Abstract: A method of treating retinal degeneration in a subject includes administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula (I).

Abstract: A conveyor belt for conveying articles along a conveyor path comprises a plurality of slat members disposed parallel to each other and disposed transversely with respect to the conveyor path, wherein leading and trailing edge portions of the slat members are angled downwardly with respect to the conveying surface upon which articles being conveyed are supported so as to prevent edge portions of the articles being conveyed from being interposed between the leading and trailing edge portions of the slat members so as not to be pinched by adjacent ones of the leading and trailing edge portions of adjacent slat members.

Abstract: The invention relates to a shaft furnace (10) and a method for heat treating carbonaceous molded parts, particularly anodes (17), having an arrangement of the molded parts in at least one molded part column (11 to 15) disposed between tempering shaft devices (19, 20, 21) comprising a plurality of molded part rows (16) disposed above each other in a conveyor shaft, the rows being moved past temperature fields of the tempering shaft devices (19, 20, 22) and passing through a heating zone (25), a firing zone (27) having a burner device (28), and a cooling zone (26), wherein thermally insulating intermediate layers are disposed both between the temperature fields of the tempering shaft devices (19, 20, 22) and between the molded part rows of the molded part columns.

Abstract: A high capacity shaft kiln, which includes a plurality of vertical kiln shafts, a common heating unit and a cooling unit attached to the common heating unit. Each of the plurality of vertical kiln shafts are sized and configured to receive a source of material, which descends from an upper end thereof to a lower end thereof, and wherein each of the plurality of vertical kiln shafts has an inlet, which is sized and configured to receive a fuel source from a distribution device. The common heating unit is sized and configured to receive the source of material from the lower end of each of the plurality of vertical kiln shafts.

Abstract: A method for burning lumps of material, in particular limestone, is carried out in a regeneration shaft kiln (3) with at least two kiln shafts (1, 2) interconnected by an overflow line (19) and in which the material to be burned passes through an upper pre-heating zone (8), a central combustion zone (18) and a lower cooling zone (14). Combustion gas with a low calorific value of less than 7.5 megajoules (MJ) per m3 is periodically and alternately supplied to each of the shafts (1, 2) through burner lances (9, 25) after being pre-heated by heat exchange with process gas of the combustion process. The combustion gas is pre-heated in a heat exchanger (21) and/or by means of a surface of the burner lances (9, 25) which extend through the pre-heating zone (8), said surface being enlarged to enhance heat exchange.

Abstract: Apparatus for heat treating a heat treatable material including a housing having an upper opening for receiving a heat treatable material at a first temperature, a lower opening, and a chamber therebetween for heating the heat treatable material to a second temperature higher than the first temperature as the heat treatable material moves through the chamber from the upper to the lower opening. A gas supply assembly is operatively engaged to the housing at the lower opening, and includes a source of gas, a gas delivery assembly for delivering the gas through a plurality of pathways into the housing in countercurrent flow to movement of the heat treatable material, whereby the heat treatable material passes through the lower opening at the second temperature, and a control assembly for controlling conditions within the chamber to enable the heat treatable material to reach the second temperature and pass through the lower opening at the second temperature as a heated material.

Abstract: A furnace for the thermal decomposition of solids by thermal radiation having an inlet for admitting the solids at an upper part with the solids dropping by gravity in the furnace. There is at least one heated radiator body within the furnace below the inlet to produce radiant heat energy to decompose the solids dropping in the furnace and the gases produced by the decomposition rise in the furnace to preheat the solids admitted at the inlet. The furnace also includes a heat exchanger whose liquid is heated by the decomposed solids, and there are a plurality of radiator bodies each in the form of a closed chamber with a burner to heat a plate which radiates the heat.

