SYSTEM FOR PREHEATING GLASS MELTING FURNACE BATCH MATERIALS

A system (10) for preheating batch materials in a glass melting furnace (12) includes a preheater (16) having an outlet (84) through which fluid is exhausted and an inlet (82) that receives fluids exhausted from the furnace and recirculated from the preheater outlet. In one embodiment, a cyclonic separator (20) has an inlet (92) in communication with the preheater outlet and an outlet (94, 96) in fluid communication with a fan (30). A controller (70) controls the speed of the fan responsive to a drop in pressure between the separator inlet and outlet and a temperature at the separator outlet. In other embodiments, controllers (76, 77) control valves (34, 40, 44) that (i) control the amount of fluids exhausted from the preheater that are delivered to a flue (100) and recirculated to the preheater or (ii) control the amount of fluids diverted to charger (18) for the furnace, in response to temperatures in a duct coupled to the preheater inlet.