Twelve months after commissioning its upgraded G3 oxyfuel furnace in South Australia, Orora says the installation is delivering significant reductions in gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions at its Gawler glass manufacturing site.
The $130 million rebuild and upgrade of the furnace, supported by a $12.5 million Australian Government grant under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative, has reduced natural gas consumption by 32 per cent compared with the previous recuperative furnace, according to the company.
Orora says the project has eliminated more than 13,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions annually, while nitrogen oxide (NOₓ) emissions have fallen by more than 70 per cent.
Greg Savage, senior vice president of Orora Glass Asia Pacific, said the results demonstrate the role advanced furnace technology can play in reducing emissions from energy-intensive manufacturing.
“The G3 furnace represents a step change in how glass is manufactured in Australia,” Savage said. “Achieving a reduction of more than 70 per cent in NOₓ emissions and cutting over 13,000 tonnes of CO₂ in the first year alone demonstrates that investment in advanced technology can deliver measurable environmental outcomes while continuing to meet the needs of our customers.”
The furnace replaces a traditional air–fuel combustion design with an oxyfuel melting process supported by onsite oxygen generation. By removing nitrogen from the combustion process, the furnace operates at higher thermal efficiency, reducing fuel consumption and associated emissions.
The upgraded furnace also has nearly double the electric boosting capacity of its predecessor, allowing a greater proportion of energy to be supplied electrically and reducing reliance on natural gas.
Despite the additional electricity required to generate oxygen, Orora says the system has delivered a net reduction in emissions and is contributing to improvements in the company’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions performance.
Alongside the furnace upgrade, Orora has also invested in an onsite glass beneficiation plant at the Gawler facility. The plant can process up to 150,000 tonnes of recycled glass each year – equivalent to roughly 330 million wine bottles or 750 million beer bottles.
The facility enables higher utilisation of recycled glass, or cullet, in production. According to Orora, cullet usage has increased by more than 30 per cent, with peak production periods achieving recycled content levels of up to 90 per cent.
The increased recycled content has delivered a further estimated reduction of around 14,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year.
Combined with the furnace upgrade, Orora says total emissions savings linked to the project now exceed 27,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually.
The Gawler furnace produces more than 475 tonnes of glass per day and is described by the company as Australia’s largest glass furnace.
The installation forms part of Orora’s longer-term sustainability strategy, which includes a target to reduce emissions intensity per tonne of glass by 60 per cent by FY35 and increase post-consumer recycled content in coloured glass to 68 per cent by the same year.
The company is also exploring complementary initiatives including renewable energy, waste heat recovery, alternative low-carbon fuels and hybrid furnace design as part of its broader decarbonisation program.
