A manufacturing system includes a tape advancing through the manufacturing system and a station of the manufacturing system. The tape includes a first portion having grains of an inorganic material bound by an organic binder. The station of the manufacturing system receives the first portion of the tape and prepares the tape for sintering by chemically changing the organic binder and/or removing the organic binder from the first portion of the tape, leaving the grains of the inorganic material, to form a second portion of the tape and, at least in part, prepare the tape for sintering.

A vertical-type firing apparatus for a positive electrode material for a secondary battery, for vertically moving and firing the positive electrode material for the secondary battery, comprises: a vertical-type firing furnace including an exhaust part, an air supply part, and a firing space positioned between the exhaust part and the air supply part; and a heater for heating the firing space of the vertical-type firing furnace, wherein the firing space includes a temperature-raising space, a cooling space, and a temperature-maintaining space located between the temperature-raising space and the cooling space, and the temperature of the temperature-maintaining space is higher than the temperature of the temperature-raising space and the temperature of the cooling space.

In a substrate treatment process, substrates are moved by a transporting device in a transporting direction through a substrate treatment installation having a number of chambers. The substrates are moved by transporting sections of the transporting device driven independently of one another. The transporting sections are driven such that, if substrates dwell temporarily in the transporting section, they are moved back and forth. Stresses in a substrate brought about by differing inputs of heat as a result of both process-induced and malfunction-induced dwell times of the substrate in a chamber are reduced by compensating within the chamber for a structurally brought about input of heat into the substrate, varying periodically over the length of the chamber, during temporary dwelling of the substrate in the chamber by moving the substrate back and forth over at least one period of the heat input by a change of the transporting direction.

In a substrate treatment process, substrates are moved by a transporting device in a transporting direction through a substrate treatment installation having a number of chambers. The substrates are moved by transporting sections of the transporting device driven independently of one another. The transporting sections are driven such that, if substrates dwell temporarily in the transporting section, they are moved back and forth. Stresses in a substrate brought about by differing inputs of heat as a result of both process-induced and malfunction-induced dwell times of the substrate in a chamber are reduced by compensating within the chamber for a structurally brought about input of heat into the substrate, varying periodically over the length of the chamber, during temporary dwelling of the substrate in the chamber by moving the substrate back and forth over at least one period of the heat input by a change of the transporting direction.

A galvanizing furnace (1) with a galvanizing vat (6) and a furnace housing (2) surrounding the galvanizing vat (6), which furnace housing has a rectangular cross-section. The furnace housing (2) has two opposite longitudinal sidewalls (4) and two opposite end walls (5) and further comprises burners for heating molten zinc in the galvanizing vat (6). In the areas of two diagonally opposite corners of the furnace housing (2), at least one first receptacle (15) is provided for a burner. In the areas of the other two diagonally opposite corners of the furnace housing (2), a second receptacle (16) is provided for a burner. The burners are arranged optionally either in the first receptacles (15) or in the second receptacles (16). Flames produced by the burners are conducted in the area between a longitudinal sidewall (4) of the furnace housing (2) and the opposite wall of the galvanizing vat (6).

Provided is apparatus for manufacturing a cathode active material for lithium ion secondary batteries which can improve productivity. The apparatus for manufacturing a cathode active material for lithium ion secondary batteries includes: a conveying device conveying a cathode active material raw material that contains a metallic compound and a lithium compound; and a heating unit adapted to heat the cathode active material raw material, wherein the heating unit has at least one heating roller adapted to heat the cathode active material raw material by heat conduction, and said at least one heating roller has a wrap angle larger than 180° and at most 360°.

A continuous annealing furnace for annealing steel strips that is a vertical-type annealing furnace is configured so that part of gas inside the furnace is drawn and introduced to a refiner disposed outside the furnace including an oxygen removing apparatus and a dehumidifying apparatus, oxygen and moisture contained in the gas are removed to lower the dew point of the gas, and the gas having a lowered dew point is put back into the furnace. At least one gas inlet through which gas is drawn from the furnace into the refiner is disposed in the vicinity of the entry side of the furnace at a distance of 6 m or less in the vertical direction and 3 m or less in the furnace-length direction from the steel-strip-introduction section located at the lower part of the heating zone.

A heat treatment apparatus includes: a plurality of rollers guiding a substrate, each of the rollers having a roller width greater than a substrate width; a heater including a heating surface which has a width greater than the substrate width; and a heat shield member arranged between a heating surface exposed portion of the heating surface, which is exposed while protruding from an end of the substrate in a width direction of the substrate along the width direction and a roller exposed portion of the specific roller included in the plurality of rollers, the roller exposed portion being exposed while protruding from the end of the substrate in the width direction to the same direction in which the heating surface exposed portion protrudes, the heat shield member shielding heat radiation from the heating surface exposed portion to an outer circumferential surface of the roller exposed portion.

It is an object of the present invention to allow a furnace core tube used for a heat treatment apparatus of a porous glass base material to be used for a long period of time.

A heat treatment apparatus includes: a furnace core tube made of silica glass; a heater provided adjacent to the furnace core tube, the heater heating a heating region; and a moving mechanism supporting a porous glass base material and relatively moving the porous glass base material with respect to the heater in the furnace core tube in a state where the heating region is heated by the heater to make the porous glass base material pass through the heating region. The heat treatment apparatus includes a thin-walled part provided in a region adjacent to a portion located in the heating region in the furnace core tube, the thin-walled part having a thickness of glass less than that of the portion located in the heating region.

A furnace for annealing a sheet includes: a first section; a second vertical section, the second vertical section including openings supplied with an oxidizing medium, an opening facing each side of the sheet, and means for separately controlling a flow of the oxidizing medium on each side of the sheet; and a third section. The second vertical section is located in a distinct casing and separated from the first and third sections with sealing devices. The second vertical section includes extraction openings for extracting the oxidizing medium not consumed by the sheet, an extraction opening facing each side of the sheet. The openings supplied with an oxidizing medium are located transversally at one end of the second vertical section. The extraction openings are located transversally at an other end of the second vertical section.