JP4661766B2 - Method and apparatus for firing honeycomb structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for firing a honeycomb structure and a firing apparatus.

  As a method for forming the honeycomb structure, extrusion molding or plunger molding is generally used. In either forming method, the honeycomb structure raw material includes organic components such as a binder for holding the honeycomb structure until firing together with a plurality of ceramic particles that finally become a structure through a sintering reaction. It is. In addition to the binder, the organic component contains a lubricant that improves flowability during molding, a pore-forming material for forming pores in the honeycomb structure, and the like. Generally, the organic component is contained in an amount of 10 to 40 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the ceramic based on the ceramic particles.

  When the honeycomb structure is extruded and then fired, heat is generated due to thermal decomposition of the organic components, and thermal stress is generated due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the honeycomb structure, resulting in defects such as cracks and melting damage. . In order to reduce these internal and external temperature differences, conventionally, the oxygen concentration has been defined (Patent Document 1), the rate of temperature increase has been defined (Patent Documents 2 and 3), and the temperature difference between the atmosphere and the honeycomb structure is determined. A technique for defining (Patent Document 4) has been reported.

  However, these techniques make the thermal decomposition of the individual organic components of the honeycomb structure uniform, and there is no mention of a technique for continuously firing a plurality of honeycomb structures at a time for mass production.

When the honeycomb structure is to be fired in a continuous furnace, the front of the furnace has a width of at least 0.5 m and a height of 0.5 m or more, and the entire opening has a uniform temperature (for example, ± 5 ° C. or less). It is required to do. Furthermore, as a matter of course, it is necessary to maintain a uniform temperature even when the number of honeycomb structures put in the furnace fluctuates.
In response to such a demand, particularly when a gas burner is used in a continuous furnace, the gas burner literally burns the gas, and the burned hot air is introduced into the furnace. When the number of honeycomb structures put into the furnace fluctuates, there is a problem that temperature control is difficult.

JP-A-6-9276 JP-A-2-25573 JP-A-5-85856 JP 2003-212672 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and a plurality of honeycomb structures are fired at a time uniformly and with low energy, and a large number of ceramic structures without defects are continuously produced. An object of the present invention is to provide a firing method and firing apparatus for a honeycomb structure that can be obtained.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of honeycomb structures having an outer skin, partition walls arranged in a honeycomb shape in the outer skin, and a large number of cells partitioned in the partition walls and formed along the axial direction are simultaneously provided. A continuous firing method,
Using an electric furnace having an electric heating device using heat generated by energization as a heat source, removing the resin component until the organic component in the honeycomb structure is 1% or less;
A sintering step of sintering ceramic particles using a combustion heating furnace having a combustion heating device that uses heat generated by burning fuel as a heat source;
Have a cooling step of cooling the honeycomb structure,
Between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace, there is provided a purge zone capable of controlling the air flow so as to prevent the atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace from flowing into the electric furnace,
The electric furnace is a method for firing a honeycomb structure, comprising a blower that forcibly blows air in parallel to an axial direction to cells of the honeycomb structure.

  As described above, the method for firing a honeycomb structure of the present invention uses a furnace having different heating devices in the debinding step and the sintering step. Thereby, a plurality of honeycomb structures can be fired uniformly at a low energy (low cost) at a time, and a large number of ceramic structures without defects can be obtained continuously.

  The binder removal step is a step of thermally decomposing and removing the binder present in the honeycomb structure. The binder contains a plurality of types of organic components. Therefore, in order to remove the binder, it is preferable to perform thermal decomposition at a removal temperature corresponding to each organic component. Moreover, in the said binder removal process, the uniformity of the temperature in a furnace is requested | required. Therefore, the electric heating device was used. Thereby, even if the number of honeycomb structures to be processed varies, high-precision processing is possible.

The electric heating device can change the temperature only by changing the current value, and since the heat transfer can directly heat the honeycomb structure by radiant heat, temperature control is easy.
Therefore, by using an electric furnace with an electric heating device, it is possible to control the temperature with high accuracy, such as slowing the temperature rise in the organic component removal temperature range, and to remove the binder at a uniform temperature. It can be carried out.

