Efficient use of energy in high temperature furnaces

This paper is concerned with efficient energy use in high temperature furnaces such as metal reheating, heat treatment and pottery firing. The development of fuel saving techniques that can be applied profitably to improve or replace conventional fuel fired furnaces is discussed. Existing furnaces can be improved by employing the principle of recuperation and through the use of lightweight refractory linings whilst a more radical approach to furnace design can offer many advantages. Opportunities for the application of recuperative burners in both batch and continous furnaces are considered and examples of their use for direct and indirect firing are described.