The campaign lives are extended and the risks of process gas leaks past seals are reduced by improved stave coolers that each hang together inside steel shelled furnaces by a single neck extended out through a steel jacketed collar. All the coolant circuits inside the stave cooler are collected and grouped together to pass inside through the one collar. The steel in the collar is matched to the steel used in the containment shell, and a matching steel weld seals them together. Thermal stresses are thereby prevented from accumulating over separation distances as a consequent of the steel's coefficient of expansion. A single point of penetration has no separation distance to another.

The campaign lives are extended and the risks of process gas leaks past seals are reduced by improved stave coolers that each hang together inside steel shelled furnaces by a single neck extended out through a steel jacketed collar. All the coolant circuits inside the stave cooler are collected and grouped together to pass inside through the one collar. The steel in the collar is matched to the steel used in the containment shell, and a matching steel weld seals them together. Thermal stresses are thereby prevented from accumulating over separation distances as a consequent of the steel's coefficient of expansion. A single point of penetration has no separation distance to another.

Cast-iron and cast-copper stave coolers improve the campaign lives of furnaces with steel shelled vessels. Each stave cooler has a single rectangular body with one-only protruding neck on its back that includes a steel collar adaptor. All the coolant piping passes in a group through the protruding neck from two or more independent coolant circuits inside the stave body. Such stave coolers are configured to depend entirely for all their vertical mechanical support on a single hanging of the protruding neck as a through-bulkhead in a single corresponding penetration of the containment shell. Thus, a single annular welded steel-to-steel gas seal around the through-bulkhead is all that's needed inside the steel containment shell for each stave cooler. Coolant piping is laid flat in a single common layer, inside to a hot face. Cast-copper stave cooler hot faces include an abrasion resistant layer that extends campaign lives beyond ten years.

Cast-iron and cast-copper stave coolers improve the campaign lives of furnaces with steel shelled vessels. Each stave cooler has a single rectangular body with one-only protruding neck on its back that includes a steel collar adaptor. All the coolant piping passes in a group through the protruding neck from two or more independent coolant circuits inside the stave body. Such stave coolers are configured to depend entirely for all their vertical mechanical support on a single hanging of the protruding neck as a through-bulkhead in a single corresponding penetration of the containment shell. Thus, a single annular welded steel-to-steel gas seal around the through-bulkhead is all that's needed inside the steel containment shell for each stave cooler. Coolant piping is laid flat in a single common layer, inside to a hot face. Cast-copper stave cooler hot faces include an abrasion resistant layer that extends campaign lives beyond ten years.

The present invention relates to a process of making power-saving electric stoves, particularly having a large size and outer shapes similar to the conformations of traditional Tyrolean heaters or stoves, while having a very light weight and being easily movable to multiple locations of a house. The main characteristic of the present invention is that it includes making a hollow stove body, particularly having a large size, from expanded polystyrene or a similar thermoplastic polymer, with the application of an electric resistor, particularly a constant-power, and hence low-power consuming heating cable arranged around its outer surface in one or more coil loops with the interposition of a layer of adhesive material with at least one thread formed therein for supporting said resistor, with contiguous insulating grooves, and with later application of a final coating layer, made e.g. of fire-resistant cement mortar, whose outer surface may be provided with decorative designs or finishes and ornaments made of wood or other materials, which designs and ornaments may be similar to those formed on the outer surfaces of traditional Tyrolean stoves, whereas the basement of said hollow body is preferably supported by a smooth metal plate, allowing displacement thereof to any location of the house, proximate to a power outlet.

A smelting vessel (4) for producing molten metal includes a refractory lined hearth that in use is in contact with molten slag or molten metal in the smelting vessel, and the hearth includes a plurality of heat pipes (2.1) positioned in a refractory lining of at least a part of the hearth for cooling the refractory lining.

A smelting vessel (4) for producing molten metal includes a refractory lined hearth that in use is in contact with molten slag or molten metal in the smelting vessel, and the hearth includes a plurality of heat pipes (2.1) positioned in a refractory lining of at least a part of the hearth for cooling the refractory lining.

A method for protecting an inner wall (12) of a shaft furnace, the method comprising the steps of: providing at least one injection device (28) through the inner wall (12) of the shaft furnace, the injection device (28) being configured to inject protective material into the shaft furnace; and injecting on demand the protective material into the shaft furnace through the injection device (28), in such a manner that the protective material builds up to form a protection wall between the interior of the shaft furnace and the furnace wall (12).

A method for protecting an inner wall (12) of a shaft furnace, the method comprising the steps of: providing at least one injection device (28) through the inner wall (12) of the shaft furnace, the injection device (28) being configured to inject protective material into the shaft furnace; and injecting on demand the protective material into the shaft furnace through the injection device (28), in such a manner that the protective material builds up to form a protection wall between the interior of the shaft furnace and the furnace wall (12).

A hearth for a metallurgical reactor, in particular for a blast furnace, has an outer shell and an annular wall lining of refractory material inside the shell, the wall lining having a lower region with a multi-layered construction, a radially inner layer faces the interior of the hearth and includes at least one inner ring of refractory elements, radially outer layer faces the outer shell and has at least one outer ring of refractory elements, where in the at least one inner ring elements are made of a first carbonaceous refractory material that is different from one or more carbonaceous refractory materials of the elements in the outer layer such that, the first refractory material contains, in a proportion of at least 5% by mass in total, at least one property-enhancing additive other than metallic silicon or silicon carbide. In beneficial combination therewith, the at least one inner ring has a wall thickness of less than 45%, of the corresponding total wall thickness of the wall lining.