In addition, since the sintering step is intended to sinter ceramic particles, it is not necessary to strictly control the temperature in the combustion heating furnace. In addition, the temperature at which the ceramic particles are sintered needs to be about 800 ° C., and energy consumption is high. Therefore, in the sintering process, if an electric furnace having the electric heating device is used as in the debinding process, a large amount of energy is required because an excessive current is used. Therefore, in the sintering process, a combustion heating furnace having a combustion heating device is used. Thereby, the ceramic particles can be sintered with low energy.
Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a honeycomb structure firing method excellent in both quality and cost by changing the heat treatment apparatus in each step.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of honeycomb structures having an outer skin, partition walls arranged in a honeycomb shape in the outer skin, and a large number of cells partitioned in the partition walls and formed along the axial direction are simultaneously provided. An apparatus for continuous firing,
An electric furnace having an electric heating device using heat generated by energization as a heat source, and removing the resin component until the organic component in the honeycomb structure becomes 1% or less;
A combustion heating furnace having a combustion heating device using heat generated by burning fuel as a heat source, and sintering ceramic particles;
A cooling furnace for cooling the honeycomb structure;
The electric furnace, a combustion furnace, and a conveying device for conveying the honeycomb structure so as to sequentially pass through a cooling furnace possess,
Between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace, there is provided a purge zone capable of controlling the air flow so as to prevent the atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace from flowing into the electric furnace,
The electric furnace has a blower for forcibly blowing air in parallel to the axial direction to cells of the honeycomb structure ( claim 4 ).

As described above, the honeycomb structure firing apparatus of the present invention includes an electric furnace including an electric heating device that uses heat generated by energization as a heat source, and a combustion heating device that uses heat generated by burning fuel as a heat source. And a cooling furnace. Moreover, it has the conveying apparatus which conveys the said honeycomb structure so that it may pass through an electric furnace, a combustion heating furnace, and a cooling furnace sequentially. Thus, a plurality of honeycomb structures can be fired uniformly and with low energy at a time, and a large number of ceramic structures free from defects can be obtained continuously.
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a honeycomb structure firing apparatus excellent in both quality and cost by changing the heat treatment apparatus in each step.

As described above, the method for firing a honeycomb structure according to the first invention uses an electric furnace having an electric heating device using heat generated by energization as a heat source in the binder removing step.
As the electric furnace, it is preferable to use an electric furnace provided with an electric heating device and directly heat the honeycomb structure by radiant heat. In addition, the electric heating device may be provided at any of the upper, lower, left and right positions in the electric furnace.

The electric furnace may be provided with an exhaust port for exhausting heated air. Specifically, as shown in the examples described later, natural intake is performed from the side and bottom of the electric furnace and exhaust is performed from the exhaust port provided on the upper surface, and an exhaust port is provided on the upper surface of the electric furnace and the upper portion thereof. A structure in which a fan is installed and forcibly exhausted, a structure in which a fan is installed in the lower part of the electric furnace, forcibly ventilated, and exhausted from an exhaust port provided on the upper surface are included.
In order to control the temperature in the electric furnace with high accuracy, it is preferable to install (zone division) the electric heating device at regular intervals.

Moreover, the firing method of the honeycomb structure of the present invention uses a combustion heating furnace having a combustion heating device that uses heat generated by burning fuel as a heat source in the sintering step.
As a heating method of the honeycomb structure in the combustion heating furnace, as shown in the examples described later, the heat generated by the combustion heating apparatus may be input into the furnace as hot air, or the furnace of the combustion heating furnace The above-mentioned combustion type heating device may be provided for direct heating.

  In the cooling step, a cooling furnace is used. As a cooling method, there is a case where no treatment is performed and cooling is performed with a temperature difference from the atmosphere, or a forced cooling is performed with an air flow of 0.2 m / s or more.

As described above, the honeycomb structure firing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention includes the transport device that transports the honeycomb structure so as to sequentially pass through the electric furnace, the combustion heating furnace, and the cooling furnace.
Examples of the transporting device include a device that transports a shelf board placed on a carriage, a device that transports a shelf board placed on a transport roller, and the like. In these cases, the honeycomb structure is placed on the shelf board and conveyed.

Examples of the material of the shelf board include ceramics such as SiC, alumina, mullite, and zirconia from the viewpoints of heat resistance, strength, and thermal conductivity. In particular, the shelf board is preferably made of SiC.
Moreover, the said conveying apparatus may have two shelf boards mounted in a trolley | bogie, and a roller for conveyance may be two steps | paragraphs.

