US 4,083,715 A · Smelting plant and method

Abstract

Iron-containing materials are loaded into the top of a shaft furnace to form therein an upright column of the materials. A burner forms a flame above the floor of the furnace to heat the base of the column and thereby melt the materials at the base of the column into a liquefied-iron melt on the floor of the furnace and a layer of slag on the melt. In addition this flame formed by the burner forms a deposit in the furnace on which the column is supported. Slag is continuously withdrawn from the furnace at a location substantially level with the deposit and the melt is withdrawn from the furnace at a location below the layer of slag and is heated as it is withdrawn. This melt is withdrawn through an iron-drain conduit having an outlet end vertically positioned to be horizontally even with the lower surface of the slag and a refining vessel working inductively or by means of an electric arc may be provided in this outlet conduit for the continuous transformation of the liquefied iron into steel.

Claims5

Dependent claims

In a method of smelting iron-containing materials wherein said materials descend as a column in a shaft furnace above the floor thereof and are heated adjacent said floor so as to form thereon a liquefied-iron melt on which floats a layer of slag and to form on the inside wall of said furnace an iron-scale deposit, the improvement comprising the step of withdrawing liquefied iron from said melt and slag from said layer in such manner that said layer of slag always remains at the level of said deposit and said wall is thereby protected from said slag by said deposit.

A method of smelting comprising the steps of:

feeding iron-containing materials into the top of a shaft furnace to form therein an upright column of said materials;
forming a flame above the floor of said furnace;
heating the base of said column with said flame to melt the materials at the base of said column into a liquefied-iron melt on said floor and a layer of slag on the surface of said melt and to form in said furnace adjacent said base and on the wall of said furnace a deposit;
supporting said column on said deposit;
withdrawing said slag from said furnace at a location substantially level with said deposit and above said surface in such a manner that said slag in said furnace remains generally level with said deposit;
withdrawing said melt from said furnace at a location below said surface of said melt continuously in such a manner that said surface remains generally level with said deposit, whereby the wall of said furnace is protected from said slag by said deposit;
and
heating the withdrawn melt continuously during the withdrawal thereof to maintain same molten.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Smelting plant and method

Life of this patent

Smelting plant and method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims5