JPH1121133A - Glass melting furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To reduce the storage amount of liquid glass or the like in a storage space while maintaining high glass melting ability. SOLUTION: A volume reducing member 14 is arranged below a storage space 1 in which a liquid glass 11 formed by melting a glass raw material 4 and a waste liquid 5 can be stored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a glass melting furnace, and more particularly, to a glass melting furnace capable of reducing the amount of liquid glass and the like stored in a storage space while maintaining a high glass melting ability. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Radioactive liquid waste generated in nuclear facilities and the like is turned into vitrified waste in a waste liquid treatment facility. Further, the vitrified liquid is stored in a solidified metal storage container and then stored as radioactive waste. Stored in the facility.

[0003] In the above waste liquid treatment facility, a glass melting furnace is used to melt glass raw materials to form liquid glass,
By mixing radioactive waste liquid or the like into the liquid glass, filling the liquid glass into a metallic vitrified container called a canister, and solidifying the glass inside the vitrified container to form a vitrified material. I have.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional glass melting furnace in which a storage space 1 having a cylindrical shape at an upper part and a substantially inverted cone shape with a lower part gradually decreasing in inner diameter is formed inside the furnace. Is provided, and the melting furnace main body 2 is covered with a casing 3 with a heat insulating material (not shown) interposed therebetween.

At the top of the melting furnace body 2, a supply port 6 for charging a glass material 4 and a waste liquid 5 and a gas 7 are discharged so that the outside of the melting furnace body 2 communicates with the internal storage space 1. And a gas outlet 8 to be used.

On the other hand, a pair of electrodes 9 and 10 are provided on both sides of the melting furnace main body 2 so as to penetrate the side walls of the melting furnace main body 2 and face each other. In a state where the liquid glass 11 is stored, the two electrodes 9 and 1
When a predetermined value of current is conducted through the liquid glass 11 during 0, the liquid glass 11 is heated and kept warm by Joule heat.

Further, an electric heater (not shown) is provided inside the melting furnace main body 2, and the glass introduced into the storage space 1 in an initial operation state before the liquid glass 11 is formed in the storage space 1. The liquid glass 11 can be obtained by melting the raw material 4 by the electric heater.

Further, a liquid glass down nozzle 12 having a liquid glass down hole for flowing down the liquid glass 11 stored in the melting furnace body 2 to the outside is provided at the bottom of the melting furnace body 2. A heating coil 1 connected to a high-frequency power source (not shown)
3 is exterior.

The liquid glass 11 in the melting furnace body 2 is
The surface of the solidified glass piece that closes the liquid glass flow-down hole is melted and fluidized by the heating coil 13, so that the liquid glass flow-down nozzle 12 is disposed below the liquid glass flow-down nozzle 12 via a guide (not shown). It is configured to flow down to the vitrified container.

The glass melting furnace shown in FIG. 3 operates as follows.

First, in a state where the conductive liquid glass 11 is stored in the storage space 1, a current of a predetermined value is conducted between the two electrodes 9 and 10 via the liquid glass 11 to heat and keep the liquid glass 11 warm. At the same time, the waste liquid 5 is fed from the waste liquid tank (not shown) to the storage space 1 via the waste liquid supply pipe and the supply port 6, and the waste liquid 5 is mixed with the liquid glass 11.

On the other hand, the gas 7 generated inside the storage space 1
Is sent to the gas processing device via the gas discharge port 8 and a gas discharge pipe (not shown), and is processed by the gas processing device.

Further, a vitrified container is disposed directly below the liquid glass flow-down hole via a guide portion (not shown), and the heating coil 13 heats and fluidizes the solidified glass closing the liquid glass flow-down hole. By doing so, the liquid glass flow-down hole is opened, and the liquid glass 1 stored in the storage space 1 is opened.
1 is allowed to flow into the vitrified container.

When a predetermined amount of the liquid glass 11 mixed with the waste liquid 5 is filled in the vitrified container, the heating by the heating coil 13 is stopped to cool and fix the glass in the liquid glass flow hole. Then, the liquid glass flow-down hole is closed.

