Copper-block tapholes are used in many types of metallurgical furnaces and are typically water cooled. There are three major disadvantages to such a system: firstly, when operated beyond design parameters, failure of the cooling channels may occur. Secondly, excessively large quantities of water are passed through the cooling channels in order to prevent vapour formation, leading to extensive and costly water-pumping infrastructure. Thirdly, the heat energy extracted from the tapholes is of such low grade that it cannot be recovered or recycled economically for use elsewhere in the plant. By retrofitting existing tapholes with heat pipes, the thermal energy from the tapholes can first be moved out of and away from the molten metal, and then be dissipated into a cooling fluid such as water. By no longer passing high-pressure, high-velocity water close to the tapping hole of the copper block, the formation of vapour is no longer a hazard. Therefore, the flow of water can be decreased to a fraction of what is required for conventional water cooling, and can extract a correspondingly greater quantity of heat per unit of flow. The resulting heat energy stored in the water is of a much higher grade, is much more useful in terms of energy recovery, and can be used elsewhere in the plant.
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