Patent ID: 7740681

Claim:
A method of continuously processing at least one of a molten metal product, a vapor phase metal product and a slag product from at least one waste material which comprises: providing a furnace having opposite ends and a headspace and containing a molten metal bath; operating the furnace so that the surface of the molten metal bath is not under turbulent conditions; feeding at least one waste material into the furnace at one of the opposite ends thereof and into a slag layer that floats on the molten metal bath so that the waste material is engulfed by the slag layer; and allowing the at least one waste material to react in the furnace to replenish the slag layer that floats on the molten metal bath and produce at least one of a molten metal product that passes into the molten metal bath and a vapor phase metal product that passes into the headspace of the furnace; wherein a portion of the slag layer is removed as a slag product from another one of the opposite ends so as to cause the slag layer and the at least one waste material fed into the slag layer to move across the surface of the molten metal bath from one end of the furnace to the other opposite end maintaining the thickness of the slag layer at a level so that the thickness is sufficient to support the waste material in the slag layer, and wherein the at least one waste material includes metal oxides and the molten metal bath includes carbon which reacts with the at least one waste material to reduce the metal oxides, and the method further comprises adding carbon directly into the molten metal bath independently of the at least one waste material that is fed into the furnace to replenish carbon in the molten metal bath the reacts with the at least one waste material as the process is continuously run.