JP2000034111A - Continuous graphitizing treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a continuous graphitizing treatment apparatus for enabling a continuous graphitizing production process, capable of shortening a time from the feed of raw material powder to the recovery of graphite powder, readily dealing with mechanization and automatization, improving productivity, reducing a manufacturing cost, saving labor, cleaning an operation environment, uniforming qualities of graphite powder and compacting the whole apparatus. SOLUTION: This apparatus is equipped with a furnace main body 1 charged with powder 1 to be treated in the inside, a pair of electrodes 2 opposingly arranged in the furnace main body 1 so as to send an electric current to the powder 7 to be treated, a powder feed apparatus 10 and a powder recovery apparatus 24 which are arranged opposingly in the furnace main body 1 with sandwiching the powder 7 to be electrically treated by the electrodes 2. A flow of the powder 7 to be treated continuously flowing in the furnace main body 1 by the powder feed apparatus 10 and the powder recovery apparatus 24 is formed an electric current is applied between the electrodes 2 to electrically heat the powder 7 to be treated and the powder 7 to be treated in this zone is partially graphitized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuous graphitization apparatus for continuously producing graphite powder from raw material powder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in order to produce graphite powder industrially, a raw material powder such as a carbon powder is heated to about 3000 ° C. in an inert atmosphere, for example, to graphitize the raw material powder. As a device used for such a heat treatment, a conventional device is disclosed in JP-A-7-252726,
No.-330, Patent No. 2579561 and the like are used.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a so-called Acheson furnace. The furnace body a is a slender refractory brick box in which terminal graphite electrodes b are inserted from both ends, and the bottom and both sides of the furnace body are lined with coarse silicon carbide c. At the time of filling in the furnace, coke powder is spread to an appropriate thickness, and carbon fired articles d are arranged regularly on the coke powder, and then the coke is filled to a certain thickness in the void portion and the upper portion. Further, silicon carbide is put thereon for heat insulation and combustion prevention. In the case of a large furnace for power transmission, a transformer e and a battery f are used, and the secondary pole and both terminal electrodes b are connected by a bus bar g, and a current of 100 to 200 V and 30,000 to 80,000 A is supplied to 3
Run off the sun. The electric current flows through the coke powder and the carbon fired product, but since the specific resistance of the coke powder is several tens times that of the carbon fired product, the coke powder mainly generates heat, and the fired product is heated to about 3000 ° C. from before and after. Transforms amorphous carbon into graphite crystals. Next, the furnace is cooled by gradually removing carbon silicon so as not to burn and allowing to cool naturally for about 10 to 15 days.

[0004]

As described above, an Acheson furnace has been conventionally known as an apparatus for producing graphite powder, but this apparatus is a batch furnace and has the following problems. Since a batch-type manufacturing process is performed, not only is the basic unit of electric power large, but also the power supply equipment is large and the cost is high. It takes a long time to cool to a temperature at which the graphite powder can be taken out, resulting in poor productivity. The Acheson furnace is a large furnace and not suitable for small-scale production.
Not only is it necessary to perform a process of collecting a certain amount, but it is not only troublesome, but if the operation is once stopped and then stopped due to a problem, the damage is enormous. Since the mixing of the raw material powders is mainly changed by hand, a large amount of filling requires a large amount of work, which takes time and labor, increases the cost, and has a poor working environment due to dust generated during the work. The Acheson furnace has a configuration in which a heating material is separately charged into a case filled with the raw material powder, and the raw material powder is heated indirectly by heat conduction by heating the heated material with electric resistance when energized. The efficiency was poor, and there was a problem of contamination of the raw material powder from the case.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem. In other words, the object of the present invention is not a batch type such as the Acheson furnace, but a continuous type graphitization manufacturing process to shorten the time from raw material powder input to graphite powder recovery, and to facilitate mechanization and automation. Capable of improving productivity, reducing manufacturing costs, saving labor,
Clean working environment and uniform quality of graphite powder.
An object of the present invention is to provide a continuous graphitization apparatus capable of reducing the size of the entire apparatus.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a furnace body (1) having a powder to be treated (7) filled therein, and at least a furnace body disposed opposite to the furnace body so as to energize the powder to be treated. A pair of electrodes (2), a powder supply device (10) and a powder recovery device (24) disposed opposite to the furnace body with the powder to be processed (7) energized by the electrodes being interposed therebetween; The powder supply device and the powder recovery device form a flow of the powder to be processed continuously flowing in the furnace body (1), and the current is applied between the electrodes to heat and heat the powder (7) to be processed in this region. A continuous graphitization apparatus is provided, wherein part of the powder is graphitized.

