Air emissions reduction
Air emissions reduction
Our plants are dedicated to reducing air emissions by implementing new technologies and looking for ways to implement monitoring systems to help prevent emissions deviations and correct them in real time.
Europe
In 2024, we have launched a range of lower carbon glass – Guardian NEXA™ – achieved through a combination of ongoing innovation in manufacturing processes and the optimization of cullet use.
Read more information on Guardian NEXA lower carbon glass.
Over the past 15 years, Emission Control Systems installed to comply with new regulations have led to over 65% reduction of NOx emissions per unit of glass when averaged across our European manufacturing sites.
In Bascharage, Luxembourg, the implementation of new technology after a furnace repair in 2023 has resulted in a reduction of NOx emissions to less than 1kg per unit of glass produced, and a of SOx emissions by more than 35%.
North America
Our sites across the United States have been equipped with various Emission Control Systems (ECS) during the past years to help meet regulatory requirements. These technologies have reduced NOx emissions per unit of glass by over 65% across the region.
Our site in Geneva, New York, initiated a combustion-efficiency project in 2022 to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) generated from the site’s furnace by optimizing emission control system (ECS) reactor dosing. As a result, NOx emissions and the required ammonia dosing have reduced by about 33%.
Through asset upgrades and various forms of NOx control methods (e.g., airflow, burner adjustments) between 2019 - 2024, our site in El Marqués, Mexico, has achieved nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission reductions of approximately 15-20% and 25%, respectively.
Latin America
Through asset upgrades and various forms of NOx control methods (e.g., airflow, burner adjustments) between 2019 - 2024, our site at Tatuí, Brazil, has achieved nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission reductions of approximately 15-20%. Our site in Porto Real, Brazil, installed two Emission Control Systems (ECS) in 2018, which achieves approximately 60% reduction in sulfur oxides (SOx) and particulate.
Glass products manufactured using a wet coating process require the use of coating materials and solvents that contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Driven by regulatory limits, our site in Tatuí, Brazil, started implementing a number of improvements to the process and materials used to reduce the VOC quantity and emissions from the wet coater operations in 2017. This included substituting the paint for one with a lower solvent content, controlling the glass temperature prior to paint application (improves curing of paint to glass in the oven) and installing curtains in the first zones of the curing oven. As a result of these improvements, the site reduced wet coating VOC process emissions by more than 90%.
Africa & Middle East
In 2018, Guardian became the first glass manufacturer in Egypt to install an Emissions Control System (ECS). Installed to fulfil compliance requirements, it has led to a reduction in Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions by over 70%. It also helped reduce Sulfur Oxides (SOx) emissions by approximately 34%, as well as reduce Particulate Matter (PM).
In 2023, the GulfGuard plant underwent a Cold Tank Repair, during which a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) for its wet coater and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) for the glass furnace were installed. These technologies typically reduce NOx emissions by approximately 70%. Although using an RTO is not new to Guardian Glass, it is new to Africa Middle East, and Guardian is proud to continue to be a Stewardship leader in the region.