A fluidized bed furnace includes a furnace housing having an outer shell. A furnace base and an outer top plate are secured to the respective lower and upper ends of the housing. A vertical retort has an opened upper end and an opened lower end. The retort is arranged in an opening formed in the outer top plate and extends downwardly into the center of the housing. Heat insulating material is disposed between the outer shell and the vertical retort. A retort base assembly is used to close the lower end of the retort. An upper support device is formed integrally with the retort at its upper end for supporting the vertical retort on top of the outer top plate so as to permit downward growth only during thermal expansion. A lower support device is interposed between the lower surface of the retort base assembly and the upper surface of the furnace base which supports substantially all the weight of the retort, the weight of the load of fluidizable media and the weight of a load of material to be heat treated.
展开▼