Abstract: There is described a furnace of the kind in which a toroidal fluid flow heating zone may be established. The furnace includes a chamber (7a) in which there is provided an inner block and a ring of angled blades (21) between the inner block and an inner wall of the chamber (7a). Means (4a) is provided for delivering fluid into the chamber in such a way that the fluid passes through gaps between the blades and establishes a toroidal fluid flow heating zone in the chamber above the ring of angled blades. Means (23) is also provided for injecting feed particulate material into the chamber in a region where the toroidal fluid flow heating zone is to be established. In one arrangement, means (49) is additionally provided for injecting fuel into the chamber in a region above the ring of angled blades so that the region in the chamber at which the heating zone is established is elevated above the ring of angled blades. In another arrangement, means (33) is provided for cooling the inner block.

Abstract: Feed apparatus for treating and feeding lumpy or granular material to a smelting furnace, which apparatus contains a plurality of silos or sub-silos in which said material is contacted with a gas. The silo or sub-silo contains a cone-shaped gas distributor located in the middle of the bottom portion of the silo. The gas distribution cone has a number of gas nozzles, preferably between 100 and 500 gas nozzles.

Abstract: This invention relates to a sealing device useful for attachment to a process equipment such as vertical shaft kiln (VSK) for providing air-seal self-controlled discharge of product from the said equipment, which comprises a chamber (1) having at its top end an inlet (3) with flange (2) for fitting to the discharge chute of a process equipment and a discharge outlet (16) at its bottom end, the said chamber being provided with a partition wall (4) having an inlet gate (5) & a discharge gate (6) hinged to its top & bottom respectively, the free ends of the hinged gates being such as to sit on means (7) and (8) to provide air seal, means (9,10,11,12,13,14,15,17,18,19,20& SOL) being provided for simultaneous operation of the inlet & discharge gates, the said means [9(a) & (b) and SOL] being connected to a control circuit for actuating the movement of the gates, the discharge outlet being fitted onto a volumetric discharge unit (21) provided with means (22) for measuring the quantity of product discharge.

Abstract: A storage device 23 for storing a raw material to be calcined is provided at a position above a kiln cover 1, and the storage device 23 is connected to a preheating space 22 in such a manner as to be capable of dropwise supplying the raw material into the preheating space 22 by means of a raw-material supplying pipe 26. An airtight supplying mechanism 24 for dropwise supplying the raw material in a state in which the influx of air from the outside is prevented is provided between the storage device 23 and the raw-material supplying pipe 26.

Abstract: This invention relates to a a vertical shaft kiln (VSK) useful for manufacturing cement and other allied products, which comprises a rotary nodule feeder for feeding the raw materials, fitted above the kiln bed for uniform distribution of nodules of the raw materials, an air blower being placed at the base of the kiln for feeding air through a duct to a common air header having a plurality of outlet air ducts, the air duct being connected to an air cone placed inside an armoured shell of the VSK, the said air cone being provided with a grate assembly having a plurality of peripheral air slots, the air duct being connected to an air box placed above the said armoured shell, the said air box having perforations on the inside vertical wall, the air duct being connected to an air header having air entry nozzles placed in such a manner so as to supply air just below the sintering zone of the VSK, the air duct being connected to the chimney of the VSK, the said chimney being provided with a butterfly valve below th

Abstract: A suspension shaft furnace and process for producing clinkers from discrete pellets of cement-forming batch materials, the furnace having a top vertical shaft section comprising a pellet-feeding and preheating zone, an intermediate fluidized bed section containing fuel inlet conduits for clinkering of the pellets in a fluidized bed, an air-permeable clinker-impermeable support for supporting the pellets as a fluidized bed, and a lower clinker-cooling section beneath the fluidized bed section. Clinker-discharge means permit the gravity flow of clinkers from the top of the fluidized bed down into a cooling zone in the cooling section. Air inlet means supply a combustion-supporting cooling gas up through the cooling zone, to cool the clinkers therein, and upstream through the fluidized bed section to support the combustion of fuel at the fuel inlet conduits.

