Electric furnace for producing molten metal having material recycling capability
AssigneeMidrex Technologies, Inc.
InventorMasahiko TETSUMOTO
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Abstract
The present invention relates generally to a smelting operation or the like, by which molten metal is produced from a metal oxide after metal oxide agglomerates are directly reduced and melted with a carbonaceous material in an electric heating and melting furnace. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electric furnace for producing molten metal that has material recycling capability, especially in-process material recycling capability.
Claims22
A method for producing molten metal from a raw material comprising metal oxide agglomerates by reduction and melting in a furnace, comprising:
- selectively removing a portion of the raw material from the furnace through one or more openings disposed in a bottom portion thereof such that a raw material bed or layer has predetermined characteristics over time.
A reduction and melting furnace for producing molten metal from a raw material comprising metal oxide agglomerates, comprising:
- one or more openings disposed in a bottom portion of the furnace for selectively removing a portion of the raw material from the furnace such that a raw material bed or layer has predetermined characteristics over time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.