Abstract: A metallurgical method and apparatus; air is continuously blown into a mixture of agglomerates of lead concentrates and carbonaceous fuel in a shaft furnace. The resulting slag is delivered from the shaft furnace into a settling tank to which the slag continuously flows while the slag is continuously delivered from the settling tank into a fuming furnace, so that the slag flows in cascade from the shaft furnace to the settling tank and from the settling tank to the fuming furnace, thereby providing a continuous flow of the treated slag from the shaft furnace through the settling tank into the fuming furnace; the slag, in addition, is continuously withdrawn from the shaft furnace.

Abstract: A fluidized bed reactor adapted for carrying out chemical reactions between liquids and solid particles, having a design which provides stabilized hydrodynamic conditions within the reactor zones and thereby avoids the disadvantages of blockages of grid holes and passages in the system during operation. Fluid inlet tubes are provided which are slidably supported, with fluid outlets which rest on the bottom of the reactor, sealing against reverse flow, and which lift up due to hydraulic forces upon introduction of fluid to the reactor.