Melting furnace system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a melting furnace system capable of homogenizing a molten material melted in a melting furnace by installing the melting furnace to be swingable and rotatable, and minimizing internal residues when the molten material is discharged from the melting furnace to the outside. The melting furnace system proposed by the present invention comprises: a melting furnace; a connection shaft connected to the upper portion of the melting furnace; a support frame connected to the upper end portion of the connection shaft to support the melting furnace in a state where the melting furnace maintains a distance from a floor surface; and a rotation and swing motion driving unit installed in the support frame to swing the connection shaft connected to the melting furnace while rotating the connection shaft in a circumferential direction in place to enable the melting furnace to rotate and swing in place.

Description

Melting furnace system

[0001] The present invention relates to a melting furnace system, and more specifically, to a melting furnace system capable of homogenizing the molten material and minimizing internal residue when discharging the molten material from the melting furnace.

[0002] Generally, melting furnace systems using plasma torches or propane torches are used to process combustible and non-combustible materials, such as metals and concrete, among radioactive waste generated from nuclear power plants to reduce their volume and to process them stably at disposal sites.

[0003] A melting furnace using such a torch can simultaneously process combustible and non-combustible radioactive waste generated at nuclear power plants by utilizing the high-temperature heat generated by the operation of the torch.

[0004] The disposal of such radioactive waste is carried out by introducing the waste into a melting furnace and operating a torch to exhaust volatile components while melting toxic substances, such as radionuclides and heavy metals, into a molten state, after which the resulting material is discharged and permanently isolated to prevent leaching into the surrounding environment.

[0005] However, when processing radioactive waste using a melting furnace in this way, there may be cases where the radioactive waste is not melted homogeneously in the melting furnace, and when the melted radioactive waste is discharged outside the melting furnace, not all of it is discharged and residue remains inside the melting furnace.

[0006] Consequently, discharging molten radioactive waste from the melting furnace takes a long time, and workers may also be exposed to radiation from residues during maintenance work on the melting furnace.

[0007] And when new radioactive waste is introduced into the melting furnace for processing, it mixes with previously remaining residue, causing a problem of non-uniform radioactive waste.

[0008] The present invention is proposed to solve the conventional problems described above, and the objective of the present invention is to provide a melting furnace system that can homogenize the molten material melted in the melting furnace by installing the melting furnace to enable swinging and rotational movement, and can minimize internal residue when discharging the molten material from the melting furnace to the outside.

[0009] The melting furnace system proposed by the present invention provides a melting furnace system comprising: a melting furnace; a connecting shaft connected to the upper part of the melting furnace; a support frame connected to the upper end of the connecting shaft to support the melting furnace while maintaining a gap from the bottom surface; and a rotation and swing motion drive unit installed on the support frame to rotate the connecting shaft connected to the melting furnace in a circumferential direction in place and swing motion to enable the melting furnace to rotate and swing motion in place.

[0010] A fixing block may be provided at the top of the above melting furnace to securely connect a connecting shaft.

[0011] The support frame comprises a support member positioned facing each other with the melting furnace in between, and a mounting bracket having both ends connected to the support member and a rotation and swing motion drive unit installed in the center.

[0012] The above-mentioned rotational and swinging motion drive unit is configured to stop driving at a predetermined position when the swinging motion of the connecting shaft is operated, so that the melting furnace fixed to the connecting shaft can be fixed in a state where it is tilted at a certain angle.

[0013] The melting furnace system according to the present invention is installed in a gyro swing device capable of swinging and rotating motion, so that radioactive waste can be evenly melted in the melting furnace and homogenized.

[0014] Accordingly, when discharging molten radioactive waste outside the melting furnace for disposal, it can be completely discharged without any residue. For this reason, worker exposure during maintenance work on the melting furnace can be prevented, while increasing the convenience of replacing the melting furnace and improving waste treatment efficiency.

[0015] Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a melting furnace system according to the present invention.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a drawing for explaining a melting furnace that constitutes a melting furnace system according to the present invention.

[0017] Figures 3 and 4 are the cross-sectional views along line AA and line BB of Figure 2.

[0018] FIGS. 5 to 7 are drawings for explaining the usage state of a melting furnace system according to the present invention.

[0019] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a melting furnace system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a drawing for explaining a melting furnace constituting the melting furnace system according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are cross-sectional views along line AA and line BB of FIG. 2.

[0021] A melting furnace system according to the present invention comprises a melting furnace (2), a connecting shaft (4) connected to the upper central part of the melting furnace (2), a support frame (6) connected to the upper end of the connecting shaft (4) to support the melting furnace (2) while maintaining a gap from the floor surface, and a rotation and swing motion drive unit (8) installed on the support frame (6) and configured to rotate the connecting shaft (4) connected to the melting furnace (2) in a circumferential direction in place and swing motion so that the melting furnace (2) can rotate and swing motion in place.

[0022] At the top of the melting furnace (2), a torch insertion port (12) into which a torch (plasma torch, propane torch, etc.) is inserted, an input port (14) connected to a radioactive waste input system, and an exhaust gas discharge port (16) connected to an exhaust gas treatment system are formed, and on the side of the melting furnace (2), a molten material discharge port (18) for discharging molten material from the melting furnace (2) to the outside are formed.

[0023] In addition, a fixing block (20) may be further formed in the center of the upper surface of the melting furnace (2) to firmly connect the connecting shaft (4) and the melting furnace (2).

