Praxair's OPTIMELTTM Thermochemical Regenerator System Reduces Fuel Consumption in Glass Furnaces up to 30 Percent

DANBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Praxair, Inc. PX today announced the introduction of its patented OPTIMELT^TM thermochemical regenerator system. The company's technology productively recovers waste energy from furnace flue gases, reducing emissions and improving the energy efficiency of glass production.

Through the process, incoming natural gas is heated and reacted with a portion of waste flue gas to produce a hot syngas fuel that captures both the heat and chemical potential of the waste stream. This process can result in a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 20 percent compared to oxy-fuel glass furnaces and as high as 30 percent when compared to air-fuel furnaces. In addition to increased productivity, reduced emissions and fuel savings, the OPTIMELT system delivers operational benefits that help ensure production of high-quality glass. The OPTIMELT system equipment is custom designed by Praxair and can be installed with new furnaces or retrofitted to existing facilities.

Praxair's OPTIMELT system is being made available market-wide for glass melting furnaces and has been proven on a commercial scale in a glass-melting furnace at Grupo Pavisa in Mexico.

"As the first industrial site for Praxair's OPTIMELT system, we have been able to quickly realize significant improvements in productivity and glass quality, along with an almost twenty percent reduction in our fuel costs," said Alonso Gonzales, president, Grupo Pavisa.

"For Praxair, the OPTIMELT system is more than just a significant advancement in glass production, it is a tangible example of our commitment to making our planet more productive in safe and sustainable ways," said Praxair Corporate Fellow Sho Kobayashi. "We provide products and services that enable customers to increase productivity and lower costs while significantly reducing emissions."

About Praxair

Praxair, Inc., a Fortune 250 company with 2014 sales of $12.3 billion, is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, primary metals and many others. More information about Praxair, Inc. is available at www.praxair.com.

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