Orora (ASX:ORA) has commenced operation of one of Australia’s most sustainable wine glass furnaces in Gawler, South Australia.
The newly rebuilt furnace is powered in part by oxyfuel technology drawn from the company’s own onsite oxygen plant. Orora said this moves its furnace into the top 10 per cent of energy efficient furnaces worldwide.
Orora announced its plan to build an oxygen plant onsite at its Gawler Glass facility in 2022, after being awarded a $12.5 million federal government grant under the under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative – Manufacturing Translation Stream, Recycling and Clean Energy program, to accelerate development and commercialisation of low emissions technologies.
This grant recognises the work being undertaken by Orora as part of its emissions reduction program to deliver the new low carbon oxyfuel furnace technology.
Orora’s new oxyfuel furnace is expected to deliver significant sustainability benefits including a reduction in nitrogen oxides of up to 80 per cent, CO2 reduction of approximately 20 per cent and total furnace energy reduction of up to 25 per cent.
Orora Glass Asia Pacific senior vice-president Greg Savage said, “We’re excited to take the sustainability of Orora Glass to the next level with this new technology. By combining an increasing amount of recycled cullet from our beneficiation plant together with our oxygen-fuelled furnace, Orora Glass will deliver even more sustainable, lower carbon glass containers for our customers”.
Since establishing its own beneficiation plant, Orora said it achieved an average of 50 per cent recycled content in new manufactured glass products in 2024, up from 38 per cent in 2023. Its target is to achieve 60 per cent recycled content next year.
Orora said a central part of its sustainability strategy is also adopting lower energy-intensity furnace technologies. With several furnaces operating around the clock, the energy requirements are substantial. However, with this newly rebuilt oxygen-powered furnace Orora expects to cut furnace emissions by approximately 20 per cent compared to a traditional furnace.
The Gawler Glass site also uses renewable electricity sourced from wind and solar generation assets based on long-term power purchase agreements.
Another important focus for Orora is the production of lighter weight glass bottles. This reduces the amount of material used, which is more energy efficient, while it also lowers transportation costs, reducing emissions even further.
Orora is also working in partnership with a global consortium, International Partners in Glass Research (IPGR), to explore the development of zero-carbon bottles.
Increasing the use of recycled glass in the manufacturing process is also critical for sustainability and is a major priority for Orora. The more cullet (crushed recycled glass) used in the manufacture of new bottles, the less raw material is required, reducing the overall environmental impact of each bottle produced.
How does oxy-fuel furnace technology save energy?
Most of the energy needed to make glass is used by the furnace to heat and melt the raw ingredients that go into making glass. Older furnace technology relies on a mix of natural gas and air to heat the furnace to melt these ingredients.
Atmospheric air is made up of approximately 78 per cent nitrogen, 21 per cent oxygen and small amounts of various other gases. Here’s the clincher: nitrogen takes no part in the combustion process and the energy required to heat the nitrogen is lost or wasted.
Supplied by an oxygen plant, oxy-fuel furnace technology involves a mix of natural gas and oxygen, instead of air to produce heat for the furnace. Since the oxygen is almost pure, there is no nitrogen component being heated, which results in lower total energy consumption.
Another benefit is that higher flame temperatures are possible with oxy fuel, which means less energy is required to reach the required temperature for melting recycled glass cullet and the other ingredients that are needed to create glass.