Abstract: Process and furnace for producing clinkered cement pellets from pellets of cement-forming batch materials without melting, fusion and agglomeration of said pellets. The furnace comprises an elongate vertical suspension shaft having top, intermediate and bottom portions. Pellets are fed at the top and heated to calcining temperatures before exiting the shaft into a pre-clinkering zone beyond the bottom. The pellets are heated to pre-clinkering temperatures and deposited on a porous pellet bed through which cooling air is forced to control the exothermic clinkering reaction and to regulate the speed at which the pellets migrate through the shaft.

Abstract: Process and furnace for producing clinkered cement pellets from pellets of cement-forming batch materials without melting, fusion and agglomeration of said pellets. The furnace comprises an elongate vertical suspension shaft having top, intermediate and bottom portions. Pellets are fed at the top and heated to calcining temperatures before exiting the shaft into a pre-clinkering zone beyond the bottom. The pellets are heated to pre-clinkering temperatures and deposited on a porous pellet bed through which cooling air is forced to control the exothermic clinkering reaction and to regulate the speed at which the pellets migrate through the shaft.

Abstract: An annular, vertical shaft kiln comprising a cascading process path with varying cross sectional area, in which the coarse charge particulants tend to follow the longer path near the walls as does the gas being injected into the mid-region of the kiln, while the fine particulants tend to take the straighter, shorter path near the middle, thus resulting in an even calcination of varying diameters of charge particulants. The briquetted fuel which may be made of hazardous waste, is heated slowly to safely destroy such wastes in the processing. Because of the limited range of the ratio of the smallest to the largest diameter of the charge particulants, the charge particulants are sorted through wire mesh screens into bins according to diameter. The kiln's computer then receives data on the process at various points along the path and controls the process by regulating the charge particulants injection, the rate of the fuel injection and/or the speed of the air injection.

Abstract: A shaft kiln installation is used to burn pellets of solid materials containing volatile and/or solid fuels and at the same time to calcinate minerals. For this purpose, the installation uses in the heating, degassing (1,04) and combustion zones (1,06) a co-current flow of combustion gas. The installation has at least one first upper section (1,04;1,06) for carrying out the above-mentioned process steps. If necessary, a third counter-current cooling section (1,10) for the combustion material and a second, midddle section (1.08) that acts as a neutral zone, may be added. The heat content of the combustion gas and cooling air may be used for heating the combustion air.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel process and to an installation for performing the process for calcining limestone for producing lime of different qualities, while being able to entirely or at least substantially do without conventional energy carriers such as coal, oil and natural gas. Instead waste energy carriers of different origins are used. According to the process the waste energy substances are firstly gasified in a suitable gasifier, which is constructed as a shaft reactor or fluidized bed reactor and at elevated temperature, the dust being then removed from the lean gas produced and subsequently passed into the combustion chambers of the gasification reactor where burning takes place. The pollutants in the waste energy carriers are destroyed or rendered harmless by the high temperature of approximately 1600.degree. C. in the gasification reactor. Dust and harmful components are then deposited in the coke filling or in the dust catchers.

Abstract: An apparatus for gas/solids exchange has a column having a plurality of vertically spaced grates on which the granular solids can form beds to be traversed by the gas. Each grate is provided in a grate plane by a plurality of fixed grate bars interdigitated with movable grate bars forming a planar unit which can be displaced by a controller out of the grate plane to allow the granular solids on the respective grate to trickle downwardly uniformly over the cross section of the column onto the next lower grate.

Abstract: A vertical shaft kiln utilized in calcining limestone defines a series of processing zones including an upper preheating zone, a first calcining zone, a second calcining zone having a length twice that of the first calcining zone and a material cooling zone, Burners inject burnt gases intermediate the two calcining zones. Major heat transfer to the limestone is accomplished in the first calcining zone by directing a major portion of the burnt gases in counter-current to the material flow therethrough. Minor heat transfer is accomplished in the second calcining zone by directing a minor portion of the burnt gases therethrough in co-current relation with the material. Combustion air is provided through ducts in the material cooling zones and mixed with the minor portion of burnt gases externally of the shaft prior to injection into the burners.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for preparing a feed mixture, made of several batch components, at one stage in order to feed it into a smelting furnace. The preparation of the batch may include the preheating and drying of the material, the removal of crystal waters and evaporable substances as well as the conduction of the batch into the smelting furnace. According to the invention, a hot inert gas is conducted through a downwards settling batch so that the gas is mixed into the batch as well as possible, but even partial fluidization is prevented. The apparatus of the invention comprises a pretreatment silo (6) which is uniform at the upper part but is divided into several sub-silos (7) at the lower part. At the lower part of the sub-silos there are connected ducts (8) wherealong the batch flows into the smelting furnace (9) located below the pretreatment silo (6).