Thereafter, the vitrified container filled with the liquid glass 11 is moved from directly below the liquid glass downflow nozzle 12, and the liquid glass 11 inside the vitrified container is solidified by natural cooling to obtain the vitrified material ( (Not shown), and the next vitrified container is similarly disposed immediately below the liquid glass downflow nozzle 12.

By repeating the above operation, if the liquid glass 11 in the storage space 1 decreases and the liquid surface of the liquid glass 11 becomes near the upper portions of the electrodes 9 and 10, a raw material supply pipe and a raw material The glass raw material 4 is introduced into the storage space 1 through the supply nozzle, and the amount of the liquid glass 11 stored in the storage space 1 is increased.

[0017]

However, the above conventional glass melting furnace has the following problems.

That is, the glass melting capacity of the glass melting furnace is as follows:
The larger the area of the interface between the glass raw material 4 and the liquid glass 11, that is, the larger the liquid surface area of the liquid glass 11, the larger the heat transfer area to the glass raw material 4.

On the other hand, the angle θ of the substantially inverted conical portion of the lower portion of the storage space 1 is an angle necessary for causing the liquid glass 11 to flow down toward the liquid glass flow-down nozzle 12 successfully. It cannot be made smaller.

Therefore, in order to increase the area of the liquid surface of the liquid glass 11, that is, the area of the cylindrical portion above the storage space 1, for the purpose of increasing the glass melting capacity of the glass melting furnace, the storage space 1 is increased. Must be increased in a similar manner.

However, if the volume of the storage space 1 is increased in a similar manner, it is necessary to increase the amount of the glass raw material 4 to be charged into the storage space 1 at the start of the operation of the glass melting furnace. There was a problem that the startup time was prolonged.

When the volume of the storage space 1 increases and the storage amount of the liquid glass 11 in the storage space 1 increases,
To that extent, the amount of waste liquid 5 stored in the storage space 1 also increases, and thus there is a problem that it is not preferable in handling the waste liquid 5.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a glass melting furnace capable of reducing the amount of liquid glass or the like stored in a storage space while maintaining a high glass melting ability. is there.

[0024]

According to the present invention, a glass raw material 4 is provided.
The glass melting furnace is characterized in that a volume reducing member 14 is disposed below the storage space 1 in which the liquid glass 11 formed by melting the waste liquid 5 can be stored.

In this case, the volume reducing member 14 is used.
May be made of ceramics.

The volume reducing member 14 may be formed in a columnar shape, and both ends of the volume reducing member 14 may be supported by penetrating the side wall of the melting furnace main body 2 constituting the storage space 1.

Further, the volume reducing member 14 may be formed in a columnar shape.

According to the above means, the following effects can be obtained.

Since the volume reducing member 14 is disposed below the storage space 1, the volume of the lower portion of the storage space 1 is reduced by the volume reducing member 14, and the volume is reduced for the purpose of increasing the glass melting capacity of the glass melting furnace. Even when the space 1 is enlarged, it is possible to reduce the amount of the glass raw material 4 charged into the storage space 1 at the time of starting the operation of the glass melting furnace, and it is possible to shorten the start-up time accordingly. Becomes

Even if the storage space 1 is enlarged, the volume of the storage space 1 is reduced by the volume reducing member 14, so that a small amount of the waste liquid 5 is supplied to a small amount of the liquid glass 11. Since the operable state is established, the storage amount of the waste liquid 5 in the storage space 1 can be reduced. still,
In this case, as described above, since the glass melting ability is increased by enlarging the storage space 1, the charged glass raw material 4 is melted in a short time and the liquid glass 11 is melted.
Therefore, even if an operation is performed in which a small amount of the waste liquid 5 is supplied to a small amount of the liquid glass 11, a high processing capacity can be obtained as a whole.

Further, as the material of the volume reducing member 14, any material may be used as long as it does not react with the liquid glass 11 or the waste liquid 5 and has a high temperature strength. In particular, since ceramics is used, Wear and damage of the volume reducing member 14 can be reduced.

Further, the volume reducing member 14 is formed in a columnar shape having a continuous smooth surface without any corners, irregularities, or shape discontinuities, thereby preventing the convection of the liquid glass 11 below the storage space 1. Can not be.

Further, by forming the volume reducing member 14 in a columnar shape such as a column, it is possible to support the side wall portion of the melting furnace main body 2 by penetrating both ends thereof. Can be facilitated.