According to the structure of the present invention, the powder supply device (1)
0) and the powder recovery device (24), the graphitized area (8)
Can be formed continuously. Further, by energizing at least one pair of electrodes (2) disposed to face each other so as to energize the powder to be processed, the powder to be processed can be heated and graphitized at a high temperature (for example, about 3000 ° C.). When heated, the powder to be treated in this region can be graphitized, and the graphitized powder (graphite powder) can be recovered by the powder recovery device (24) together with the flow of the powder to be processed. Therefore, a continuous graphitization manufacturing process becomes possible, shortening the time from the input of the powder to be treated to the collection of the graphite powder, and being able to easily respond to mechanization and automation, improving productivity, reducing manufacturing costs, Labor saving, clean working environment, and uniform quality of graphite powder can be achieved, and the whole apparatus can be made compact.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of pairs of electrodes (2) are arranged so as to surround the powder to be treated, and a switching mechanism (6) for sequentially switching and energizing the plurality of pairs of electrodes is provided. With this configuration, the central portion of the plurality of pairs of electrodes (2) can be heated to a high temperature, and the graphitized region (8) can be formed in the central portion of the furnace body (1). Also,
Since a low-temperature region (9) having a low heating temperature is formed around the graphitized region (8), the amount of heat radiation from the graphitized region (8) can be reduced, and the furnace body (1) can be prevented from overheating. .

The powder supply device (10) supplies the powder to be processed substantially horizontally and can control the supply amount independently.
It comprises one or more feeders (12), said powder recovery device (24) comprising one or more substantially horizontal discharge ducts (14) followed by a substantially vertical hopper (17). With this configuration, the feeder (1)
The flow rate of the powder to be processed (7) flowing through the graphitized region (8) can be controlled by the supply amount according to 2). Also,
Since the feeder (12) and the powder recovery device (24) are arranged opposite to the furnace body with the graphitization region interposed therebetween, the powder to be processed that has passed through the graphitization region (8) passes through the discharge duct (14) as it is. And is collected in the hopper (17).

A cooling device (15) is provided in the discharge duct, a resistance adding device (16) for adding resistance to the powder flow is provided at a connection portion between the discharge duct and the hopper, and a cutting device is provided at a lower end of the hopper. An output device (18) is provided. With this configuration, the object to be processed in the discharge duct can be cooled by the cooling device (15), and the resistance to the powder flow is added by the resistance adding device (16), whereby the powder to be processed (7) flows freely. And the flow rate can be controlled so as to be cut out in accordance with the feed amount of the feeder (12). The powder to be processed stored in the hopper (17) from the discharge duct via the resistance adding device is discharged from the hopper by the cutting device (18).

