BASF Catalysts offers exceptional expertise in the development of technologies that protect the air we breathe, produce the fuels that power our world and ensure efficient production of a wide variety of chemicals, plastics and other products including advanced battery materials. BASF’s Catalysts division is the world’s leading supplier of environmental and process catalysts. The group offers exceptional expertise in the development of technologies that protect the air we breathe, produce the fuels that power our world and ensure efficient production of a wide variety of chemicals, plastics and other products, including advanced battery materials. We believe mobility’s future lies in more than just products. So where others come to a full stop, we’re just getting started—by leveraging the full power of BASF to continually advance our comprehensive package of sustainable solutions that enable us to travel further, as well as above and beyond. Protecting the air we breathe from harmful emissions through innovation. BASF leverages unsurpassed expertise in the development of emission control technologies for a wide range of market applications. BASF is committed to advancing and promoting environmentally-sound technologies to achieve a sustainable future in aviation. Offering 50 years of experience developing intelligent solutions for air quality over a wide range of applications — enabling clean air for a healthier, more sustainable future. With more than 150 years of experience in metal sourcing, trading, and hedging, we’ve built tangible results for our industrial customers. With more than 100 years of experience in recycling materials, BASF’s end-to-end recycling program is known and trusted around the globe. As a leader in precious-metal thermocouples for many years, BASF recently applied its technological expertise to optical-based temperature measurement. Developing and producing pharmaceutical ingredients for more than 75 years, enabling us to provide the solutions you need to meet today's and tomorrow's challenges for your pharmaceutical business. Find the latest news and media information for BASF’s Catalysts division, headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, USA, the world’s leading supplier of environmental and process catalysts. Explore this collection of resources to learn more about our innovative research and Catalyst solutions.

Choose your language

This section is available in the following languages: English

Glass Industry

With innovative and ground-breaking resources, BASF has consistently advanced temperature measurement in the glass industry for more than 60 years.

Now, BASF continues its commitment to quality with its EXACTUS® instruments, supplying the most accurate temperature readings available along with the highest-quality temperature-sensing products, allowing us to fulfill our customers’ exacting standards.

Delivering over 60 years' of solutions for the glass industry

For over 60 years, BASF has supplied the glass industry with exceptionally high-quality optical pyrometers, thermocouples, and calibration services to provide temperature insights, which can enable higher yields and assist our customers with attaining increased profit.

Metals—particularly those in the platinum group—are critical components of many products made by BASF such as contact thermocouples. The experience of our research and development group in precious metals and precious metal technologies is unmatched. From Fibro® platinum to Platinel® thermocouple wire we have led the industry with breakthrough innovations. No one knows more about precious metals.

BASF Catalysts | Glass Industry
BASF Catalysts | Glass Industry

Offering products for various glass industry segments

With manufacturing facilities located around the world, complete precious metal management resources, passion for technology and commitment to customer service, BASF is uniquely positioned to be your premier supplier for your temperature sensing requirements.

  • Container Glass
  • Tableware Glass
  • Fiberglass
  • Tubing
  • Float Glass
  • Speciality Glass
  • TV - Panel Glass

Showcasing a wide variety of thermocouples to meet customer requirements

Forehearth Thermocouples

Bottom Thermocouples

Non-Contact Thermocouples

Crown Thermocouples

Refiner Thermocouples

Glass Level Probes

Distributor Thermocouples

Plunger - Spout Thermocouples

Flue/Stack Thermocouples

Tin Bath Thermocouples

Lehr Thermocouples

Crown thermocouples: precise data on operating temperature

Overheating of the crown in a glass melter promotes accelerated refractory corrosion and wear. Operating a crown at too low a temperature, on the other hand, may reduce melting efficiency and increase fuel consumption. Crown thermocouples provide important data on the operating temperature of the melter, regenerator and refiner.

Learn more

Determination and control of the melter hot spot, essential for effective glass circulation, can be readily achieved by placing a number of crown thermocouples along the center of the arch. A reliable sensor will also provide the necessary data to prevent potentially destructive overtemperature conditions to occur.

In all gas or oil fired glass melters the crown thermocouple must withstand the highest tank operating temperature.Temperatures of 2800°F to 2900°F are typical. In high alumina or silica glasses, temperatures may exceed 2950°F at the hot spot. For thermocouples to perform dependably great care must be exercised in the selection of materials, particularly with regard to purity, and in their fabrication.The precious metal thermocouple models featured here provide a variety of designs for all crown applications.

