ABSTRACT
Typical processes involving the oxidation of a component of a molten phase. Equipment used for this purpose was the reverberatory furnace. The process was slow and inefficient because: the contact between the oxidizing atmosphere and the molten phase was at the stagnant interface whose area was not large. It also include: no use was made of the fact that the oxidation reactions were exothermic and as a result heat had to be supplied to the system to keep the batch molten. The equipment used for this operation is called the "converter" which is a brick-lined reactor that handles molten material. The bottom-blown converter is a steel vessel in the shape of a pear, lined with refractory brick, and equipped at the bottom with a wind box containing a number of nozzles called tuyers through which air is forced. The problem of converting molten white metal to metallic copper was solved by introducing the side-blown converter.
