A metal material supply device which is annexed to a metal melting furnace has a vibration trough for transporting metal material to be supplied to a crucible; the transported metal material is discharged from a material discharge port that is provided at the front end of the vibration trough; the metal material supply device is movable between a material supply position where the material discharge port is disposed above the crucible and a retracted position from the material supply position, and supplies the metal material to the crucible at the material supply position; the upper end of the metal material supplied to the crucible and piled up is detected by a microwave level meter, and the material supply operation by driving the vibration trough is controlled on the basis of the detected value.

A slab library for separate storage of cold blanks and hot blanks of heavy plates and heating furnace layout, and a furnace loading method are provided. The slab library and heating furnace layout comprises: 1# slab library and 2# slab library span, i.e. feeding span, arranged side by side; continuous casting blank delivery roller way connected to the continuous casting process arranged at the inlet of the 2# slab library span; heating furnace span arranged at the outlet of the 2# slab library span, wherein more than two heating furnaces are arranged in the heating furnace span, and arranged side by side at the outlet of the 2# slab library span; slab preparatory library span, which is across the inlets of the 1# slab library span and the 2# slab library span; span-crossing traverse trolley roller way, which is across the cold blank zones of the 1# slab library span and the 2# slab library span, and the heating furnace span; span-crossing roller way, which is across the slab preparatory library span and the 1# slab library span; and, feeding roller way, arranged between the 2# slab library span and the heating furnace span, and across the hot blank zone and the cold blank zone of the 2# slab library span and the two ends of the heating furnace span, wherein the feeding roller way has a structure for delivery in two directions.

A slab library for separate storage of cold blanks and hot blanks of heavy plates and heating furnace layout, and a furnace loading method are provided. The slab library and heating furnace layout comprises: 1# slab library and 2# slab library span, i.e. feeding span, arranged side by side; continuous casting blank delivery roller way connected to the continuous casting process arranged at the inlet of the 2# slab library span; heating furnace span arranged at the outlet of the 2# slab library span, wherein more than two heating furnaces are arranged in the heating furnace span, and arranged side by side at the outlet of the 2# slab library span; slab preparatory library span, which is across the inlets of the 1# slab library span and the 2# slab library span; span-crossing traverse trolley roller way, which is across the cold blank zones of the 1# slab library span and the 2# slab library span, and the heating furnace span; span-crossing roller way, which is across the slab preparatory library span and the 1# slab library span; and, feeding roller way, arranged between the 2# slab library span and the heating furnace span, and across the hot blank zone and the cold blank zone of the 2# slab library span and the two ends of the heating furnace span, wherein the feeding roller way has a structure for delivery in two directions.

A heat treatment system disclosed herein may include: one or more saggars, each of which is configured to accommodate powder of a lithium positive electrode material; and a heat treatment furnace configured to heat-treat the powder accommodated in the one or more saggars.

Each of the one or more saggars may include a contact surface which is to make contact with the powder, wherein at least the contact surface of each saggar is constituted of a nickel-based alloy. The heat treatment furnace may be configured to heat-treat the powder accommodated in the one or more saggars at a temperature of 300° C. or more and 1000° C. or less for a duration of 10 hours or more and 30 hours or less.

The invention relates to a method and to an arrangement for feeding fine-grained matter to a concentrate burner (1) or a matte burner of a suspension smelting furnace (2). The invention relates also to a controlling means for controlling feeding of fine-grained matter to a concentrate burner (1) or a matte burner of a suspension smelting furnace (2) in an arrangement for feeding fine-grained matter to a concentrate burner (1) or a matte burner of a suspension smelting furnace (2). The invention relates also to controlling means for controlling feeding of fine-grained matter to a concentrate burner (1) or a matte burner of a suspension smelting furnace (2) in an arrangement for feeding fine-grained matter to a concentrate burner (1) or a matte burner of a suspension smelting furnace (2) and to a computer program product.

[OBJECT] To provide a fractionating device capable of stably fractionating powders such as cement raw materials by a simple configuration.

[SOLUTION] A fractionating device 1 for fractionating some of a powder (cement raw material) R falling in a chute (main body) 2, wherein the fractionating device is equipped with a screw conveyor 5 which passes through the chute, a part of a casing 5a opening inside the chute, and receives part of the powder from an opening (inlet) 5b, and a collision separation member (collision separation rod) 4 which is provided above the screw conveyor in the chute and collides with an object when an object of a predetermined size or larger falls, and prevents the object from falling directly onto the screw conveyor. A rotation shaft 5d of the screw conveyor may be inclined from 5° to 20° with respect to the horizontal plane so that the end of the discharge port side of the screw conveyor is positioned above the other end and may be equipped with a guide member 3 that guides the powder falling in the chute in the direction of the opening of the screw conveyor.

A feed charging device comprises a holding vessel having an interior chamber for holding a reserve of a solid particulate feed material in a fluidized state, wherein the feed material is held in said fluidized state in a lower zone of the interior chamber. The feed material is supplied to the interior chamber through at least one outlet opening, and is discharged from the interior chamber through at least one outlet opening. The at least one outlet opening is in flow communication with the lower zone of the interior chamber. A gas supply means supplies a fluidizing gas to the lower zone of the interior chamber, and an outlet conduit in flow communication with the at least one outlet opening receives said feed material discharged from the interior chamber.

A rotary injector comprising an elongated shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, and an impeller at the distal end of the elongated shaft, the elongated shaft and the impeller being collectively rotatable during operation around an axis of the shaft, the rotary injector being hollow and having an internal supply conduit extending along the shaft and across the impeller, the supply conduit having an inlet at the proximal end of the shaft, a main portion extending from the inlet to a discharge portion, the discharge portion extending to an axial outlet, the discharge portion having a narrow end connecting the main portion of the supply conduit and a broader end at the axial outlet.

In a known method for treating pourable, inorganic grain, a heated rotary tube is used that rotates about an axis of rotation and surrounds a treatment chamber that is divided into a plurality of treatment zones by means of separating elements. The grain is supplied to the treatment chamber at a grain inlet side and is transported, in a grain transport direction, to a grain outlet side and is exposed to a treatment gas in the process. In order, proceeding herefrom, to allow for reliable and reproducible thermal treatment of pourable inorganic grain, in particular SiO.sub.2 grain in the rotary kiln, in a manner having low and effective consumption of treatment gas, it is proposed for spent treatment gas to be suctioned out of a reaction zone of the treatment chamber, by a gas manifold that rotates about the longitudinal axis thereof.

A medium heating device includes a heater that heats a medium, and a medium support member that supports a target heating portion, which is a portion that is heated by the heater in the medium, in which the medium support member has a first component portion that is formed so that a space is provided between the medium and the first component portion when the medium is supported, and a second component portion that is in contact with the medium when the medium is supported.