Abstract: The invention utilizes fluid bed air heaters for burning coarse solid fuels which supply heated gases to annular shaft kilns or double inclined shaft kilns. The solid fuels are introduced into a fluidized bed of inert material, such as sand, alumina or ash, through means of an air lock and the hot gases of combustion pass through a cyclone separator to remove solid materials, which can be reintroduced into the fluidized bed. The hot gases are injected into the kilns to supply heat as needed for calcining or burning limestone or similar materials. Temperature control of the gas leaving the fluid bed air heater and reduced contamination of the burned materials are disclosed advantages of the present invention.

Abstract: In a furnace charge preheater, especially one for scrap metal, in the form of a bucket whose bottom contains at least two outswinging half-shells, the bucket bottom when in the closed state is formed of a central part and at least one ring while the inner margin of the ring overlaps the margin of the central part and the margin of the central part is situated at a distance below the inner margin of the ring thus forming an annular gap. In this manner a more uniform flow of the hot gas through the preheater is assured. Furthermore, if the annular gap between the bucket bottom and the bucket wall is sealed up, the chamber on which the charge preheater is placed when the charge is preheated, can be made smaller.

Abstract: In a double-incline shaft kiln in which ore materials are charged into the furnace from the top of a vertical external portion of the shaft and are calcined by burners installed in the lower portion of the shaft, the calcining zone is effectively extended by the provision of an injector which causes the hot gas to flow in the lower portion of the shaft parallel to the flow of ore materials. Further, at the turnover locations for the ore descending through the shaft, the width of the shaft is broken into at least two portions which promotes a more even velocity of the material flow across the width of the shaft so as to enable combustion control and the prevention of the ash of solid fuel, such as coal, from mixing with the calcined material to cause discoloration and lumps.

Abstract: A method and improved kiln for calcining and sintering of lumpy materials which includes an arrangement for creating a cavity in the material being processed adjacent each burner units so that a solid fuel can be applied on a cavity surface of the material at each burner.

Abstract: A shaft furnace for burning or firing and sintering material, such as limestone, dolomite, etc in lump or pellet form, in which the cooling air is introduced into the external cooling air duct in the vicinity of the furnace bottom, flows upwardly through duct the air duct and downwards through an internal cooling air duct and then passes from an air outlet of internal cooling air duct positioned in the vicinity of the furnace bottom into a first bustle pipe or the like surrounding the shaft furnace. A combustion air duct is supplied with combustion air from a first bustle pipe. A fuel gas supply line runs within the external cooling air duct.

Abstract: A furnace is disclosed for the heat treatment of mainly lumpy to fine grained material. The furnace is either a shaft furnace or a rotary furnace for the calcination or sintering of limestone, dolomite or magnesite. The calcination material passes through a preheating zone, a calcination zone and a cooling zone. The calcination zone has a gas feed and gas withdrawal device. A calcination device is provided in the calcination zone to which is connected a gas conveying device for the production of a hot gas circulation. The hot gas circulation device is situated between the gas withdrawal device and the calcination device and is provided as a conveying blower subjected to a cooling liquid.