[0024] The above support frame (6) includes a support member (22) positioned facing each other with the melting furnace (2) in between, and a support member (24) having both ends connected to the support member (22) and a connecting shaft (4) connected to the melting furnace (2) suspended therefrom.

[0025] The mounting bracket (24) has both ends hinged to the support member (22), and a rotation and swing motion drive member (8) is installed in the middle part of the mounting bracket (24).

[0026] The rotation and swing motion drive unit (8) can be configured by applying a motor not shown, a reduction gear that increases torque while reducing the rotational force of the motor, and a differential gear device (not shown) that converts the rotational motion of another motor into pendulum motion.

[0027] By driving the rotation and swing motion drive unit (8), the connecting shaft (4) can be rotated in the circumferential direction in place to rotate the melting furnace (2) in the circumferential direction in place, and the rotational force of the motor can be converted through a differential gear device to hinge rotate the mounting base (24) in the forward and reverse directions in a certain section to swing the melting furnace (2) connected to the connecting shaft (4) in a certain section.

[0028] Accordingly, the melting furnace (2) rotates in a circular direction in place by the driving of the rotation and swinging motion drive unit (8) and simultaneously swings, so that when radioactive waste is introduced into the melting furnace (2) and melted, there are no unmelted parts, thereby allowing the molten material to be melted uniformly.

[0029] In addition, the rotation and swing motion drive unit (8) is formed so that it can stop driving at a predetermined position during the swing motion of the connecting shaft (4), so that the melting furnace (2) fixed to the connecting shaft (4) can be fixed in a state tilted at a certain angle during the swing motion.

[0030] Due to such a structure, when the molten material discharge port (18) is positioned downward to discharge the molten material from the melting furnace (2), the tilted state of the melting furnace (2) can be fixed to facilitate the discharge of the molten material.

[0031] FIGS. 5 to 7 are drawings for explaining how to melt radioactive waste using a melting furnace system according to the present invention as described above. In order to melt radioactive waste, a torch (100) is installed in a torch insertion port (12) formed in a melting furnace (2) as shown in FIG. 5, an exhaust pipe (110) connected to an exhaust gas treatment system is connected to an exhaust gas discharge port (16), and then a waste input pipe (120) connected to a radioactive waste input system is connected to an input port (14).

[0032] Then, after confirming that negative pressure is maintained inside the melting furnace (2) by utilizing the exhaust gas treatment system connected to the exhaust pipe (110), the torch (100) is operated to preheat the inside of the melting furnace (2).

[0033] Then, when the inside of the melting furnace (2) is preheated after a certain amount of time has elapsed, radioactive waste is introduced into the melting furnace (2) through the waste input pipe (120) and melted to maintain molten metal inside the melting furnace (2).

[0034] In this state, to homogenize the radioactive waste in the molten state, the torch (100), exhaust pipe (110), and waste input pipe (120) installed in the melting furnace (2) are separated, and then, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the rotation and swing motion drive unit (8) is driven to rotate the melting furnace (2) in place at about 5 to 30 rpm while simultaneously swinging it.

[0035] In this way, the melting furnace (2) performs a swinging motion while rotating, so that the molten material in the melting furnace (2) can be mixed and homogenized. When the homogenization of the molten material (2) is completed, the rotation and swinging motion drive unit (8) is controlled to stop the rotational motion, and the swinging motion is stopped when the melting furnace (2) fixed to the connecting shaft (4) is tilted at a certain angle and the discharge port (18) is positioned toward the bottom.

[0036] As the swinging motion of the melting furnace (2) is stopped in this way, the melting furnace (2) maintains its position fixed in that state.

[0037] Then, the discharge port (18) of the melting furnace (2) is opened to discharge the homogenized molten material outside the melting furnace (2) and receive it in the receiving section (130) to proceed with the next step for processing.

[0038] At this time, since the molten material inside the melting furnace (2) is evenly melted and homogenized, when the molten radioactive waste is discharged outside the melting furnace (2) for treatment, it can be discharged without any residue inside the melting furnace (2). Accordingly, it is possible to prevent exposure of workers during maintenance work on the melting furnace, while increasing the convenience of replacing the melting furnace and improving the efficiency of waste treatment.

[0039] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above for illustrative purposes, they are not limited thereto, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims, the detailed description of the invention, and the attached drawings.

Claims

1. Melting furnace; A connecting shaft connected to the upper part of the melting furnace; A support frame connected to the upper end of the above connecting shaft to support the melting furnace while maintaining a gap from the bottom surface; A rotation and swing motion drive unit installed on the above support frame, which rotates a connecting shaft connected to the melting furnace in a circumferential direction in place and swings it, thereby enabling the melting furnace to rotate and swing in place; A melting furnace system including 2. In Claim 1, A melting furnace system provided with a fixing block at the top of the melting furnace to securely connect a connecting shaft.

3. In Claim 1, A melting furnace system comprising a support frame, a support member positioned facing each other with the melting furnace in between, and a mounting bracket having both ends connected to the support member and a rotation and swing motion drive unit installed in the center thereof.

4. In Claim 1, A melting furnace system configured such that the above-mentioned rotational and swinging motion drive unit can stop driving at a predetermined position when the swinging motion of the connecting shaft is operated, and the melting furnace fixed to the connecting shaft can be fixed in a state where it is tilted at a certain angle.

Images