US Patent 10167221 Prefining apparatus for conditioning glasses

A prefiner (28) is described and includes a chamber (34) for receiving molten glass exiting a submerged combustion melter. The prefiner (28) also includes a foam breaker (36) and an exit conduit (38). The molten glass holding chamber includes a top portion (42), a bottom portion (40), and an enclosing sidewall (44). The top portion (42) includes an opening to accommodate the foam breaker (36), which is positioned to break the glass bubbles within the chamber. The exit conduit (38) resides within the chamber (34) and is in fluid communication with an outlet (68) in the sidewall (44). The exit conduit (38) is positioned to permit molten glass to flow from the lower section of the chamber to the outlet (68) and to the next stage of processing, typically a finer.