Furnaces, industrial batch furnace

Batch Furnaces This type of furnace is employed mainly for the heat treatment of metals and for the drying and calcination or ceramic articles. In the chemical process industry, batch furnaces may be used for the same purposes as batch-tray and truck dryers when the drying or process temperature exceeds 600 K (620°F). They are employed also for small-batch calcinations, thermal decompositions, and other chemical reactions which, on a larger scale, are performed in rotary Idlns, hearth furnaces, and shaft furnaces. 

In the ceramics industry, muffle furnaces are typically used for batch sintering [B.97]. 

High process temperatures generally not achievable by other means are possible when induction heating of a graphite susceptor is combined with the use of low conductivity high temperature insulation such as flake carbon interposed between the coil and the susceptor. Temperatures of 3000°C are routine for both batch or continuous production. Processes include purification, graphitization, chemical vapor deposition, or carbon vapor deposition to produce components for the aircraft and defense industry. Figure 7 illustrates a furnace suitable for the production of aerospace brake components in a batch operation. 

These furnaces may operate batchwise or continuous. In the batch, intermittent, or periodic types, the content is heated at the desired temperature for the stipulated time and then removed. In the continuous type, the charge moves at a predeterrnined rate through one or more heating 2ones to emerge in most cases at the end opposite the point of entry. Figures 9 and 10 are representative examples of typical, industrial refractory-wall furnaces. 

Industrial furnaces may be operated in batch or continuous mode. 

Light flicker due to arc furnaces requires extra mention. Arc furnaces, commonly found in many industrial towns, typically use scrap metal as the starting point. An arc is struck in the metal by applying voltage to the batch from a specially constructed furnace transformer. The heat due to the arc melts the scrap metal, which is drawn out from the furnace to produce raw material for a variety of industrial facilities. Arc furnaces impose large electrical power requirements on the electrical system. 

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