  Further, when the honeycomb structure firing apparatus of the present invention is used, even when the number of honeycomb structures carried into the furnace varies, at least the electric furnace can achieve a uniform temperature. That is, for example, in the above-described transport device, when two shelves are installed on one carriage, when two transport rollers are used, when the number of honeycomb structures placed on the shelves is small, or when there are many Even in this case, the same effect can be obtained in any case.

In the first invention or the second invention, a mechanical shielding plate for preventing atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace from flowing into the electric furnace between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace. It is preferable to provide (Claims 2 and 5 ).

  In this case, the temperature of the electric furnace can be controlled with high accuracy. By installing a mechanical shielding plate between the combustion heating furnace, atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace can be prevented from flowing into the electric furnace. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the temperature control from being disturbed by the atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace entering the continuous electric furnace.

Specific examples of the mechanical shielding plate include, for example, installing a shutter that moves up and down by a combination of a belt and a roller between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace. Furthermore, the shutter is preferably installed at two locations on the electric furnace side and the combustion heating furnace side.
The length of the shutter is preferably 0.2 to 0.5 times the furnace height. If it is less than 0.2 times, it may be difficult to control the airflow. On the other hand, if it exceeds 0.5 times, extra space may be increased and energy loss may be increased.

In addition, a purge zone is provided between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace to control the airflow so as to prevent the atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace from flowing into the electric furnace . Thereby , the temperature of the electric furnace can be controlled with high accuracy. The atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace can be prevented from flowing into the electric furnace. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the temperature control from being disturbed by the atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace entering the continuous electric furnace.

The purge zone preferably has a configuration in which, for example, the pressure is reduced between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace by absorbing the positive pressure from the combustion heating furnace side.
Moreover, the structure which exhausts forcibly may be sufficient in order to eliminate the entrance / exit of the atmospheric gas of the said electric furnace and the said combustion heating furnace. In this case, the air volume in the work is preferably 0.2 m / s or more.

The purge zone is preferably configured to suck atmospheric gas from above the workpiece, and the height of the suction port is desirably 10 to 50 cm above the upper end of the honeycomb structure.
If the portion of the purge zone suction port higher than the upper end of the honeycomb structure is less than 10 cm, there is a possibility of interference with the product, while if it exceeds 50 cm, the air flow may be difficult to control. There is.

In addition, the electric furnace includes a blower that forcibly blows air to the cells of the honeycomb structure in the axial direction .
Since the inside of the honeycomb structure has a low contact probability with oxygen, the thermal decomposition of the organic component may be difficult to proceed. Therefore, in this case, the difference between the inside and outside of the contact probability with oxygen can be eliminated by blowing air into the honeycomb structure.
The amount of air to be blown is preferably 0.2 m to 5 m / s.
Specifically, it is preferable to install a fan outside and forcibly drive in preheated air.

The fuel is preferably a gas fuel ( claims 3 and 6 ).
In this case, the honeycomb structure can be fired with low energy and low cost.

Example 1
In this example, an example according to the firing method of the honeycomb structure of the present invention will be described.
The honeycomb structure firing method of this example was performed in the order of the binder removal step, the sintering step, and the cooling step using the firing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
This will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the honeycomb structure firing apparatus 1 of the present example is partitioned into an outer skin 41, partition walls 42 arranged in a honeycomb shape in the outer skin 41, and partition walls 53 shown in FIG. 10. This is an apparatus for firing a honeycomb structure 4 having a large number of cells 43 formed along the axial direction.
The firing apparatus 1 includes an electric furnace 2, a combustion heating furnace 3, a cooling furnace 7, and a transport device 5.

The electric furnace 2 includes an electric heating device that uses heat generated by energization as a heat source, and performs a debinding step of removing a resin component (binder) until the organic component in the honeycomb structure becomes 1% or less. Is for.
As shown in FIG. 2, the electric furnace 2 has a furnace wall 20 having a square cross section, and an exhaust port 23 is provided at the upper part of the electric furnace 2 so that heated air is naturally discharged. An air inlet 25 is provided below the furnace wall 20 so that air is introduced from the air inlet 25.
Moreover, the heaters 21 and 22 are used as an electric heating device. This heater 21 is provided on both sides of the position where the honeycomb structure 4 passes in the electric furnace 2, and the heater 22 heats the air introduced from the air inlet 25. It is provided so as to be located above the mouth 25. The heater 22 may be omitted.

