities started. The company is also one of the three largest shareholders of the Swiss Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP), operator of an 878 kilometer long natural gas pipeline that has been carrying Azerbaijani gas through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy since December 31, 2020. SNAM has one of the largest gas networks (over 41.000 kilometers) in Europe.
RINA offers a wide range of services in energy, maritime technology, certification, real estate and infrastructure, mobility and industry. With 495 million euros in sales in 2020, more than 4.000 employees and 200 offices in 70 countries, RINA plays a role in key international organizations and contributes to the development of new regulatory standards.
Bormioli Luigi is a glassworks specializing in perfumery and distillery containers and tableware made from high quality crystal glass. Bormioli Luigi employs over 1.000 people and produces 250 million pieces per year with twenty molding lines and five ovens in Parma and Abbiategrasso.
As reported, the glass manufacturer had Schott AG tested the melting of three different glasses using hydrogen for eight weeks. The result was positive: When firing with hydrogen and oxygen, a similar burner output and temperatures could be achieved as with the conventional process using natural gas and oxygen. The quality of the glass produced was also similar to that of conventional glass.
deep link
https://www.snam.it/en/Media/Press-releases/2021/Snam_hydrogen_decarbonise_glass_industry.html
Photos
A working group led by SNAM, RINA and Bormioli will test the use of hydrogen to power melting furnaces in glassworks / © SNAM