It is preferable that a gas injection nozzle (20) for injecting gas into the furnace body is further provided. With this configuration, for example, by blowing an inert gas, it is possible to prevent oxidation of the object to be processed and to dilute the generated gas, or conversely, to supply a reaction gas to react with the object to be processed.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, common portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.
FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view showing a first embodiment of the continuous graphitization apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the continuous graphitization apparatus of the present invention comprises a furnace body 1 in which a powder to be treated 7 is filled and a graphitized region 8 is formed in the center thereof, and a graphitized region 8. The powder supply device 10 and the powder recovery device 24 disposed opposite to the furnace main body 1 with the interposition therebetween, and at least one pair of electrodes 2 disposed opposite to the furnace main body 1 so as to energize the powder to be treated in the graphitized region 8. Prepare. That is, the continuous graphitization apparatus of the present invention has a horizontal structure, and includes a furnace body 1, a powder supply apparatus 10, a powder recovery apparatus 24, and an electrode 2.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. As shown in this figure, the electrode 2 is attached to the furnace body 1, and electricity is applied between the electrodes to heat the powder 7 to be processed filled in the furnace body 1. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a plurality of pairs of electrodes 2 are arranged so as to surround the graphitized region 8. That is, in this example, two pairs of electrodes 2
Are arranged so as to be substantially orthogonal to each other. Further, a switching mechanism 6 for sequentially switching and energizing a plurality of pairs of electrodes 2 is provided, and the power source 5 is alternately switched to energize. With this configuration, the central portion of the plurality of pairs of electrodes 2 can be heated to a high temperature, and the graphitized region 8 can be formed in the central portion of the furnace body 1. Further, since a low-temperature region 9 having a low heating temperature is formed around the graphitized region 8, the amount of heat radiation from the graphitized region 8 can be reduced and the furnace body 1 can be prevented from overheating.

In this example, the powder supply device 10 is a feeder 12 that supplies the powder 7 to be processed horizontally. The powder recovery device 24 includes a substantially horizontal discharge duct 14 and a substantially vertical hopper 17 following the discharge duct 14. Further, a cooling device 15 is provided in the discharge duct 14. Further, at the connection between the discharge duct 14 and the hopper 17, a resistance adding device 16 for adding resistance to the powder flow is provided. At the lower end of the hopper 17, a cutting device 18 such as a rotary feeder for cutting is provided. With this configuration, the flow rate of the powder 7 to be processed flowing in the graphitized region 8 can be controlled by the supply amount of the feeder 12. Further, since the feeder 12 and the powder recovery device 24 are disposed opposite to the furnace body with the graphitized region interposed therebetween, the powder to be processed that has passed through the graphitized region 8 is directly recovered into the hopper 17 through the discharge duct 14. Is done. Further, the object to be processed in the discharge duct can be cooled by the cooling device 15, the resistance is added to the powder flow by the resistance adding device 16, and the powder to be processed 7 does not flow on its own, and the feed amount of the feeder 12 is reduced. The flow rate can be controlled so as to be cut out in accordance with. The powder to be processed stored in the hopper 17 from the discharge duct via the resistance adding device is discharged from the hopper by the cutting device 18.

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view (A) and a side sectional view (B) showing a second embodiment of the continuous graphitization apparatus of the present invention.
It is. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a third embodiment of the continuous graphitization apparatus of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the five feeders 12 and the five rows of powder recovery devices 24 are arranged in parallel so as to face each other horizontally, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, only one feeder 12 may be provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of feeders 12 and a powder recovery device 24 may be vertically arranged. Of the heated powder to be processed 7 stored in the plurality of hoppers 17,
Those in the low temperature region can be returned to the supply port 11 by the transfer device 25.

The powder 7 to be processed supplied by the powder supply device 10 is heated with the passage of time between the electrodes and the discharge duct 1.
4. Through the cooling device 15, the hopper 17 goes out of the device from the cutting device 18 of the hopper 17. Therefore, the time spent in the device is
It can be adjusted by adjusting the supply amount of the powder supply device 10. The powder to be treated 7 is in the form of powder and granules, and can be graphitized when heated at a high temperature, and has conductivity in a heating temperature range. For example, it is a carbon material, a precursor of carbon, or the like.

Hereinafter, the structure of each part will be described in detail. 1. Furnace main body The furnace main body 1 has a closed structure and holds the powder 7 to be processed. Electrodes 2 are attached to the furnace body 1, and electricity is supplied between the electrodes 2 to heat the powder 7 to be processed held in the furnace body 1. Further, a powder supply device 10, a discharge duct 14, and a cooling device 15 are connected to the furnace main body 1.
As will be described later, the central portion (graphitized region 8) of the furnace main body 1 is at a high temperature (for example, about 3000 ° C.), and the furnace main body 1 cannot withstand the material. Therefore, the powder 7 to be treated held in the furnace body 1 is a powder and a granule, and also has a heat insulating property. By utilizing this, the powder and the granule 7 are given an appropriate thickness and the outside thereof is 1, the furnace body is protected from high temperatures.

