Basic oxygen steel making process

Claim 1

A BASIC OXYGEN PROCESS FOR MAKING STEEL WHICH COMPRISES IN COMBINATION: (A) CHARGING A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY OF MOLTEN PIG IRON TO A BASIC OXYGEN FURNACE; (B) CHARGING A HEARTH LAYER OF SLAG FORMING MATERIAL TO A TRAVELING GRATE MACHINE; (C) SUPERIMPOSING UPON SAID HEARTH LAYER, A LAYER OF SCRAP IRON TO FORM A COMPOSITE BURDEN ON SAID TRAVELING GRATE MACHINE; (D) PREHEATING SAID BURDEN ON SAID TRAVELING GRATE MACHINE TO A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 1000*F. TO ABOUT 2200*F. BY PASSING EXHAUST GASES FROM A BASIC OXYGEN FURNACE THROUGH SAID BURDEN; (E) SEPARATING SAID PREHEATED SCRAP IRON FROM SAID HEARTH LAYER; (F) CHARGING SAID SCRAP IRON AT SAID PREHEATED TEMPERATURE TO THE BASIC OXYGEN FURNACE FOR ADMIXTURE WITH SAID MOLTEN PIG IRON IN AN AMOUNT SUCH THAT THE HEAT REQUIRED TO MELT THE SCRAP IRON AND RAISE IT TO A PREDETERMINED TEEMING TEMPERATURE IS IN EXCESS OF THE SENSIBLE HEAT OF SAID SCRAP IRON BY AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO ABSORB THE EXOTHERMIC HEAT OF THE STEEL MAKING REACTION; (G) CHARGING A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY OF SLAG FORMING MATERIAL FROM SAID HEARTH LAYER TO THE BASIC OXYGEN FURNACE; (H) BLOWING THE CHARGE INCLUDING SAID MOLTEN PIG IRON, SAID PREHEATRED SCRAP IRON, AND SAID SLAG FORMING MATERIAL WITH A FREE OXYGEN CONTAINING GAS; (I) ADMIXING THE GASES EXITING FROM SAID BASIC OXYGEN FURNACE WITH AN OXYGEN CONTAINING GS TO OXIDIZE OXIDIZABLE COMPONENTS THEREOF AND TO REDUCE THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID EXHAUST GASES; AND (J) DIRECTING SAID OXIDIZED AND COOLED EXHAUST GASES INTO HEAT EXCHANGE RELATION WITH A SCRAP IRON-SLAG FORMING MATERIAL COMPOSITE BURDEN TO EFFECT PREHEATING THEREOF.