Graphitization furnace, system, and graphitization method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10053365-B2
Application number	US-201514686854-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 15, 2015
Priority date	Apr 15, 2015
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

A graphitization furnace has a furnace structure including a support part within a furnace chamber, and a gate valve. The gate valve in an open state thereof after a graphitization process dumps a pack material within the furnace chamber in a state in which carbon bodies are located within the furnace chamber, and the support part catches the carbon bodies as a level of the carbon bodies lowers with a decrease in an amount of the pack material remaining within the furnace chamber.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A graphitization furnace comprising:
a furnace chamber defined by walls that are made of a refractory material, wherein the furnace chamber has an upper part, a lower part, an opening provided at the upper part, and a shape that is constricted towards the lower part, and at least one of the walls is inclined with respect to a direction in which gravity acts;
a hood, provided at the upper part of the furnace chamber, and having an open state to open the opening of the furnace chamber and a closed state to close the opening of the furnace chamber;
a gate valve, provided at the lower part of the furnace chamber, and having an open state and a closed state,
wherein the furnace chamber is enclosed by a combination of the walls, the hood, and the gate valve in a state in which the hood is in the closed state and the gate valve is in the closed state;
a support part, other than the walls of the furnace chamber, extending laterally inside the furnace chamber; and
a pair of terminal electrodes, provided inside the furnace chamber, and configured to electrically connect to opposite ends of an electrically conductive column during an LWG (Length-Wise Graphitization) process which graphitizes the electrically conductive column buried in a pack material accommodated within the furnace chamber at a level above the support part in the closed state of the gate valve, wherein the walls make direct contact with the pack material accommodated within the furnace chamber,
wherein the electrically conductive column includes a plurality of carbon bodies placed in end-to-end contact, that are graphitized into a plurality of graphitized bodies by the LWG process,
wherein the gate valve in the open state after the LWG process dumps the pack material accommodated within the furnace chamber in a state in which the plurality of graphitized bodies are located within the furnace chamber, and
wherein the support part includes at least one opening gap formed therein to support the plurality of graphitized bodies while simultaneously permitting dumping of the pack material through the at least one opening gap as the level of the plurality of graphitized bodies lowers with a decrease in an amount of the pack material remaining within the furnace chamber.

2. The graphitization furnace as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a release valve, connected to the furnace chamber, and having an open state and a closed state,
wherein the release valve in the open state releases at least one of gas and particulate matter inside the furnace chamber.

3. The graphitization furnace as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a recovery mechanism, including a conveyor, configured to recover the pack material dumped through the gate valve in the open state.

4. The graphitization furnace as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a control unit configured to control the open and closed states of the hood and the gate valve.

5. The graphitization furnace as claimed in claim 4 ,
wherein the control unit controls the hood to the open state and the gate valve to the closed state before the LWG process to perform a process including
supplying the pack material to the furnace chamber through the opening up to a first level that buries the support part by the pack material to form a bed of the pack material,
loading the plurality of carbon bodies into the furnace chamber through the opening onto the bed of the pack material, and
supplying the pack material again to the furnace chamber through the opening to a second level, higher than the first level, that buries the plurality of carbon bodies in the pack material, and

wherein the control unit controls the gate valve to the open state after the LWG process when a temperature of the pack material cools down to a dumpable temperature.

6. The graphitization furnace as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising:
a control unit configured to control the open and closed states of each of the gate valve, the hood, and the release valve,
wherein the control unit controls the gate valve to open or intermittently open after the LWG process in a state in which the hood is closed at a dump timing when a temperature of the pack material cools down to a dumpable temperature,
wherein the control unit controls the release valve to open or intermittently open from the dump timing, and
wherein the control unit controls the hood to open after the LWG process when a cooling time, sufficient to cool the plurality of graphitized bodies to an unloading temperature suited for unloading the plurality of graphitized bodies from the furnace chamber, elapses.

7. A system comprising:
a plurality of graphitization furnaces each including
a furnace chamber defined by walls that are made of a refractory material, wherein the furnace chamber has an upper part, a lower part, an opening provided at the upper part, and a shape that is constricted towards the lower part, and at least one of the walls is inclined with respect to a direction in which gravity acts;
a hood, provided at the upper part of the furnace chamber, and having an open state to open the opening of the furnace chamber and a closed state to close the opening of the furnace chamber;
a gate valve, provided at the lower part of the furnace chamber, and having an open state and a closed state,
wherein the furnace chamber is enclosed by a combination of the walls of the furnace chamber, the hood, and the gate valve in a state in which the hood is in the closed state and the gate valve is in the closed state;
a support part, other than the walls of the furnace chamber, extending laterally inside the furnace chamber; and
a pair of terminal electrodes, provided inside the furnace chamber, and configured to electrically connect to opposite ends of an electrically conductive column during an LWG (Length-Wise Graphitization) process which graphitizes the electrically conductive column, buried in a pack material accommodated within the furnace chamber, at a level above the support part in the closed state of the gate valve,

wherein the walls make direct contact with the pack material accommodated within the furnace chamber,
wherein the electrically conductive column includes a plurality of carbon bodies placed in end-to-end contact, that are graphitized into a plurality of graphitized bodies by the LWG process,
wherein the gate valve in the open state after the LWG process dumps the pack material accommodated within the furnace chamber in a state in which the plurality of graphitized bodies are located within the furnace chamber, and
wherein the support part includes at least one opening gap formed therein to support the plurality of graphitized bodies while simultaneously permitting dumping of the pack material through the at least one opening gap as the level of the plurality of graphitized bodies lowers with a decrease in an amount of the pack material remaining within the furnace chamber.

8. The system as claimed in claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of graphitization furnaces further includes
a release valve, connected to the furnace chamber, and having an open state and a closed state,
wherein the release valve in the open state releases at least one of gas and particulate matter inside the furnace chamber.

9. The system as claimed in claim 7 , further comprising:
a recovery mechanism, including a conveyor, configured to recover the pack material dumped from at least one of the plurality of graphitization furnaces through the gate valve in the open state to supply the recovered pack material to a recovery station via the conveyor.

10. The system as claimed in claim 7 , further comprising:
a control unit configured to con

Assignees

• Showa Denko Carbon Inc
• Showa Denko Kk

Inventors

• PASCAZIO Daniel
• SHARY Steve
• SCHULTZ Earl
• WHICHARD David
• Milfelt Bill
• Wada Mutsushi
• Hamada Satoshi
• Arai Yasuhiro

Classifications

• F27B5/14

  Arrangements of heating devices · CPC title

• C01B32/205

  Preparation · CPC title

• F27D11/04

  with direct passage of current through the material being heated · CPC title

• F27B5/18

  Arrangement of controlling, monitoring, alarm or like devices · CPC title

• F27B5/04 Primary

  adapted for treating the charge in vacuum or special atmosphere · CPC title