Claims
- 1. A smelting plant comprising: a shaft furnace having a floor and defining an upright elongated chamber; means for feeding metal-containing materials into the top of said chamber for forming therein an upright column of said materials; means including a burner above the floor of said furnace for forming a flame at the base of said column, whereby said materials at the base of said column are melted into a liquified-metal melt and a layer of slag on said melt and a deposit is formed in said furnace, said column being supported on said deposit; a slag drain in said furnace at the level of said deposit for withdrawal of said slag; a metal-drain conduit having an inlet end opening into said furnace below said layer and an outlet end substantially at said layer and formed as a trap preventing flow back into said furnace, whereby said metal passes out of said furnace through said conduit and remains at a level in said furnace determined by the level of said outlet end; and means for heating metal in said conduit between said ends.
- 2. The plant defined in claim 1, further comprising a vessel in said conduit between its said ends and means for conducting some of said slag into said vessel, said means for heating including refining electrodes in said vessel.
- 3. The plant defined in claim 2, wherein said slag drain has a branch opening into said vessel constituting said means for conducting.
- 4. The plant defined in claim 1, wherein said means for heating includes an inductive-heating coil at said conduit intermediate said ends.
- 5. The plant defined in claim 1, wherein said conduit is provided intermediate its ends with a refining vessel.
Parent Case Info
This is a division, of application Ser. No. 689,859, filed May 25, 1976.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
2962278 |
Goetz et al. |
Nov 1960 |
|
3338707 |
Carli et al. |
Aug 1967 |
|
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
689859 |
May 1976 |
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