Abstract: In an energy system in a community provided with a plurality of unit grids, each of which is an energy transfer network of a single-unit facility including a power load, the unit grids each include a photovoltaic generator, supply power generated by the photovoltaic generator thereof to the power load thereof, and, as an electric vehicle moves, form a cooperative grid that transfers power stored in a mobile storage battery mounted on the electric vehicle to and from another of the unit grids, and some of the unit grids whose geographical positional relationship is not fixed form a virtual grid for transferring power as a combination of the unit grids that form the cooperative grids changes in accordance with a destination of the electric vehicle.

Abstract: The sensible heat of an exhaust gas of a power generator, a combustion device, or a transport device 21 in a virtual area wherein a plurality of energy-consuming devices 23 are provided (energy supply and demand grid) is recovered as H2 or CO+H2 by reforming dimethyl ether (DME); and the H2 or CO+H2 is supplied as fuel for the energy-consuming devices 23 or as a chemical raw material within the energy supply and demand grid or to another energy supply and demand grid. By forming an energy cycle in society using DME, for example, waste heat of factories and electric power plants can be effectively utilized as energy in society as a whole, e.g., as energy for consumers or transportation.

Abstract: A heat exchanger filled with a catalyst used for reforming DME is provided in an exhaust system of a combustion apparatus such as a furnace, an internal combustion engine, or electric power generation equipment. A mixed gas of DME and H2O is fed to the heat exchanger, thereby pyrolyzing the DME and recovering the sensible heat of an exhaust gas of the furnace or the internal combustion engine as H2 fuel. Since the waste heat is recovered not as steam, hot water, heated air, or the like, but as H2 fuel or H2 and CO fuel, the application of the recovered energy is not limited.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for suppressing power fluctuation of a high-efficiency combined power generation system that uses a byproduct gas generated in a plant, the method including the steps of adding a high-calorific-value substance having a calorific value higher than that of the byproduct gas so as to increase both the total calorie per unit of time and the calorific value per unit gas quantity up to predetermined targets; and adding a low-calorific-value substance having a calorific value lower than that of the byproduct gas so as to control the caloric value and/or the composition of the power generation fuel, whereby the total calorie and the calorific value are controlled within predetermined ranges.

Abstract: A method for cooling the heating furnace during the dormant stage of the heating furnace; said method surely and sufficiently shortens the cooling time of the heating furnace irrespective of seasons such as summer or winter, and yet, without damaging the inner furnace refractories. Furthermore, the method is applicable to ceramic fiber furnaces. The method comprises: inserting, from an extracting port to the inside of the heating furnace, a plurality of lances being arranged along the width direction of the extracting port of said furnace while taking a predetermined distance between each other; and spraying, from a plurality of spray nozzles provided on the lances, a coolant in the form of a mist against a scale deposited inside the heating furnace. Optionally, a cooling fan is provided to forcibly supply a cooling air into the heating furnace.

Abstract: This invention aims at providing a method of continuously carburizing a metal strip, which is capable of providing industrially optimum carburization conditions while attaining non-soot-generating atmospheric data, desired carburization concentration distribution and desired carburization rate, in a case where a strip passed through a carburization furnace is carburized continuously in a surface reaction rate-governing area in which the carbon concentration in a superficial layer of the strip has not yet reached an equilibruim level with respect to the time.

Abstract: A continuous heat treating furnace in which heat is efficiently recovered from the combustion exhaust gas from the heating section of a continuous annealing furnace. The continuous annealing furnace of the metal strip is a heating furnace or a heating device provided with plural burners for heating to a predetermined temperature a steel material or a continuously supplied metal strip by means of combustion of the burners; a regenerative heat exchanger for collecting a sensible heat of a combustion exhaust gas of the burners, reserving the heat in a regenerator and supplying a predetermined gas to the regenerator to recover the heat to the predetermined gas; and a preheating section for blowing the predetermined gas from the regenerative heat exchanger to the metal strip for preheating. The heat exchanger body is divided into at least three sections, each section having a regenerator.