The combustion heating furnace 3 has a combustion heating device that uses heat generated by burning fuel as a heat source, and performs a sintering process for sintering ceramic particles.
As shown in FIG. 3, the combustion heating furnace 3 has a furnace wall 30 having a square cross section, uses gas fuel as fuel, and introduces heat generated by the gas burner 31 as hot air using a blower 32. It is configured to be put into the furnace through the port 33 and to perform forced heating with hot air.
The cooling furnace 7 is for performing a cooling process for cooling the honeycomb structure 4 and is configured to blow cool air onto the honeycomb structure 4 using a blower (not shown).

The said conveying apparatus 5 is for conveying the said honeycomb structure 4 so that the said electric furnace 2, the combustion heating furnace 3, and the cooling furnace 7 may pass sequentially.
The transport device 5 includes a cart 51, a shelf plate 52, and wheels 53. Two shelves were placed on the cart 51 with a vertical interval. The size of the carriage 51 is 1 m long and 1 m wide. The shelf plate 52 is made of SiC and has a size of 0.8 m in length, 0.8 m in width, and 8 mm in thickness.

  Further, the transport device 5 obtains a propulsive force by rotating the guide 24 provided in the electric furnace 2 and the guide 34 provided also in the combustion heating furnace 3. Due to the propulsive force, the wheel 53 rotates and moves forward. The cooling furnace 7 is also provided with a guide in the same manner.

Moreover, the firing apparatus 1 of this example is a mechanical device that prevents atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace 3 from flowing into the electric furnace 2 between the electric furnace 2 and the combustion heating furnace 3. A shielding plate 6 is provided.
The shielding plate 6 includes a shutter 61, a belt 62, a roller 63, and a fan 64. The shutter 63 is moved up and down by rotating the roller 63 by a combination of the belt 62 and the roller 63. In addition, the atmosphere gas from the combustion heating furnace 3 is exhausted to the outside by the fan 64.
The length of the shutter 61 is 0.4 times the effective height in the furnace.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the honeycomb structure 4 to be processed in this example is made of cordierite, and has a diameter W of φ150 mm and a height H of 100 mm. In addition, the size which can be processed in this example is a diameter of 50 mm to 300 mm and a height of 50 mm to 300 mm.

Next, the firing method of this example will be described.
First, as the binder removal step, the honeycomb structure 4 was conveyed to the electric furnace 2 using the conveying device 5 and the binder was removed until the organic component in the honeycomb structure 4 became 1% or less.
The moving speed of the carriage 51 is 1 m / hour. Twenty-five honeycomb structures 4 were placed on one shelf board.
In the electric furnace 2, the honeycomb structure 4 was heated uniformly by direct heating by radiant heat of the heater 21, which is an electric heating device, and by air heated by the heater 22.

Next, as a sintering step, the honeycomb structure 4 was conveyed to the combustion heating furnace 3 to sinter the ceramic particles.
The air volume in the combustion heating furnace 3 was 0.5 m / s.

Next, as a cooling step, the honeycomb structure 4 was conveyed to the cooling furnace 7 and cooled to a temperature at which the honeycomb structure 4 could be handled.
In the cooling furnace 7, first, no treatment was performed, the honeycomb structure 4 was cooled at a temperature difference from the atmosphere, and then forced cooling was performed at an air volume of 1 m / s.

  Next, the firing profile of this example is shown in FIG. The solid line K in the figure shows the temperature of the atmosphere, the region A shows the binder removal step, the region B shows the region sandwiched between the shielding plates 6, the region C shows the sintering step, and the region D shows the cooling step. The removal temperature of the organic component in the binder contained in the honeycomb structure 4 in this example is 200 to 400 ° C., around 600 ° C., and the like. As known from the figure, when the honeycomb structure 4 was fired using the firing apparatus of this example, temperature control could be performed with high accuracy in the binder removing step.