[0034]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention.

Regarding the basic structure of the glass melting furnace,
Since the configuration is the same as that in FIG. 3, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In the present invention, the volume reducing member 14 is disposed in a substantially inverted conical portion below the storage space 1.

As the material of the volume reducing member 14, any material may be used as long as it does not react with the liquid glass 11 or the waste liquid 5 and has high-temperature strength. In the present embodiment, ceramic is used. I have to.

It is preferable that the volume reducing member 14 has a continuous and smooth surface so as not to hinder the convection of the liquid glass 11 in the substantially inverted conical portion below the storage space 1. . Therefore, in the present embodiment,
The volume reducing member 14 has a columnar shape. The volume reducing member 14 may have a columnar shape with an elliptical cross section or a columnar shape with an oval cross section.

Further, the number of the volume reducing members 14 may be one, or may be divided into a plurality as long as the volume of the storage space 1 can be reduced to a desired volume. In the present embodiment, it is divided into three, and both ends of the volume reducing member 14 are penetrated and supported by the side wall portion of the melting furnace main body 2.

Next, the operation will be described.

The process of melting the glass raw material 4 in the glass melting furnace to form the liquid glass 11 and dissolving the waste liquid 5 into the liquid glass 11 is the same as in FIG.

In the present invention, since the volume reducing member 14 is disposed in the substantially inverted conical portion of the lower portion of the storage space 1, the substantially inverted conical portion of the lower portion of the storage space 1 is provided by the volume reducing member 14. Even if the storage space 1 is similarly enlarged for the purpose of increasing the glass melting capacity of the glass melting furnace, the glass raw material 4 in the storage space 1 at the start of the operation of the glass melting furnace is reduced. Can be reduced, and the start-up time can be shortened accordingly.

Further, even if the storage space 1 is similarly enlarged,
Since the volume of the storage space 1 is reduced by the volume reducing member 14, the storage space 1 can be operated while a small amount of the waste liquid 5 is supplied to a small amount of the liquid glass 11. Storage amount can be reduced. In this case, as described above, since the glass melting ability is increased by increasing the storage space 1 in a similar manner, the charged glass raw material 4 is melted in a short time to become the liquid glass 11. Even if an operation is performed in which a small amount of waste liquid 5 is supplied to a small amount of liquid glass 11,
As a whole, a high processing capacity can be obtained.

Further, as the material of the volume reducing member 14, any material may be used as long as it does not react with the liquid glass 11 or the waste liquid 5 and has high-temperature strength. In particular, since ceramics is used, Wear and damage of the volume reducing member 14 can be reduced.

Further, by forming the volume reducing member 14 into a cylindrical shape having a continuous and smooth surface without any corners, irregularities, or discontinuities in the shape, a substantially inverted conical portion at the lower portion of the storage space 1 is formed. The convection of the liquid glass 11 can be prevented.

Further, by forming the volume reducing member 14 into a columnar shape such as a columnar shape, it becomes possible to support the side wall portion of the melting furnace main body 2 by penetrating both ends thereof. Can be facilitated.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0049]

As described above, according to the glass melting furnace of the present invention, an excellent effect that the storage amount of the liquid glass 11 and the like in the storage space 1 can be reduced while maintaining a high glass melting ability. Can be played.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an example of an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 as viewed from the side.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional example viewed from the front.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage space 2 Melting furnace main body 4 Glass raw material 5 Waste liquid 11 Liquid glass 14 Member for volume reduction

Claims (4)

[Claims] A storage space (1) capable of storing a liquid glass (11) formed by melting a glass raw material (4) and a waste liquid (5).
A glass melting furnace characterized in that a volume reducing member (14) is arranged at a lower part of the glass melting furnace. 2. The glass melting furnace according to claim 1, wherein the volume reducing member is made of ceramics. 3. The volume reducing member (14) is formed in a columnar shape, and both ends of the volume reducing member (14) are penetrated and supported by a side wall portion of a melting furnace main body (2) constituting a storage space (1). The glass melting furnace according to claim 1. 4. The glass melting furnace according to claim 3, wherein the volume reducing member is cylindrical.