System and method of continuous glass filament manufacture
A system and a method of manufacturing continuous glass filament fiberglass media comprises melting glass within a temperature controlled melter. Molten glass exits through a bushing plate with orifices of varying row configurations and orientations. The resulting fiberglass filaments are received on a rotating drum and sprayed with resin and aqueous solution. The resulting fiberglass mat is placed onto a let-off table then sprayed with aqueous solution before further processing.
1. An apparatus for manufacture of continuous glass filament filtration media, comprising:
a reservoir comprising binder and configured to control a temperature of the binder;
a rotatable drum;
a traversing glass melting furnace configured to move in a first direction parallel to an axis of rotation of the rotatable drum;
a bushing plate coupled to the traversing glass melting furnace, the bushing plate consisting of Inconel, wherein the bushing plate comprises a plurality of orifices configured to spin filaments;
wherein the traversing glass melting furnace comprises a combustion heat source positioned above the bushing plate;
a binder sprayer coupled to the traversing glass melting furnace; and
one or more shields coupled to the bushing plate and extending vertically below the bushing plate;
wherein the one or more shields enclose no more than three sides below the bushing plate so that at least one side remains open.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the bushing plate is oriented at a 5 to 7 degree angle relative to the axis of rotation of the rotatable drum.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the rotatable drum is 12 feet to 24 feet long; and
wherein the rotatable drum is 12 feet to 22 to feet in circumference.
4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the rotatable drum comprises a shaft of 2.5 inches to 4.5 inches in diameter.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more shields extend 6 inches to 24 inches below the bushing plate.
6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of orifices comprise countersunk openings.
7. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of orifices comprises an entry throat angle of 70 degrees to 100 degrees.
8. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of orifices comprises a tip with a tip length of 0.095 inch to 0.25 inch.
9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an aqueous solution sprayer coupled to the traversing glass melting furnace.
10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the binder sprayer is configured to spray binder onto a swath of fiberglass filament on the rotatable drum.
11. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the binder comprises at least one of the group consisting of: urea formaldehyde, styrene, acrylic co-polymers, and acrylate polymers.
12. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a cooling loop assembly.
13. The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the cooling loop assembly comprises:
a plurality of tubes containing chilled liquid; and
an air tube comprising a plurality of openings.
14. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein:
the plurality of tubes comprises copper tubes; and
at least one of the plurality of tubes is positioned within one inch of the bushing plate.
15. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of orifices consists of 298 to 425 orifices.
16. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the orifices comprises a diameter of 0.14 inch to 0.19 inch.
17. The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the orifices are configured in 7 to 10 rows.
18. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the bushing plate is centered over a longitudinal edge of the rotatable drum.
19. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more shields comprises one or more metal plates.