(Example 2)
In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, the shielding plate 6 of Example 1 is changed to the purge zone 8. Others were performed in the same manner as in Example 1.
The honeycomb structure firing apparatus 102 of the present example prevents the atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace 3 from flowing into the electric furnace 2 between the electric furnace 2 and the combustion heating furnace 3. This is a structure provided with a purge zone 8 capable of controlling the air flow.
The purge zone 8 has a structure in which the absorption port 81 is used to absorb the positive pressure from the combustion heating furnace side to lower the pressure and forcibly exhaust the atmospheric gas from the combustion heating furnace 3.
Further, the height of the absorption port 81 was provided 20 cm above the upper end of the honeycomb structure 4.
The air volume in the purge zone 8 was 0.5 m / s.
By using the baking apparatus 102 of this example, the same result as in Example 1 could be obtained.

(Example 3)
In this example, as shown in FIG. 6, the electric furnace 2 of the first embodiment is changed. Others were performed in the same manner as in Example 1.
The electric furnace 203 of the honeycomb structure firing apparatus of the present example has a furnace wall 20 having a square cross section, and an exhaust port 23 is provided at the top of the electric furnace 2 so that heated air is discharged naturally. An air inlet 25 is provided at the lower side of the side wall of the furnace wall 20 so that natural intake is performed from the air inlet 25 and exhaust is performed from an exhaust 23 provided on the upper surface.
Moreover, the heaters 21 and 22 are used as an electric heating device. This heater 21 is provided on both sides of the position where the honeycomb structure 4 passes in the electric furnace 2, and the heater 22 is used to warm the air introduced from the air inlet 25. It is provided so that it may be located in 25 horizontal directions. The heater 22 may be omitted.
By using the baking apparatus having the electric furnace 203 of this example, the same result as in Example 1 could be obtained.

Example 4
In this example, as shown in FIG. 7, the electric furnace 2 of the first embodiment is changed. Others were performed in the same manner as in Example 1.
The electric furnace 204 of the honeycomb structure firing apparatus of the present example is configured to perform forced exhaust by installing the fan 26 above the exhaust port 23 in the first embodiment.
The air volume in the electric furnace 204 was 2 m / s.
By using the firing apparatus having the electric furnace 204 of this example, the temperature could be controlled with high accuracy in the electric furnace 204, and a high-quality honeycomb structure could be obtained.

(Example 5)
This example is an example in which the electric furnace 2 of Example 1 is changed as shown in FIG. Others were performed in the same manner as in Example 1.
The electric furnace 205 of the honeycomb structure firing apparatus of the present example is configured such that a fan 26 is installed below the air introduction path 25 in Example 1 to forcibly blow air, and exhaust is performed from the exhaust port 23 provided on the upper surface. Yes.
The air volume in the electric furnace 205 was 2 m / s.
By using the firing apparatus having the electric furnace 205 of this example, the air can be blown into the honeycomb structure 4, the difference in contact probability with oxygen can be eliminated, and the binder can be removed smoothly. Could be done.

(Example 6)
In this example, as shown in FIG. 9, the combustion heating furnace 3 of the first embodiment is changed. Others were performed in the same manner as in Example 1.
The combustion heating furnace 306 of the honeycomb structure firing apparatus of the present example has a furnace wall 30 having a square cross section, and a combustion heating apparatus 31 is provided on the side of the furnace wall 30 so that the honeycomb structure 4 can be directly heated. It is configured. A gas burner was used as the combustion heating device 31.
By using the firing apparatus having the combustion heating furnace 306 of this example, the sintering process could be performed with lower energy.

(Comparative Example 1)
This comparative example is an example in which the honeycomb structure was fired using the conventional firing device 9 shown in FIG. 11 in the order of the binder removal step, the sintering step, and the cooling step.
The firing device 9 of this comparative example is configured to send heat generated using a gas furnace as hot air 91 from the sintering process to the debinding process. In addition, the fan 92 is used to exhaust a part of the hot air from the sintering process to the outside. The binder removal step is performed by heating with hot air 91 fed from the sintering step. The sintering step is performed by forcing the heat generated by the gas burner into the furnace as hot air and forcibly heating with hot air.