2. Powder supply device The powder supply device 10 includes a supply port 11 for the powder 7 to be processed and a feeder 12 for supplying the powder 7 to the furnace body.
(For example, a screw feeder or the like) and a feeder driving device 13. Powder 7 to be processed supplied from supply port 11
Are cut out from an upper hopper (not shown) as indicated by an arrow 21 with the rotation of the feeder 12 and fed into the furnace body 1. The feed amount from the feeder 12 can be arbitrarily set by controlling the rotation speed of the feeder 12. One or a plurality of powder supply devices 10 are arranged. In the case of a plurality, the powder supply devices 10 can independently control the supply amount. Here, the plurality of powder supply devices 10 are not limited to the same plane in the horizontal direction, and may be a plurality of stages in the vertical direction as illustrated in FIG. Further, a discharge duct 14 for discharging the powder 7 to be processed is provided opposite to the powder supply device 10 (it does not have to be completely straight). The time during which the powder 7 to be processed stays in the furnace main body 1 is adjusted by controlling the amount of the powder 7 to be sent out from the feeder 12.

3. Heating section Electricity is applied to the powder 7 to be processed by one or a plurality of pairs of electrodes 2 disposed opposite to the outer peripheral portion of the furnace body 1, and the powder 7 to be processed is heated by Joule heat generated according to the specific resistance of the powder to be processed. I do. The power is supplied from the power source 5 to the electrode 2 through the bus bar 4. The power supply can be either DC or AC. When there are a plurality of pairs of electrodes 2, each pair of electrodes is an independent pair in terms of an electric circuit by the switching mechanism 6.
Thus, the electric current is heated by repeating switching to each electrode pair in sequence and energizing. Note that the electrode 2 is attached to the furnace main body 1 via an insulating material 3. Powders generally have low thermal conductivity, and the powder to be processed itself functions as a heat insulating material. Therefore, the heat inside the granular material is difficult to escape, and the inside is kept at a high temperature. The temperature of the high-temperature portion and its range can be set by adjusting the amount of electric power supplied. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, by arranging a plurality of pairs of electrodes and sequentially switching the electrodes 2 to be energized from the power supply by the switching mechanism 6, the central portion between the electrodes is heated to the highest temperature. Further, as shown in the figure, by arranging the electrodes in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, the three-dimensional central part (near the central part of the powder to be treated in the furnace body) is heated to the highest temperature. For this reason, the wall of the furnace main body 1 is farthest from the highest temperature region.

4. Powder Recovery Device The powder recovery device 24 comprises a substantially horizontal discharge duct 14 followed by a substantially vertical hopper 17. As described above, the cooling device 15 is provided in the discharge duct 14.
The discharge duct 14 discharges the powder 7 to be processed, facing the powder supply device 10 (not necessarily completely in front). The number of powder supply devices 10 and the number of discharge ducts 14 need not be the same. For example, as shown in FIG.
The number of the discharge ducts 14 may be five. In this case, the width of the powder supply device 10 may be wider than that of one discharge duct. There is no problem even if the width of the central supply device is the width of one discharge duct. The reason is that the flow rate can be naturally adjusted because the 3000 ° C. part goes to the front discharge duct, and a small amount of the low temperature part flows to the outer duct. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when there are a plurality of powder supply devices 10 and discharge ducts 14 in a horizontal plane, and the supply amount of each powder supply device 10 is the same and the resistance of the discharge duct 14 is the same, the powder supply device A heated portion of the heated powder 7 to be processed on a line connecting the discharge duct 10 and the discharge duct 14 is substantially discharged to the discharge duct 14 on each line. At this time, the powder 7 to be processed in the central portion (graphitized region 8) and the powder 7 to be processed at the outermost portion are not mixed. Here, a plurality of powder supply devices 10 provided in plurality are provided.
Is not limited to the same plane in the horizontal direction, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of vertical stages may be used. The same applies when a plurality of powder supply devices 10 and discharge ducts 14 are arranged in multiple stages in a vertical plane. When the supply amount of each powder supply device 10 is the same and the resistance of the discharge duct 14 is the same, the powder supply device 10
The heating part of the powder 7 to be processed on the line connecting the discharge ducts 14 is almost discharged to the discharge ducts on each line. At this time,
The powder to be processed at the center of the graphitized region 8 and the powder to be processed at the outermost portion are not mixed.