Application Notes and Installation

The following guidelines, drawn from our many years' experience of serving the glass industry, will help achieve the best performance from crown thermocouples.

Whether crown thermocouples are immersed into the atmosphere or mounted in dead end blocks, the following recommendations apply:

  • Blind holes should be cleaned out to ensure that no foreign matter is present. Some early failures have been noted due to attack by nuts and bolts; excess batch; or low grade ceramic cement being inadvertantly left in the block from the installation stage.
  • Pack the entrance hole through which the thermocouple is mounted to prevent hot gas "sting out." Hot gas cutting of the ceramic and overheating of the head are thereby prevented. Thermocouples mounted in dead-end blocks should still be packed in preparation for eventual block wear or cracking which will subject the assembly to the "chimney effect."
  • Atmosphere thermocouples should not be immersed more than 2 inches. The rate of attack by batch dust carry-over and resulting corrosion increases significantly at greater depths.
  • The head/connection box should be extended 6 to 10 inches above the crown or insulation blanket to insure that reasonable head temperatures are maintained at the connection point of the extension lead wire. Overheating of the terminals is a major cause of open-circuit signals as well as of erratic readings. In addition, when the temperature of the connection point between the thermocouple and extension wire exceeds 450°F the compensation factor begin to deteriorate causing reading errors of up to 50°F. It is generally found easier to attach lead wires prior to installing the thermocouple.
  • Experience has shown that plug and jack connector terminations, as opposed to a sealed-head, may be plagued with corrosion or poor contact problems.
  • Thermocouple assemblies should be fully supported by a stable mounting arrangement. Tripods, flanges, or split stand-offs are effective if properly installed.

Specifications

Ceramics

All BASF Catalysts produced thermocouples for glass melters are fabricated with high purity alumina insulation. The alumina content is at a minimum of 99.7%. While it is commonly known that high purity alumina is needed for stable performance of precious metal thermocouples used at high temperatures, it must be realized that type and nature of the remaining impurities are equally important. BASF Catalysts choses its high purity alumina with great emphasis on eliminating known deleterious contaminants such as Fe, Ni, Cr, Sb, among others. Equally as important in the selection process are the concentrations of certain glass formers and combinations of them such as B2O3, SiO2, Na2O, etc.

Thermocouple Wire

The wire used in all thermocouples is matched and calibrated to comply with ISA, ANSI, or IEC reference tables to within +/-1/4% of temperature from 400°C to 1450°C. All thermocouples supplied on a single order are fabricated from a single batch of wire insuring that all thermocouples provice equivalent data. Lot calibration, as well as specific unit calibrations data can be supplied at an additional cost.

Fibro Platinum

Some thermocouple designs use Fibro Platinum with types R and S. Fibro is a proprietary wire making process which imparts an elongated grain structure to the metal. This structure in addition to strengthening the wire imposes barriers to the migration of contamination and subsequent weakening of the material. This material provides additional stability of calibration and increases the thermocouples effective life.

Scrap metal recovery

Precious metal thermocouples always have value - even when they are no longer usable. The metal content of bottom thermocouples can be recycled into new replacements; or monitary credit be given for their intrinsic value; or provide the user with book credit for use at a later date. All reclamations are made on a weight basis. For the most accurate and beneficial credit, spent thermocouples should be returned intact for disassembly at the plant so that proper material and alloy separation can be performed. Contact the customer service office for specific details on how to return spent thermocouples.

BASF Catalysts | Melting Glass Furnace
BASF Catalysts | Glass Industry

Reduced precious metal thermocouples: enhanced design using less precious metal

Capitalizing on the success of previous advanced designs, BASF has recently developed enhanced thermocouple designs that utilize 20 – 40% less precious metal than their traditional equivalents. These novel designs can be used in Forehearth, Crown and Bottom applications.

These designs use advanced high strength materials that allow for the use of less precious metal without sacrificing, form, fit or function of the thermocouple.

The biggest benefit of these designs are significant cost savings without sacrificing longevity, quality and overall performance.

These novel designs can be used in Forehearth, Crown and Bottom applications.

From Furnace to Forehearth, Fiberglass to Float glass, BASF has the expertise, the diverse design solutions and the passion to meet the needs of any of your applications.

