Lime removal from furnace surfaces
OwnerJames J. Bowdeninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
My invention is particularly adapted for use in steel-making furnaces which have a charge-receiving vessel comprising a bottom and side walls for containing the molten steel and slag, such as the open hearth and electric furnaces. Lime is a major constituent of steel-making slags but it has a tendency to build up on the furnace bottom after successive steel-making operations. I have discovered that by adding a mineral, such as alumina or the like to the built-up lime and applying heat, the lime and alumina will chemically combine to form another mineral having a melting point low enough so that it may be liquified for drainage from the furnace.
Claims4
The method of removing lime buildup on the vessel bottom of a steel-making furnace, said lime having a melting point of about 2570 degrees Centigrade and which is higher than the temperature limits tolerated by the lining of said vessel, said method comprising:
- charging into the furnace vessel and onto the built up lime, after the molten metal and slag have been drained from said vessel through its tap hole, a mineral which chemically combines with lime to form a combined mineral having a melting point lower than the melting point of lime and within the temperature limits tolerated by the furnace lining,
- heating said combined mineral to a liquid state, and
- draining the liquified mineral from said vessel through the latter's tap hole.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.