CONTINUOUS FIRING KILN AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING POROUS CERAMIC MEMBER THEREWITH

摘要

The present invention aims to provide a continuous firing furnace that is superior in durability and thermal efficiency and eliminates the necessity of exchanging parts configuring the firing furnace for a long time since it hardly causes degradation in performances in a heater, a heat insulating layer and the like inside the furnace. The continuous firing furnace of the present invention is provided with a muffle formed into a cylindrical shape so as to ensure a predetermined space, a plurality of heat generators placed at the peripheral direction from the muffle, and a heat insulating layer formed in a manner so as to enclose the muffle and the heat generators therein, said continuous firing furnace being configured such that a formed body to be fired, which is transported from an inlet side, passes through the inside of the muffle at a predetermined speed in an inert gas atmosphere and, then, is discharged from an outlet so that the formed body is fired. Herein, the inert gas flows through a space between the muffle and the heat insulating layer and a space inside the muffle in sequence.