Forehearth thermocouples: providing unique designs for challenging needs

It is general knowledge that pack efficiency is strongly related to the gob temperature uniformity. To accomplish this uniformity, the industry has various forehearth control strategies. Several technologies include top, bottom and even sidewall glass cooling strategies. Traditional heating, along with distributed and model based “path forward” control strategies are also utilized.

Regardless of the approach taken, two key items have proven indispensable to the successful control of the forehearth temperature gradient: 1) reliable sensors that provide the necessary intelligence from within the glass, 2) competent process control strategies to properly utilize the information provided.

BASF can provide unique designs to meet the challenging needs in these applications. From heavy duty high performance models that are designed to last a full forehearth campaign, to our reduced precious metal models that offer a balance between precious metal consumption and optimum life, BASF has the forehearth thermocouple design to meet your needs.

BASF Catalysts | Forehearth thermocouples

Melter bottom thermocouples: lower bottom temperature while maintaining proper circulation

The BASF line of Glass Melter and Refiner Thermocouple Assemblies represent the cumulative benefit of many years of dedicated design and assembly service to the glass industry. The care and attention to detail in material selection, processing, and assembling, have been developed and established with campaign life as a goal while maintaining EMF stability and reliable performance as a prerequisite.

Bottom melter thermocouples play an important role in the efficient operation of a glass tank. It has been shown that for each 1.3°C lowering of bottom temperature, a typical furnace will save approximately 1% energy. To control the melt process so that lower bottom temperatures can be achieved, while maintaining proper circulation and throat flow demands a high level of reliability in the sensor. In addition, throat flow monitoring, especially gradient temperature determination, is useful if the sensors are stable.

Learn more

One innovation introduced by BASF that has resulted in more stable performance is Enclad. Enclad was first introduced by BASF to the glass industry in the early 1960s. It is now specified routinely by a number of quality glass producers and major engineering houses for use in bottom immersion applications. Enclad is a precisely controlled combination of thermocouple wires, crushable ceramic and metallic sheath that is assembled under clean conditions and consolidated to an integral product. The consolidation process sinks the metal sheath to the ceramic, pulverizing it to compact around the wires and densifies the composite to be void free.

Enclad thermocouples are not subject to failure due to airborne dust, dirt, or vapors as conventional thermocouples are. When Enclad is assembled with precious metal sheaths into otherwise conventionally designed thermocouples, campaign life experiences have been obtained with excellent retention of calibration. It has been successful in obtaining campaign life and solving problems in electric melt/boost applications. Its concept is now copied by a number of independent thermocouple assembly shops.

Our catalog presents only a limited number of select designs from the many variations gathered over the years. These models represent the latest practical usage and span the range from the lowest cost, simplest design for underpaving applications, to direct immersion configurations whose performance is measured in terms of years of service.

Application Notes

The following guidelines are drawn from many years observation and experience. Evaluating these comments in light of your specific applications may prove beneficial in providing optimum life and performance from melter thermocouples.

Glass Compositions

Life and stability of in-glass thermocouples, when properly designed and installed are generally excellent for all traditional soda-lime and borosilicate glass compositions. All of the soda-lime glasses (except amber), found in container and float, as well as any of the fiberglass compositions should pose little threat to the sensor. Such is not the case with leaded, opal, high arsenic and other specialty glass.

High lead glass has a tendency to become unstable during the early melting and refining process and may locally decompose or reduce in the presence of precious metals. It is not fully understood at this time if the catalyzing ability of platinum and its alloys contribute to or promote this occurrence. In either case, the lead compounds react with the precious metal causing disintegration of the sheath and ultimate attack of the assembly by the glass constituents. Life expectancy of thermocouples in leaded glass tends to vary with lead content. As an example, 3 to 6 months for 24% Pb is typical, but great variations have been noted to exist. In general, once the glass has been refined and most of the SO2, CO and CO2 have been desorbed compatibility with the precious metal is re-established. This is noted in many applications where forehearth immersion thermocouples perform adequately whereas melter and to a lesser degree refiner units regularly fail. At this juncture dual sheath assemblies with or without precious metal liners, in dense dead end blocks is the only practical recommendation that can be made for monitoring or controlling melter temperature.

