Methods and apparatus for constructing refractory structures, e.g., glass furnace regenerator structures and/or glass furnace structures having walls formed of refractory block and buck stays externally supporting the walls are provided. Opposed pairs of supports are connected to at least a respective one of the vertically oriented buck stays with cross-support beams spanning the refractory structure between a respective pair of the supports. An overhead crane assembly is supported by the cross-support beams. In such a manner, refractory components of the refractory structure (e.g., refractory wall blocks and/or refractory checker bricks) may be installed using the overhead crane assembly.

Techniques for utilizing excess heat generated by an oven to generate electricity are provided. In one example, an oven can comprise a coolant pathway positioned adjacent to a hollow space within the oven, wherein the hollow space can contain heat. The oven can also comprise a chamber in fluid communication with the coolant pathway. The oven can further comprise a turbine in fluid communication with the chamber and an outlet. Moreover, the oven can comprise a generator connected to the turbine, wherein rotation of the turbine can power the generator.

Methods and apparatus for constructing refractory structures, e.g., glass furnace regenerator structures and/or glass furnace structures having walls formed of refractory block and buck stays externally supporting the walls are provided. Opposed pairs of supports are connected to at least a respective one of the vertically oriented buck stays with cross-support beams spanning the refractory structure between a respective pair of the supports. An overhead crane assembly is supported by the cross-support beams. In such a manner, refractory components of the refractory structure (e.g., refractory wall blocks and/or refractory checker bricks) may be installed using the overhead crane assembly.

The invention relates to a method for heating a furnace, wherein the furnace comprises an inner chamber and a outer chamber. A process gas is introduced into the inner chamber. A fuel is combusted with an oxidant to produce combustion gases in a combustion chamber. The combustion gases are passed through the outer chamber, and recirculated to the combustion chamber. The process gas is pre-heated by indirect heat exchange with the combustion gases.

Operation of a thermochemical regenerator combustion system in which fuel is fed with furnace flue gas into the regenerators to reduce the oxygen content and optionally to establish a reducing atmosphere in both cycles in which the regenerators operate.

A thermochemical regenerator system is operated without encountering accumulation of unwanted solids on the interior surfaces of the passages through which flue gas passes.

A continuous aluminum melting furnace with a porous spray pipe heat exchanger, comprising a furnace body, combustion nozzles, a smoke pipeline and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger comprises a smoke channel and heat exchange cylinders, wherein each of the heat exchange cylinders comprises a head end, a tail end, and a porous spray pipe in at least one of the cylinders. The porous spray pipe comprises a closed end and a pipe body, with several air spray holes provided on a peripheral wall of the pipe body so that cold air entering the at least one heat exchange cylinder is sprayed to an inner wall of the cylinder so as to exchange heat with high-temperature smoke which flows through an outer wall of the cylinder, thus keeping the temperature of the cylinder lower than the rated tolerant temperature of the material from which the cylinder is made.

A pressurized cavity is provided around at least a portion or all of a regenerator, within which gas such as flue gas is maintained at a pressure in excess of the pressure within the regenerator, to protect against leakage of gas through the walls of the regenerator.

A method for burning material, such as carbonate rocks, in a parallel-flow regenerative shaft kiln having two shafts which are operated alternately as a burning shaft and as a regenerative shaft and are connected to one another by means of a connecting channel, wherein the material flows through a material inlet into a preheating zone for preheating the material, a burning zone for burning the material and a cooling zone for cooling the material to a material outlet, wherein a cooling gas is admitted into the cooling zone, wherein exhaust gas is discharged from one of the shafts via an exhaust gas outlet, wherein the exhaust gas discharged from the shaft via the exhaust gas outlet is at least partially introduced into at least one of the shafts.

Apparatus for supplying blast to a blast furnace (1) having a plurality of hot blast stoves (4, 5, 6), each stove including a cold blast inlet, a fuel inlet, an air supply inlet, a hot blast outlet, and a waste gas outlet; a waste heat recovery unit (30) connected to a fuel supply, the stove fuel inlet and the cold blast inlet. The stove waste gas outlets are connected to the cold blast inlets, whereby stove waste gas from one stove (5) is supplied, via the waste heat recovery unit, as cold blast to another stove (4).