On the other hand, by increasing the supply amount of the plurality of powder supply devices 10 in the central portion and decreasing the amount in the outer portion sequentially, the powder 7 to be treated in the central portion can be cut out while spreading from the center to the outside. In this case, the predetermined temperature (graphitization temperature,
Only the central portion heated to about 3000 ° C.) can be reliably discharged, and contamination (contamination) in which the powder to be processed that has not been heated to the predetermined temperature is mixed can be prevented. Further, when a combination of the plurality of powder supply devices 10 and the plurality of discharge ducts 14 is used, the powder 7 to be processed which has been subjected to the heat treatment according to the heating temperature distribution of the powder 7 to be processed (usually, the central portion is high in temperature and the surrounding portion is low in temperature). Can be separated and taken out for each discharge duct.

The discharge duct 14 widens toward the downstream, and it is preferable that the thickness of the powder to be processed is reduced to promote cooling. Further, the discharge duct 14 is preferably made of a material having good heat resistance and heat conductivity, for example, a graphite material in the case of a graphitization furnace for carbon. Furthermore,
The periphery of the discharge duct 14 is surrounded by a cooling device 15 (a water cooling jacket in this example) so as to cool the high-temperature powder 7 to be processed. Note that a high-temperature powder to be processed may be cooled by blowing a cooling gas into the discharge duct 14.

At the outlet of the discharge duct 14, there is provided a resistance adding device 1 for applying a slight resistance to the powder 7 to be extruded.
6 are provided. The resistance adding device 16 is swingable at the end of the duct, and its resistance value can be adjusted. The resistance adding device 16 prevents the powder 7 to be processed from being fluidized for some reason and flowing without permission, and can control the flow rate so that the powder 7 is cut out according to the feed amount of the feeder 12. In addition, the powder 7 to be processed, which has exited the discharge duct 14,
Is stored in a hopper 17 provided independently for each discharge duct, and is discharged to the outside by the cutout device 18 as shown by an arrow 22. The cutout device 18 discharges to the outside 22
Non-graphitized powder 7 to be treated,
Alternatively, the processed powder in which the non-graphitized powder to be processed is mixed is returned to the original state by the transfer device 25 (not shown in detail), and is re-supplied to the feeder 12 from the supply port 11 to be effectively processed. Processed powder can be used.

5. Gas Blowing A gas blowing nozzle 20 for blowing a blowing gas 19 into the furnace body 1 is further provided. When the powder to be treated 7 is heated,
An inert gas such as nitrogen or argon can be blown from the gas blowing nozzle 20 from the gas blowing nozzle 20 in order to prevent the powder to be processed from being oxidized or reacted and to dilute the concentration of gas generated by the reaction. Conversely, a reaction gas can be blown from a nozzle to react with the powder 7 to be treated.

According to the configuration of the present invention described above, the powder supply device 10 and the powder recovery device 24 can form the flow of the powder 7 to be processed continuously flowing in the graphitized region 8. By energizing the powder to be processed in the furnace body including the graphitized region between at least one pair of electrodes 2 arranged to face each other, the graphitized region can be graphitized by energizing and heating. Heated to a high temperature (eg, about 3000 ° C.)
The powder to be treated in this region can be graphitized, and the graphitized powder (graphite powder) can be recovered by the powder recovery device 24 together with the flow of the powder to be processed. Therefore, a continuous graphitization manufacturing process becomes possible, and the time from input of the powder to be treated to recovery of the graphite powder can be reduced,
It can easily cope with mechanization and automation, and can improve productivity, reduce manufacturing costs, save labor, clean the working environment, and uniform the quality of graphite powder, making it possible to reduce the size of the entire apparatus.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0027]

