SYSTEM FOR PREVENTING CLOGGING OF THE OUTLET ORIFICE OF A DISPENSER TANK CONTAINING POWDERED REAGENT AND AUXILIARY TANK DISCHARGE MEANS

Docket F-650 A dispenser tank having an orifice and containing powdered reagent which is supplied through the tank orifice to a pool of molten metal for effecting desulphurization thereof is provided with a plunger arranged to reciprocate through the tank orifice so as to crumble lumps and foreign matter which may accumulate at the orifice and interfere with the free flow of powdered reagent therethrough and a cup shaped closure element is movable with the plunger and arranged to close and open the tank orifice due to reciprocable motion imparted to the closure element and plunger by a suitable operating means such as a cylinder and piston mounted within the dispenser tank and in order to unload the tank during emergency conditions a discharge conduit is arranged to extend through a wall of the tank and is controlled by a valve outside the tank so that pressure inside the dispenser tank may be used to blow the powdered reagent out of the tank and into a collection tank for temporary storage and subsequent use.