Shaft furnace and a method for the operation of the shaft furnace for the melting down of non-ferrous metals in a recycling process, particularly for the melting down of lead

A shaft furnace apparatus for use in connection with the recycling of non-ferrous metals, comprising:

• (a) a shaft furnace having an inlet;
• (b) a crane runway located directly above said shaft furnace inlet, said crane runway having a loading station position and an unloading station position;
• (c) said unloading station position being located directly above said shaft furnace inlet;
• (d) a carriage movable on said crane runway between said loading station position and said unloading station position;
• (e) a sorting container, capable of being transported by said carriage;
• (f) a trailer cross arm secured to said carriage for selectively securing and releasing said sorting container from said carriage at said loading station position and unloading station position;
• (g) said sorting container being lockable from the top by a cover;
• (h) said cover being grippable by said trailer cross arm to effectuate securing and releasing of said sorting container, as desired;
• (i) the bottom of said sorting container, when located at said unloading station position, serving to seal, in a gas-tight manner, said shaft furnace inlet;
• (j) said sorting container being provided with a bottom sealing edge provided with a selectively opening and closing, downwardly pivoting bottom flap/s/;
• and
• (k) said shaft furnace inlet also being sealable in a gas-tight manner by a sealing flap pivotally located within the interior of said shaft furnace.