The continuous graphitization apparatus of the present invention has the following effects. 1. This is a facility that can continuously process powder without storing the powder to be processed for a long time as in the conventional case. 2. Since it is a closed and compact facility, there is little heat dissipation to the outside. The power supply equipment is also small. 3. It has good working environment. 4. It is a compact facility. 5. Conventionally, the powder to be treated was placed in an independent case, the surroundings were separately filled with a heating material, and the heating material was heated with electric resistance.In the present invention, only the powder to be treated is filled, There is no need to prepare a heating material separately from the powder, and the powder to be processed can be used as it is. Because of this, continuity,
It can be easily mechanized and automated, greatly improving productivity, saving labor, making the work environment cleaner, and achieving uniform quality. 6. No need to put powder to be processed. There is no contamination from the case. 7. The Acheson furnace is a very large furnace and has a large amount of material, so filling and unloading of the powder to be treated and surrounding heating materials is a manual operation, resulting in poor production efficiency, time, labor, cost, and It was work. However, according to the present invention, since mechanization and automation can be performed, labor can be saved and production efficiency is increased. In the past, dust and the like were generated, so that the working environment was extremely bad. However, the present invention can maintain a clean environment by mechanization and automation. 8. Conventionally, for example, when the processing amount is 50 tons, the operation cycle is about three weeks. Therefore, once the operation is started, if the operation is interrupted due to a trouble in the middle of the operation, the damage is enormous. Since the furnace is of a continuous type, the furnace capacity can be reduced to about 10 tons, and even if the operation is interrupted due to a problem on the way, the influence is small. In addition, resumption can be started quickly and the degree of freedom is high.

9. By blowing gas into the powder to be processed, by blowing gas that does not react with the powder to be processed,
Prevents powder to be oxidized or reacted during heating. By blowing gas that does not react with the powder to be treated,
Acts as a carrier gas for discharging the gas generated from the powder to be processed during heating to the outside of the system. By blowing gas that does not react with the powder to be treated,
Gas generated from the powder to be processed during heating can be diluted. Conversely, by blowing a gas that reacts with the powder to be treated, it can be reacted with the powder to be treated to generate a reactant. When a device for cutting out the powder to be treated is provided on the discharge side, it cannot be installed unless the powder to be treated is cooled to a low temperature due to the heat resistance of the device. However, in the present invention, the discharge amount after heating can be controlled by the powder supply device on the supply side of the powder to be treated at room temperature, so that a standard device that does not require heat resistance can be used. For this reason, the equipment is inexpensive and maintenance is advantageous. 11. Since the heat-treated powder can be discharged quantitatively in a high temperature state and in a state where it is spread widely (a state in which the layer thickness of the powder to be processed is reduced and a load on a cooling device is reduced), There is no adverse effect due to the heat insulating effect of the powder inherent in the powder, and the powder can be cooled efficiently (in a short time, with compact equipment). 12. In both cases of supply and discharge, the granular material easily forms a bridge (arch), which may cause the movement of the granular material (the powder to be processed) to stop. However, in the case of the present invention, since the supply is forcibly performed, no bridge (arch) is formed in both the supply and the discharge. Should the operation temporarily stop for some reason and form a bridge (arch), the bridge is broken by forcibly supplying the powder to be treated from the powder supply device, facilitating normal operation. Can be returned to 13. By arranging a plurality of pairs of electrodes as shown in the figure and sequentially switching the electrodes to be energized from the power supply by the switching mechanism, the central portion between the electrodes is heated to the highest temperature. Further, as shown in the figure, by arranging the electrodes in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, the three-dimensional central part (near the central part of the powder to be treated in the furnace body) is heated to the highest temperature. For this reason, the furnace main body wall is farthest from the maximum temperature region, and the furnace main body is easily protected.

14. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when a plurality of powder supply devices are arranged, the discharge pattern can be controlled by changing each supply amount. With this feature, for example, the supply amount of the powder supply device in the center is maximized, and the powder is supplied so as to gradually decrease toward the end,
If the discharge resistance on the discharge side is the same, the powder to be processed supplied from the center is discharged while spreading from the center to a slightly outer range. This makes it possible to reliably and selectively discharge only the powder to be processed which has been subjected to a high temperature treatment at a predetermined temperature in the central portion, and to cause contamination (contamination due to mixing of the powder to be processed which has not been heated to the predetermined temperature). Can be prevented. This effect is the same when the number of powder supply devices is one at the center and a plurality of discharge ducts are provided on both sides of the powder supply device at the center of the opposing position. 15. At this time, the powder to be processed having a temperature lower than the predetermined temperature is also discharged. However, as shown in FIGS.
It can be reused by returning it to the supply port 11 with no waste. At this time, the material once subjected to the heating history changes its physical property value as compared to the powder to be treated which has not been treated at all, but is always used repeatedly and continuously in the same temperature zone, or at a higher temperature. There is no waste of the powder to be processed by using the temperature zone constantly. 16. Since the discharge duct can be set apart from the heated high-temperature portion of the powder to be processed, there is no wear of the discharge duct due to the high temperature. In addition, there is no contamination (contamination) on the powder to be processed heated to a predetermined temperature due to the wear. 17． In addition, when a combination of a plurality of powder supply devices and a plurality of discharge ducts is used, the powder to be processed which has been subjected to a heat treatment having a different heating temperature range according to the heating temperature distribution of the powder to be processed (usually, the central portion is high in temperature and the surrounding portion is low in temperature) , And can be separated and taken out for each discharge duct. Thus, products processed at different processing temperatures are produced at once in the same operation.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide equipment that can process high-quality products at low cost in a clean working environment with mechanization / automation, labor saving, compactness, and high production efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view showing a first embodiment of a continuous graphitization apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view and a side sectional view showing a second embodiment of the continuous graphitization apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a third embodiment of the continuous graphitization apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a conventional Acheson furnace.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Furnace main body 2 Electrode 3 Insulation material 4 Bus bar 5 Power supply 6 Switching mechanism 7 Powder to be processed 8 Graphitized area (predetermined temperature zone) 9 Low temperature area (zone below predetermined temperature) 10 Powder supply device 11 Supply port 12 Feeder (screw feeder) DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 13 drive device 14 discharge duct 15 cooling device 16 resistance adding device 17 hopper 18 cutout device 19 blowing gas 20 gas blowing nozzle 21 supply of powder to be processed 22 discharge of powder to be processed 24 powder recovery device 25 conveyance device (low temperature region) Apparatus for returning processed powder to supply port 11)

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kunio Matsui 1 Shin-Nakahara-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Technical Research Institute, Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, Ltd. F-term (reference) 4G046 CC01 CC09

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A furnace body (1) filled with a powder to be treated (7) therein, at least one pair of electrodes (2) arranged opposite to the furnace body so as to energize the powder to be treated, A powder supply device (10) and a powder recovery device (24) disposed opposite to the furnace main body with the powder to be processed (7) energized by the electrodes interposed therebetween; (1) forming a flow of the powder to be processed continuously flowing in the inside, energizing between the electrodes to heat and heat the powder to be processed (7) to graphitize a part of the powder to be processed in this region; A continuous graphitization apparatus characterized by the following. 2. A plurality of pairs of electrodes (2) are arranged around a powder to be treated, and further comprising a switching mechanism (6) for sequentially switching and energizing the plurality of pairs of electrodes. 3. The continuous graphitization apparatus according to item 1. 3. The powder supply device (10) comprises one or a plurality of feeders (12) for supplying the powder to be processed substantially horizontally and controlling the supply amount independently. 2.) The continuous graphitization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises one or more substantially horizontal discharge ducts (14) followed by a substantially vertical hopper (17). 4. The discharge duct is provided with a cooling device (15), and at the connection between the discharge duct and the hopper, a resistance adding device (16) for adding resistance to the powder flow is provided, and at the lower end of the hopper. The continuous graphitization apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that a cutting device (18) is provided. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, among the powders to be heated and energized, the non-graphitized powder to be processed is returned to the powder supply device and heated again. Continuous graphitization equipment. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a gas injection nozzle (20) for blowing gas into the furnace body.
6. The continuous graphitization apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 5.