A screening apparatus comprises superposed screening decks with an upper one of the screening decks having a pellet input, and each screening deck ends with an oversize pellet output, the screening decks have screens to screen the green ore pellets from top to bottom, the oversize pellet outputs feeding the travelling grate through pellet chutes with the oversize green ore pellets of one of the upper and the lower one of the screening decks being superposed to oversize green ore pellets of the other one of the lower and the upper one of the screening decks, the pellet chutes defining a curved delivery path with an input slope at the chute pellet input greater than an output slope of the chute pellet output to reduce a delivery speed of the green ore pellets from the oversize pellet output to the travelling grate. There is also provided a method for screening and delivering green ore pellets onto a travelling grate of an induration furnace.

An oven system includes an oven chamber defined by side walls and a top wall. The oven chamber includes a slot formed in the top wall. A conveyor rail extends longitudinally along the slot at a position outside of the oven chamber. A conveyor hanger is coupled to and movable along the conveyor rail to support a material within the oven chamber. A first support bracket and a second support bracket each extend longitudinally along a length of the top wall of the oven chamber. The second support bracket is spaced from the first support bracket to define the slot that extends longitudinally along the top wall of the oven chamber. A closure mechanism is coupled to the first and second support brackets to inhibit heat from releasing out of the oven chamber.

A device for thermal or thermo-chemical treatment, in particular calcination, of material, in particular battery cathode material, having a housing and a process chamber in the housing, in which there is a process chamber atmosphere during the treatment and which defines a conveying level. The material, or carrying structures loaded with the material, at the conveying level can be conveyed in a conveying direction into and/or through the process chamber by a conveying system. An entry airlock gate defines an inlet level and includes an airlock gate chamber, an airlock gate inlet and an airlock gate outlet, as well as an inlet conveyor which is designed so that the material or carrying structures loaded with the material at the inlet level can be conveyed through the airlock gate inlet and into the airlock gate chamber. The conveying level and the inlet level are different from one another. A method for thermal or thermo-chemical treatment, in particular calcination, of material, in particular battery cathode material, in which the material or carrying structures loaded with the material at the conveying level and the inlet level are conveyed at different heights.

An oven system includes an oven chamber defined by side walls and a top wall. The oven chamber includes a slot formed in the top wall. A conveyor rail extends longitudinally along the slot at a position outside of the oven chamber. A conveyor hanger is coupled to and movable along the conveyor rail to support a material within the oven chamber. A first support bracket and a second support bracket each extend longitudinally along a length of the top wall of the oven chamber. The second support bracket is spaced from the first support bracket to define the slot that extends longitudinally along the top wall of the oven chamber. A closure mechanism is coupled to the first and second support brackets to inhibit heat from releasing out of the oven chamber.

A vertical furnace for the continuous heat treatment of a metal strip, in particular for an electrical steel strip, as seen in the conveying direction of the metal strip, includes an inlet zone for the metal strip; a heating/holding zone with an annealing chamber for heating and holding the metal strip at a certain temperature; a first cooling zone for cooling the metal strip; and a deflection device, arranged downstream of the first cooling zone with at least one roller arrangement, for deflecting the metal strip in the direction of an outlet zone for the metal strip. At least one second cooling zone is arranged downstream of the deflection device with respect to the conveying direction.

Systems and methods for annealing, carburizing and/or other treatments of metallic articles include a retort furnace having a retort. The metallic articles are fed into a chamber of the retort through an inlet section of the retort and are subjected to heating. The retort is oscillated and/or rotated back and forth as the metallic articles are heated, causing the metallic articles to be moved along the chamber of the retort to a discharge.

A system for melting a pelleted charge material including a furnace having a feed end configured to receive a solid pelleted charge material and a discharge end opposite the feed end configured to discharge a molten charge material and a slag, a conveyor configured to feed the pelleted charge material into the feed end of the furnace, at least one oxy-fuel burner positioned to direct heat into a melting zone near the feed end to heat and at least partially melt the pelleted charge material to form the molten charge material and slag, wherein the oxy-fuel burner uses an oxidant having at least 70% molecular oxygen, and at least one flue for exhausting burner combustion products from the furnace.

A closure mechanism to inhibit escape of heat from an oven chamber of a conveyor oven having a conveyor hanger. The closure mechanism includes a plurality of plates configured to couple to a first and second pluralities of connection tabs of a conveyor oven. Each of the plurality of plates include a connection portion, an angled portion configured to extend downward from the connection portion within a slot of the conveyor oven and an engagement portion extending downward from the angled portion to form an engagement surface.

An apparatus for heating steel products, in particular billets, includes a heating chamber, a plane of advance defined inside the heating chamber and feed and extraction components for the steel products.

A screening apparatus comprises superposed screening decks with an upper one of the screening decks having a pellet input, and each screening deck ends with an oversize pellet output, the screening decks have screens to screen the green ore pellets from top to bottom, the oversize pellet outputs feeding the travelling grate through pellet chutes with the oversize green ore pellets of one of the upper and the lower one of the screening decks being superposed to oversize green ore pellets of the other one of the lower and the upper one of the screening decks, the pellet chutes defining a curved delivery path with an input slope at the chute pellet input greater than an output slope of the chute pellet output to reduce a delivery speed of the green ore pellets from the oversize pellet output to the travelling grate. There is also provided a method for screening and delivering green ore pellets onto a travelling grate of an induration furnace.