A steel sheet heating method that heats a steel sheet (K) to be pressed before hot press molding includes: bringing the steel sheet into a heating furnace (10) including a heater (15) on an inside surface of the heating furnace in a state where the steel sheet is supported in a vertical direction while an unnecessary portion of the steel sheet that becomes unnecessary after molding is fixedly supported by a support member (30); and performing heating at a prescribed temperature in the heating furnace, then taking the steel sheet out of the heating furnace, and after that cutting and removing the unnecessary portion before hot press molding or during hot press molding.

A process and apparatus for direct smelting metalliferous material is disclosed. The invention concentrates injection of solid feed materials comprising metalliferous material and carbonaceous material into a direct smelting vessel during the course of the process into a relatively small region within a metal layer in a molten bath in the vessel in order to generate a substantial upward movement of molten material and gas from the metal layer into a region in the vessel that is above the molten bath. In particular, the invention injects the solid food materials with sufficient momentum and/or velocity via an opposed pair of lances that are oriented within the vessel and arranged to form overlapping plumes of injected material in the molten bath.

Apparatus for pre-heating and conveying a metal charge to a container of a melting plant, comprising at least a conveyor channel along which said metal charge is able to advance so as to be delivered to the container, and in which above said conveyor channel at least a hood is disposed which defines a tunnel inside which at least part of the fumes exiting from said container are able to advance. At least a zone of the hood comprises an expansion chamber located above at least a portion of said metal charge, and able to expand and keep said fumes inside it for a minimum desired time of at least 1.5 seconds before they go into contact with the metal charge.

A Portland cement production (PCP) process is conjoined with a waste-to-energy (WTE) process using refuse-derived fuels (RDFs). Both processes operate simultaneously to reduce harmful compounds being discharged into the environment. The PCP and WTE processes are conjoined by borrowing a minor portion of pre-heated comminuted limestone from a PCP process feedstream and diverting it to the WTE process. Some of the pre-heated comminuted limestone is converted to CaO. The calcium compounds from the pre-heated comminuted limestone act as a fluxing agents and sorbents to bind with and remove undesired impurities, such as elemental particulate matter, excess CO.sub.2 and acid gasses associated with sulfur and chlorine that are released during the pyrolization of RDFs. The ash, char waste and reacted calcium compounds from the pyrolization process can be comingled and returned to the PCP process as a secondary cement meal feedstock.

A transfer apparatus includes a first transfer assembly configured to allow a plurality of objects to be introduced and including a plurality of first rollers and a first driver configured to drive the plurality of first rollers, a second transfer assembly including a plurality of second rollers, a plurality of alignment areas on the plurality of second rollers, and a plurality of second drivers configured to drive the plurality of second rollers, wherein a number of the plurality of alignment areas may correspond to a maximum number of the objects allowed to be introduced, and a third transfer assembly configured to allow the objects to discharge therefrom and including a plurality of third rollers and a third driver configured to drive the plurality of third rollers wherein the second transfer assembly further includes a first controller configured to individually control rotational speeds of the plurality of second rollers.

The invention provides a powder-gas heat exchanger for exchanging heat between a powder stream and a gas stream in counter-current flow comprising a powder stream mass flow rate substantially equal to a gas stream mass flow rate in a vertical shaft heat exchanger. A hot gas stream may be adapted for use in heating a cool solids stream, or a cool gas stream may be adapted for use in cooling a hot solids stream.

The invention provides a powder-gas heat exchanger for exchanging heat between a powder stream and a gas stream in counter-current flow comprising a powder stream mass flow rate substantially equal to a gas stream mass flow rate in a vertical shaft heat exchanger. A hot gas stream may be adapted for use in heating a cool solids stream, or a cool gas stream may be adapted for use in cooling a hot solids stream.