Next, Table 1 shows the temperature accuracy of the debinding step and the sintering step, the amount of energy consumption, and the cracking defect of the molded product for Example 1, Example 2, and Comparative Example 1.
The temperature accuracy was measured by attaching thermocouples at a plurality of locations inside and outside the furnace and the honeycomb structure.
The energy consumption was determined by measuring the consumption of electricity and fuel in each furnace block and dividing by the weight of the honeycomb structure.
The crack failure was determined by measuring the number of honeycomb structures in which crack failure was observed in 100 honeycomb structures after firing.

As is known from Table 1, in Example 1 as an example of the present invention, the temperature system of the debinding process could be ± 5 ° C. without performing forced exhaust. Moreover, since there was no forced exhaust, energy consumption could be reduced. And crack failure was not confirmed.
Further, in Example 2 as an example of the present invention, since forced exhaust is performed in the purge zone, energy consumption is increased as compared with Example 1, but the temperature system of the debinding process is set to ± 3 ° C. In addition, cracking failure was not confirmed.
As a result, a honeycomb structure firing method and firing apparatus can fire a plurality of honeycomb structures at a time uniformly and with low energy, and continuously obtain a large amount of ceramic structures free from defects. did it.

  Moreover, since the comparative example 1 as a comparative example of this invention sent hot air from a sintering process to a binder removal process, it was able to suppress energy, but since air currents fluctuate, temperature accuracy is bad and cracking defect is bad. It occurred frequently. Furthermore, temperature control is difficult when the amount of honeycomb structure mounted varies.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a honeycomb structure firing apparatus in the first embodiment. The graph which shows the temperature change in Example 1. FIG. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a combustion heating furnace in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a honeycomb structure firing apparatus in Example 2. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the electric furnace in Example 3. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the electric furnace in Example 4. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the electric furnace in Example 5. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the combustion heating furnace in Example 6. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a honeycomb structure in Example 1. Explanatory drawing which shows the baking apparatus in the comparative example 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Firing apparatus 2 Electric furnace 3 Combustion heating furnace 4 Honeycomb structure 5 Conveyance apparatus

Claims (6)

A method of simultaneously firing a plurality of honeycomb structures having an outer skin, partition walls arranged in a honeycomb shape in the outer skin, and a large number of cells partitioned in the partition walls and formed along the axial direction. Because
Using an electric furnace having an electric heating device using heat generated by energization as a heat source, removing the resin component until the organic component in the honeycomb structure is 1% or less;
A sintering step of sintering ceramic particles using a combustion heating furnace having a combustion heating device that uses heat generated by burning fuel as a heat source;
Have a cooling step of cooling the honeycomb structure,
Between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace, there is provided a purge zone capable of controlling the air flow so as to prevent the atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace from flowing into the electric furnace,
The method for firing a honeycomb structure, wherein the electric furnace includes a blower that forcibly blows air to the cells of the honeycomb structure in the axial direction .   2. The mechanical shielding plate according to claim 1, wherein an atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace is prevented from flowing into the electric furnace between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace. A method for firing a honeycomb structure.   3. The method for firing a honeycomb structure according to claim 1, wherein the fuel is a gas fuel.   To fire a plurality of honeycomb structures at the same time, having an outer skin, partition walls arranged in a honeycomb shape in the outer skin, and a large number of cells partitioned in the partition walls and formed along the axial direction. Equipment,
  An electric furnace having an electric heating device using heat generated by energization as a heat source, and removing the resin component until the organic component in the honeycomb structure becomes 1% or less;
  A combustion heating furnace having a combustion heating device using heat generated by burning fuel as a heat source, and sintering ceramic particles;
  A cooling furnace for cooling the honeycomb structure;
  A transport device for transporting the honeycomb structure so as to sequentially pass through the electric furnace, the combustion heating furnace, and the cooling furnace;
  Between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace, there is provided a purge zone capable of controlling the air flow so as to prevent the atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace from flowing into the electric furnace,
  The above-mentioned electric furnace has a blower that forcibly blows air in parallel to the axial direction to cells of the honeycomb structure.   5. The mechanical shielding plate according to claim 4, wherein an atmospheric gas in the combustion heating furnace is prevented from flowing into the electric furnace between the electric furnace and the combustion heating furnace. An apparatus for firing a honeycomb structure.   The honeycomb structure firing apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the fuel is a gas fuel.

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