Disclosed herein is a solids flow control valve comprising a standpipe; a shoe; and a transport pipe; wherein the standpipe is in operative communication with the shoe and lies upstream of the shoe; the standpipe comprising a first end and a second end, where the first end is in contact with a source that contains disposable solids and the second end is in fluid contact with the shoe; the shoe being operative to restrict the flow of the disposable solids; the transport pipe being disposed downstream of the shoe to receive and transport the solids from the shoe.

Disclosed herein is an orifice plate comprising one or more plates having orifices disposed therein; the orifices being operative to permit the flow of solids from a moving bed heat exchanger to a solids flow control system; where the orifice plate is downstream of a tube bundle of the moving bed heat exchanger and upstream of the solids flow control system and wherein the orifice plate is operative to evenly distribute the flow of solids in the solids flow control system.

The present invention relates to an iron fuel boiler process for iron fuel combustion, comprising the steps of combusting an iron fuel suspension medium comprising iron fuel and oxygen in an iron fuel burner arrangement to obtain an iron oxide containing medium; receiving the iron oxide containing medium into an iron fuel boiler arrangement for transferring the iron oxide containing medium towards a separation unit disposed at the end of said iron fuel boiler arrangement; exchanging heat between the iron oxide containing medium and a boiler of the iron fuel boiler arrangement with a heat-exchange medium during the transfer of the iron oxide containing medium through said iron fuel boiler arrangement; and separating iron oxide from the oxide containing medium to obtain solid iron oxide particles and a gas flow. The process further comprising the step of cooling said iron oxide containing medium with a cooling medium during said transfer of the iron oxide containing medium through the iron fuel boiler arrangement such that a temperature of the iron oxide is achieved of below the sintering temperature of the particles at said separation unit.

Disclosed herein is a compact (e.g., one-piece) refractory cast iron combustion chamber mold for a circulating fluidized bed boiler for the combustion and/or gasification of biomass, waste, lignite and mixtures thereof, and a method of obtaining a combustion chamber with this mold.