Southwire Company, LLC

Milton E Berry

Ronald L Pariani

Thomas N Wilson

John D Butler

Daniel B Cofer

Peter W Ware

Thomas H Crumbley

Robert R Odle

William W Brunson

Roy Richards

William R Burson

Mitsuyoshi Shibata

A vertical shaft furnace for melting non-ferrous metals, such as copper, aluminum, and their alloys, includes metal blocks disposed in an annular wall just beneath the charging section of the furnace. Preheated air is forced into the furnace shaft through openings in the wall of metal blocks to burn or oxidize substantially all the CO gas contained in the combustion gases rising from the melting chamber of the furnace. A pressurized plenum surrounding the shaft adjacent the charge opening is used to preheat ambient air which is then supplied under pressure to another plenum above the melting chamber where the preheated air is introduced into the shaft.

Method of reducing emissions from a metal melting furnace

Reduced emissions metal melting furnace

Casting band heater for molten metal continuous casting apparatus, wherein a casting band forming one of the mold surfaces is preheated to improve the operational life of the casting band. The apparatus also assures a dry band to avoid steam explosions and gas entrapments. The band heater includes an efficient burner and a band enclosure which can be opened for band changes.

Apparatus to improve casting band life

A method and burner apparatus for heating and continuously melting a non-ferrous material charge, such as copper pieces in a furnace without contaminating the material charge in the furnace with non-vaporized liquid fuel thereby maintaining the metallurgical quality of the non-ferrous material charge.

Method for melting a non-ferrous metal charge with liquid fuel

Disclosed is an integrated system for continuously melting and refining secondary and blister copper to produce and continuously cast anode grade copper comprising: continuous melting of secondary and blister copper in an optional fuel vertical shaft furnace; continuously or semicontinuously skimming initial slag from the surface of the melted copper in a slag vessel as it drains from the shaft furnace; collecting a reservoir of molten copper in a holding furnace capable of controlling its temperature and subsequent flow; adding fluxes to the molten copper; directing the molten copper into an oxidation vessel where the molten copper and impurities are oxidized; transferring the oxidized and fluxed molten copper to a second slag vessel where slag is skimmed from its surface; flowing the oxygen rich molten copper into a reduction vessel where oxygen content is reduced; collecting a supply of refined molten copper in a final holding vessel; continuously passing the refined molten copper through a filtering ladle containing ceramic foam molten copper filters; and continuously supplying refined and filtered molten copper to a casting ladle which continuously casts the refined and filtered molten copper into anodes of suitable quality for electrorefining or into a cast product not requiring electrorefining.

Continuous melting and refining of secondary and/or blister copper

Disclosed is a multiple chamber vertical shaft furnace for melting granulated metal. Granulated scrap metal, high-grade crystalline ore or a combination thereof is preheated and sintered into a coherent columnar mass by the present invention. It is then melted in an enlarged melting chamber by multiple burners located in the walls of the furnace which direct heat tangent to the coherent columnar mass in a tubular heating space between the outer surface of the coherent columnar mass and the inner surface of the furnace walls, and flows out of the present invention through a tapping outlet for further processing.

Melting furnace for granulated metal

An improved vertical furnace for melting metal pieces, such as pieces of copper cathode. The furnace has a generally round interior wall of refractory brick material which encloses a vertical melting chamber having a plurality of burner openings through the refractory wall. Heat, being injected through these openings by means of a novel burner design, melts the metal pieces under metallurgically controlled conditions. The burners are arranged near the bottom floor of the melting chamber which is sloped toward a single outlet thus allowing the molten metal to continuously drain from the melting chamber. The burners are fed a mixture of fuel and air from a plurality of remote mixing stations so as to reduce turbulence at the burners thereby significantly reducing the operating noise level and refractory wear compared to prior art furnaces. A combustion chamber between the burner and the melting chamber is provided so as to prevent entry of uncombusted fuel and/or air, thereby maintaining the closely controlled atmosphere in the melting chamber.

Continuous copper melting furnace

Disclosed is apparatus for treating the components of a gaseous fuel mixture, to obtain a predetermined mass ratio of the gaseous components, for use in a metallurgical melting furnace. Two streams of gaseous fuel components are temperature equalized in a heat exchanger, pressure equalized by pressure balancing regulators, and mixed together by a mixing valve which controls only the volume flow rates of the two streams. The resulting gaseous fuel mixture has a predetermined oxygen to fuel mass ratio, which is easily maintained near stoichiometric composition and which when combusted, supplies a hot gaseous blast of predetermined composition. When air and a liquified fuel such as liquid propane are the fuel components, the liquified fuel is vaporized and optionally diluted with dry air prior to heat equalizing, pressure equalizing, and mixing. When a gaseous fuel such as natural gas is one of the fuel components, no vaporization or dilution is required. The resulting carefully controlled gaseous fuel mixture is used to provide both the heat and the required atmosphere of controlled chemical composition in a copper melting furnace.

Apparatus for controlling combustion in a metal melting furnace

Disclosed is a method of treating the components of a gaseous fuel mixture to obtain a predetermined mass ratio of the gaseous components for use in metallurgical melting furnace. Two streams of gaseous fuel components are temperature equalized in a heat exchanger, pressure equalized by pressure balancing regulators, and mixed together by a mixing valve which controls only the volume flow rates of the two streams. The resulting gaseous fuel mixture has a predetermined oxygen to fuel mass ratio, which is easily maintained near stoichiometric composition and which when combusted, supplies a hot gaseous blast of predetermined composition. When air and a liquified fuel such as liquid propane are the fuel components, the liquified fuel is vaporized prior to heat equalizing, pressure equalizing, and mixing. When a gaseous fuel such as natural gas is one of the fuel components, no vaporization or dilution is required. The resulting carefully controlled gaseous fuel mixture is used to provide both the heat and the required atmosphere of controlled chemical composition in a copper melting furnace.

Method of controlling combustion in a metal melting furnace

Hot-formed rod is prepared in a rolling mill by removing oxide from the surface of a nascent cast bar while the bar is in a non-oxidizing environment. Oxide is removed from the surface of the bar by means such as wire brushing, for example, with the oxide removing means and the nascent bar being enclosed in a non-oxidizing or reducing environment to improve the removal of existing oxide and to inhibit formation of new oxide on the bar while the bar travels from the oxide-removing means to the rolling mill to be hot-formed. Removal of oxide while the bar is in a non-oxidizing environment enhances the removal of oxide and lessens the unwanted removal of metal underlying the surface oxide.

Method and apparatus for production of hot-formed metallic rod

This disclosure relates to a combined wheel spreader and crack closer adapted to maintain the predetermined draft angle of the casting groove of an open casting wheel while simultaneously working the interior surface thereof to close cracks and smooth out flaws therein during a casting operation. The wheel spreader includes rollers adapted to bear in rolling contact against the interior side walls of the casting groove, and the crack closer includes a roller adapted to bear in rolling contact against the bottom surface of the casting groove.

Growing community of inventors

Carrollton, GA, United States of America

Milton E Berry