Abstract: Apparatus for preheating solid particulate material which material is to be subjected to thermal processing in a furnace. The preheater includes a vessel having an inlet for solid particulate material to be heated, an outlet for preheated material, an inlet for hot exhaust gas from the furnace and an outlet for spent preheating gas. The various inlets and outlets are positioned with respect to each other to achieve countercurrent contact between gas and solids. A gas-solids contact zone is defined within the vessel. A plurality of superimposed conduits connect the solid material inlet with the gas-solids contact zone. A valve is positioned in each of these conduits to control the flow of material to the gas-solids contact zone and thereby control the depth of material within that zone. The greater the depth of material within the gas solids contact zone, the greater amount of preheating that will be accomplished due to a greater length of time that the solid particulate material is exposed to the hot gas.

Abstract: A continuous grain drying and conditioning apparatus of a type including a burner and blower, or a multiplicity of burners and blowers, surrounded by a plenum chamber, air pervious grain holding walls positioned outwardly with respect to the plenum chamber is characerized by having a plenum divider which is selectively adjustable in position to divide the grain holding walls into a heating section and a cooling section. Grain turning apparatus is disposed in the grain column for separating the grain mass into two separate divisions and then turning the cooler-wetter grain inwardly as it moves downwardly and turning the hotter-dryer grain outwardly as it moves downwardly in the grain column. Grain is constantly removed from the bottom of the apparatus at a rate governed by the average temperature of the air exiting the grain at a point adjacent the position of the plenum divider and a point closer to the input of the grain.

Abstract: The regenerating apparatus or furnace has gas burners mounted thereon to deliver combustion gas tangentially to a header and thence to distributing ports arranged circumferentially around and internally of a columnar bed of carbon being regenerated to provide uniform temperature distribution across the bed. In an alternate construction, the columnar bed is annular, headers are provided exteriorly and interiorly of the bed, and distribution ports conduct the combustion gas through the inner and outer walls defining the annular bed.

Abstract: Granular solid material is dried in a vertically extending annular chamber formed between inner and outer cylindrical walls by a current of high temperature inert drying gas of high humidity passed downward through the material. Material enters the chamber under gravity through a slot in the inner wall, which slot extends round the full periphery of the inner wall, and is removed from the bottom of the chamber by a variable speed discharge system, the rate of entry through the slot being governed by the rate of discharge from the bottom of the chamber so that the top of the column of material is of frusto-conical form. The spent drying gas stream, less a quantity which is discharged, is used to dilute the products of a fuel in air, the high temperature mixture thus formed constituting the drying gas. The quantity discharged has a mass equal to that of the fuel and air forming the products of combustion. An upward current of cooling air may be passed through the lower portions of the column of material.

Abstract: A pilot flame to be positioned close to the charge opening of a cupola which uses carbon monoxide as a fuel in the presence of a fresh supply of combustion air, such carbon monoxide being drawn off from a position on the cupola where the temperature is above the self-ignition temperature of the carbon monoxide. Air preheated to a temperature above the self-ignition temperature of carbon monoxide may also be supplied.

Abstract: A process for the firing and sintering of granular material in a gas or oil heated shaft furnace is disclosed in which the material, fed from the top of the furnace passes downwards successively through an entry zone, a preheating zone, a firing zone in which burners are disposed around the furnace wall, and a cooling zone, and in which the feeding of the material at the top of the furnace is so effected that a central depression is maintained in the upper surface of the material in the entry zone, said surface sloping downwardly from the periphery of the entry zone into the central depression, so that segregation of the material occurs automatically, the coarser pieces of material rolling into the central depression, whereby a column of the coarser material is maintained along the vertical axis of the furnace.

Abstract: A grain dryer is disclosed in which a blower forces air past a burner and then through a duct into a bin made of oppositely curved columns of grain defining between them and an end wall a plenum chamber for drying the grain in the bin. The invention resides in the use of a plurality of spaced baffles of particular configuration designed to take a stream of air of non-uniform pressure and temperature over a cross section of the stream, and transforming said stream into a stream in the plenum chamber of substantially uniform pressure and temperature over any cross section thereof, said stream, if desired, having a predetermined temperature gradient lengthwise of the bin which compensates for a lengthwise dryness gradient in the grain in the bin.