Shaft furnace for direct reduction of oxides
AssigneeXera Technologies Ltd.
InventorOscar G. Dam
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A shaft furnace for reduction of oxides includes a shaft member having an oxide inlet and defining a pre-heating and pre-reducing zone downstream of the oxide inlet, a reducing zone downstream of the pre-heating and pre-reducing zone a transition zone downstream of the reducing zone, and a discharge zone downstream of the transition zone; and a gas reforming zone associated with the shaft member for reforming a methane-containing gas into a reformed gas and for introducing the reformed gas into the reducing zone whereby oxides in the reducing zone are reduced by the reformed gas.
Claims14
A shaft furnace for the reduction of oxides, comprising:
- shaft means having wall means defining an oxide inlet, a pre-heating and pre-reducing zone downstream of said oxide inlet, a reducing zone downstream of said pre-heating and pre-reducing zone, a transition zone downstream of said reducing zone, and a discharge zone downstream of said transition zone;
- an annular gas reforming zone within said wall means, said annular gas reforming zone having an internal surface, said internal surface having a catalyst thereon for reforming a methane-containing gas into a reformed gas in said annular gas reforming zone;
- and
- passage means for communicating said reformed gas in said reforming zone with said reducing zone whereby oxides in said reducing zone are reduced by said reformed gas.
A shaft furnace according to claim 7, wherein said ring shaped member has an inner wall and said shaft means has an outer wall which together define said annular reforming zone, and wherein said inner wall and said outer wall support said catalyst whereby surface area of said catalyst exposed to said methane-containing gas is enhanced.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.