Patent ID: 10174998

Abstract:
The invention relates to an apparatus (10) for producing an expanded granulate from sand-grain-shaped material (1), comprising a furnace (2) with a substantially vertically extending furnace shaft (3) and a feed device (5) arranged above or in the upper region of the furnace shaft (3) for feeding the sand-grain-shaped material (1) to the furnace shaft (3).In order to achieve uniform expansion of the sand-grain-shaped material, the feed device (8) is formed to introduce the sand-grain-shaped material (1) in form of at least one downwardly falling curtain into the upper region of the furnace shaft (3), wherein the drop section (4) of the curtain (25) lies in a decentralised, preferably peripheral region of the furnace shaft cross-section.The invention also relates to a method for producing an expanded granulate from sand-grain-shaped mineral material.