Precious metals are readily attached by the Halogens. Opal, and other glasses relying on fluorine compounds as a colorant will destroy immersion assemblies in a short time period. Even low level fluorine bearing glasses have a tendency towards metal attack. The life of thermocouples must be determined for each application.

Flatware and other products relying on arsenic or lithium additives as brightening agents have proven problematical on occasion. While concentrations of the additives are low, upsets in redox potential due to combustion control excursions have been noted to cause local reduction of the element and subsequent destruction of the precious metal.

Amber glass has been well documented in recent years for the cause of its incompatibility with precious metals. The sulfur within the coloring agents combine with the rhodium forming a glassy phase compound which dissolves readily in the soda-lime matrix. The use of ODS Platinum completely eliminates this occurrence and should be exclusively used in all amber tank applications.

Electric Melting/Boosting

The performance of platinum alloys in electric melters has been extensively investigated over the past twenty years. The dissolution rate of platinum sheaths and thimbles is known to be proportional to the exposed metal surface area; and the leakage current through the metal to tank ground, and inversely proportional to the frequency of the power mains. Recorded observations compared with theoretical calculations have been in excellent agreement. Leakage currents of 10 amperes has been documented to physically destroy a 2-inch immersion sheath in 120 days.

The prevention and cure of electrolysis failure is relatively simple. Using the following notes as a guide an instrument specialist can easily guard against common problems.

A few recommendations can be broadly stated for thermocouple installation, most of which are based on observations and tests conducted in the field.

  • Thermocouples must be completely isolated from electrical contact with any tank metal work.
  • Support of the sensor should be by use of flanges resting on non-conductive sheets.
  • If shielded compensating lead wire is used, the shield should be wrapped with glass tape for that portion which is inside the terminal head. Many inadvertent groundings have been recorded because of frayed shield wires coming in contact with the inside of the head.
  • Grounding of shield wires, if required, should be at one place at the end inside the main instrument panel. Before grounding, an isolation test, using a 50 vdc Megga should be conducted between the shield, conductors, and ground to insure no secondary ground loops exist.
  • Compensating lead wire should not be run through the power line channels. Induced voltages with sufficient power to cause instrument problems have been known to exist.
  • Ideally, compensating lead wire should be run through solid conduit. If a flexible connection is made to the terminal head it should incorporate an electrical isolator.

ODS Platinum

Traditional glass immersion sheaths have been produced with 10%, or 20% alloys of rhodium in platinum. Experience has shown that ODS platinum can be a direct substitute for these alloys and has been successfully used to replace rhodium and subsequent inherent cost. In addition, sheaths being free of rhodium are not subject to attack by amber glass. The use of ODS platinum permits direct immersion control to be obtained in this otherwise difficult to instrumentate process.

Specifications

All BASF produced thermocouples for glass melters are fabricated with high purity alumina insulation. The alumina content is at a minimum of 99.7%. While it is commonly known that high purity alumina is needed for stable performance of precious metal thermocouples used at high temperatures, it must be realized that type and nature of the remaining impurities are equally important. BASF choses its high purity alumina with great emphasis on eliminating known deleterious contaminants such as Fe, Ni, Cr, Sb, among others. Equally as important in the selection process are the concentrations of certain glass formers and combinations of them such as B2O3, SiO2, Na2O, etc.

The wire used in all thermocouples is matched and calibrated to comply with ISA, ANSI, or IEC reference tables to within +/- ¼% of temperature from 400°C to 1450°C. All thermocouples supplied on a single order are fabricated from a single batch of wire insuring that all thermocouples provide equivalent data. Lot calibration, as well as specific unit calibrations data can be supplied at an additional cost.

Fibro Platinum

Some thermocouple designs use Fibro Platinum with types R and S. Fibro is a proprietary wire making process which imparts an elongated grain structure to the metal. This structure in addition to strengthening the wire imposes barrier to the migration of contamination and subsequent weakening of the material. This material provides additional stability of calibration and increases the thermocouples effective life.

Scrap Metal Recovery

Precious metal thermocouples always have value - even when they are no longer usable. The metal content of bottom thermocouples can be recycled into new replacements; or monitary credit be given for their intrinsic value; or provide the user with book credit for use at a later date. All reclamations are made on a weight basis. For the most accurate and beneficial credit, spent thermocouples should be returned intact for disassembly at the plant so that proper material and alloy separation can be performed. Contact the customer service office for specific details on how to return spent thermocouples.

