An apparatus for feeding and preheating a metal charge toward a melting furnace of a melting plant, comprising at least one conveyor channel for said metal charge, at least one hood disposed above said conveyor channel and scrap detection means able to identify the profile of the metal charge entering said conveyor channel. The present invention also concerns a plant for melting metal comprising said apparatus, and a method to feed and preheat a metal charge.

An apparatus for feeding and preheating a metal charge toward a melting furnace of a melting plant, comprising at least one conveyor channel for said metal charge, at least one hood disposed above said conveyor channel and scrap detection means able to identify the profile of the metal charge entering said conveyor channel. The present invention also concerns a plant for melting metal comprising said apparatus, and a method to feed and preheat a metal charge.

Method for melting metal material in a melting plant comprising at least an electric furnace having at least a shell into which said metal material is introduced, and feed means to load said metal material into said shell, said method comprising at least a step of loading said metal material into said shell by means of said feed means, a melting step in which said metal material is melted, and a subsequent tapping step in which the molten metal material is tapped.

A method for reducing metal oxide containing charge materials (1): reducing the metal oxide containing charge materials (1) in at least two fluidized bed units (RA,RE) by means of a reduction gas (2), wherein at least some of the resulting off-gas (3) is recycled and wherein the metal oxide containing charge materials (1) are conveyed into the fluidized bed unit RE by a propellant gas. Also, apparatus for carrying out the method according to the invention is disclosed.

The present invention relates to improvements to an induction smelting process. It relates to a hybrid combination of plasma over induction for a superefficient continuous smelting process; and real-time monitoring and adjustment of the smelting process. Disclosed is a hybrid smelting system comprising a real-time controller and a reduction zone in which plasma over induction heating continuously smelt feed material(s) fed into the reduction zone. Slag and reduced metals (alloy) are discharged under supervision of the real-time controller.