Abstract: A regenerative atmosphere-gas heating system includes at least three regenerative heaters. Each of these regenerative heaters successively cycles through a combustion state, an atmosphere gas heating state and an atmosphere gas sucking state. As a result, the atmosphere gas can be recovered for reuse and the developed heat of the recovered atmosphere gas can be converted into developed heat of the combustion air for an improvement in thermal efficiency.

Abstract: A non-oxidizing heating method and apparatus in which a non-oxidizing gas of high temperature is continuously generated and supplied into a furnace by changing over a plurality of heat storage type heaters alternately while repeating an operation in which one heater stores heat and the other heater heats and blows the non-oxidizing gas. Since it is possible to heat by producing a completely non-oxidizing atmosphere within the furnace, the method and apparatus can be effectively utilized in furnaces which require heating in a non-oxidizing atmosphere, for example, various furnaces such as a ladle, tundish, etc. used in a field of steel manufacturing and continuous casting, and various furnaces used in a field of heating and heat treatment of metallic materials, and thus, it is effective to achieve reduction of operational cost, improvement of product quality, and improvement of product yield.

Abstract: A heating apparatus includes at least a pair of regenerative burner units having a fuel injection nozzle and a heat regenerator provided for a combustion air supply path. One regenerative burner unit is supplied with fuel through a fuel shut-off valve and a fuel change-over valve, and supplied with combustion air through a supply and exhaust change-over valve to perform combustion operation. The other regenerative burner unit performs heat regenerating operation by passing a combustion waste gas. Operations of the fuel shut-off valve, the fuel change-over valve and the supply and exhaust change-over valve are controlled depending upon an operation parameter of the heating apparatus.

Abstract: A high tensile steel sheet excelling in workability and stretch flanging formability, which is of a composite texture composed of a ferrite phase and a 2nd phase selected from the group consisting of martensite, bainite, pearlite, retained austenite and cold-transformed ferrite, wherein the volume fraction of the 2nd phase is hoe less than about 1.3 times higher at an outer region of the steel sheet than the volume fraction of the 2nd phase in a central region of the sheet thickness.

Abstract: The present invention provides a steel sheet for press working that exhibits excellent stiffness and satisfactory press workability. The steel sheet for press working includes: a composition of C+N+B=0.007 to 1.0 wt % in a region from the surface of the steel sheet to a position of 5% of the thickness in a direction of the thickness in at least either of the surface layers; a pole intensity of [{321}+{211}]/{100}.gtoreq.1.2 in a vertical direction to the sheet surface realized at a 3% thickness position in the direction of the thickness from the surface; and a composition of C+N+B=0.010 wt % less than in the central portion 40% except for two 30% portions of the two surface layers in the direction of the thickness.

Abstract: A high tensile steel sheet excelling in workability and stretch flanging formability, which is of a composite texture composed of a ferrite phase and a 2nd phase selected from the group consisting of martensite, bainite, pearlite, retained austenite and cold-transformed ferrite, wherein the volume fraction of the 2nd phase is not less than about 1.3 times higher at an outer region of the steel sheet than the volume fraction of the 2nd phase in a central region of the sheet thickness.

Abstract: A continuous annealing line for annealing a cold-rolled strip of a ultra-low-carbon steel comprising a heating furnace for heating the strip which is fed continuously, with or without a soaking furnace following the heating furnace, a cooling furnace in which the heated steel strip is cooled, and a carburizing/nitriding furnace disposed between the heating furnace or the soaking furnace and the cooling furnace. The carburizing/nitriding furnace may be divided into a plurality of zones, each of which is provided with control means for controlling the carburizing/nitriding atmosphere and carburizing/nitriding temperature in the zone. The continuous annealing line may further comprise a plurality of carburizing/nitriding furnaces and have an arrangement for conducting a switching between a mode in which the carburizing/nitriding furnace is used for carburizing/nitriding the steel strip and a mode in which the carburizing/cooling furnace is used for cooling the steel strip.