BASF Catalysts | Exactus

Optical pyrometer: Accuracy, resolution, repeatability, and stability

Offering excellent accuracy, resolution, repeatability, and stability, EXACTUS® optical pyrometer technology provides significant performance advantages in non-contact temperature measurement in a practical, rugged and user-friendly design.

EXACTUS® delivers a broad measurement range and faster measurement speeds while maintaining sensitivity. Each compact sensor is a complete temperature measurement system, versatile enough to be incorporated into demanding process locations. With these advantages, EXACTUS® can help lower operating costs, improve yields, and increase efficiency.

Enclad®: Precision for a variety of diverse and demanding applications

BASF Enclad® products are a precise and rigorously controlled combination of select precious and base metal sheaths, high-purity ceramic insulations and compatible precious metal thermocouple wires consolidated into a rugged assembly which is bendable into difficult to reach places. Enclad® products include cable, standard thermocouples and composite-sheath thermocouples.

Enclad® thermocouples have been extensively used in the following select applications in which high temperature resistance or chemical inertness of the sheath material is required:

Crystal growth

Gas turbine combustor discharge

Liquid phase epitaxy

Ion implant

Glass melting and working

Ceramic sintering

Biomedical research

Nuclear research

Soaking pit control

Heat-treating furnaces

Energy conversion

Plasma physics research

Product Specifications:

Specifying sheath materials - The choice of the outer sheath material must be made after considering its compatibility with the environment, its operating temperature and its structural loading. In general, the following temperatures have been found suitable for Enclad® sheath materials:

  • Pt— 1200°C
  • ODS Pt— 1600°C
  • Pt-10Rh— 1500°C
  • Pt-20Rh— 1650°C
  • Inconel 600— 800°C

Specifying thermocouple materials:

Type S and R thermocouple material are the most popular in the platinum-rhodium system. They are noted for excellent stability up to their recommended maximum-use temperature of 1400°C.

Type B thermocouples have proved effective for applications up to 1750°C, with excellent stability and sensitivity.

Thermocouple Recycling Services

Precious metal thermocouples always have value—even when they are no longer usable. The metal content of thermocouples can be recycled into new replacements or monetary credit can be given for the user with book credit for use at a later date. All reclamations are made on a weight basis. For the most accurate and beneficial credit, spent thermocouples should be returned intact for disassembly at the plant so that proper material and alloy separation can be performed.

Thermocouple recycling makes BASF a full range service supplier. Contact us for specific details on how to return spent thermocouples.

Thermocouple Wire

BASF has supplied science and industry with thermocouple wire for many years. We maintain an expert team of metallurgists, metrologists and process application engineers. All BASF-produced thermocouple wire conforms to the latest version of international standards. For all combinations, the EMF-temperature relationships are in accord with the applicable IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) Standards, which incorporate all major national institutions.

Our thermocouple wires are based on precious metals, long recognized as the most reliable sensing elements for high-temperature measurement.

Our major wire thermocouple combinations include:

Type S: Pt vs. Pt 10 Rh

One of the most popular and widely used precious metal thermocouple combinations is known for its high accuracy over a broad temperature range. The combination has excellent mechanical and chemical properties, low electrical resistivity, and is readily obtainable in uniform quality and in very fine diameters.

Type R: Pt vs. Pt 13 R

This widely used combination is almost identical to Type S except for a slightly higher thermoelectric output, which accommodates instruments that have been calibrated for this output.

Type B: Pt 6 Rh vs. Pt 30 Rh

This widely used thermocouple is very similar to other Pt and Rh combinations. It performs well at the higher application temperatures where other combinations may be subject to accelerated drift or physical degradation. It is unique in that, at reference junction temperatures below 100° C, compensating lead wire is generally not necessary: plain copper conductors are adequate.

Platinel®

A development by BASF Catalysts that brings together the high electrical output of the high base alloys with the oxidation resistance and stability of the precious metals. Often used as a direct replacement for Type K in process control applications where long life, stability, and continuous trouble-free performance is required.

Resources available for download

Looking for product specifications? Check out our product datasheets and industry brochures below.

View more in the Literature Library

Get in Touch

Complete the form to get in touch with a BASF representative who can assist you with our solutions for the glass market.