HeatOx™: increasing combustion efficiency to decarbonize industry
Published on September 25, 2025
2 minutes
Industries whose processes require very high temperatures, such as glassmaking, consume a lot of energy. This energy is released by the combustion of natural gas, which emits fumes that contain some pollutants. To limit this impact, oxycombustion offers an efficient alternative. With its proprietary HeatOx™ technology that reuses the heat from the fumes, Air Liquide goes even further. Discover this innovative process in video.
The production of certain materials, such as glass, requires very high temperatures. To achieve this, natural gas is mixed with air and burned, emitting carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen dioxide (NOx).
To reduce these emissions, some manufacturers have been using oxycombustion for many years now. By replacing air with pure oxygen for natural gas combustion, this reduces NOx emissions by up to 90% and CO₂ emissions by up to 35%.
Air Liquide innovates with its HeatOx™, a technology which recovers some of the heat from the combustion to preheat the oxygen and natural gas used. This reduces CO₂ emissions further, up to 45% while consuming less natural gas.
Air Liquide is supporting Verallia, the European leader and world's third-largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products, in the expansion of its Campo Bom site in Brazil. Thanks to HeatOx™ technology, Verallia's new furnace emits 20% less CO₂ with improved energy efficiency. An important step towards reaching the company's CO₂ emission reduction goals.