An innovative in-flight glass melting technology was developed for a purpose of energy saving and environmental protection. Granulated glass raw materials with small diameter were treated by hybrid heating of twelve-phase ac arc combined with an oxygen burner. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that all carbonates in raw materials were decomposed and >94% SiO(2) (quartz) was reacted into a noncrystalline state. The high vitrification degree achieved within several milliseconds reveals that the new in-flight melting technology of hybrid plasma treating can reduce energy consumption and shorten the glass production cycle. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.