Patent ID: 8623269

Claim:
A reduction device for refining a material using thermal reduction comprising: a body defining a cavity, the body comprising a bottom wall and a sidewall connected to the bottom wall; at least one hopper adapted to load articles, each individual article having a diameter, wherein the at least one hopper is slidably disposed in the cavity of the body, and the at least one hopper defines a plurality of apertures, a diameter of each of the plurality of apertures is less than the diameter of the individual article to be loaded by the at least one hopper; and a fireproof plate disposed in the cavity and spaced from the at least one hopper, the fireproof plate being in contact with an inner surface of the sidewall and dividing the body into a first compartment and a second compartment, the at least one hopper being disposed in the first compartment further comprising a plurality of heat conductive elements uniformly disposed on an inner surface of the at least one hopper.