A technology of treating radioactive waste using an induction melting furnace has been used, in which waste, such as protective clothing, PVC, and vinyl sheets, produced during the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants, and ion exchange resin waste, boric acid waste, slurry, and dry substances are put into the induction melting furnace so that the waste can be vitrified to form solid glass that can minimize environmental influence and can reduce the amount of radioactive waste.
A cold crucible induction melter (CCIM) is a device that is used to treat waste contained in an induction melting furnace by vitrification.
Examples of prior art technology relating to the induction melting furnace are Korean Patent No. 10-0348746, entitled “waste treatment apparatus”, Korean Patent No. 10-0470730, entitled “smelting incineration apparatus and method of solid waste treatment”, and Korean Patent Laid-open publication No. 10-2004-0010397, entitled “tapping device of melting furnace and molten metal heating device”.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional melting furnace 10 contains radioactive and nonradioactive waste therein.
A bottom unit 20 is provided in the lower part of the melting furnace 10 so that the waste that is contained in the melting furnace 10 is melted and is discharged to the outside through a glass discharge port 21 that is formed in the center of the bottom unit 20.
To melt the waste, an induction coil member 30 is wound around the outer surface of the melting furnace 10.
The induction coil member 30 wound around the outer surface of the melting furnace 10 supplies electricity so that the waste that is contained in the melting furnace 10 can be melted.
However, the conventional melting furnace is configured to have a hopper structure that gradually narrows in a downward direction so that the contents that are contained in the furnace cannot be completely melted and cannot be efficiently or completely discharged to the outside of the furnace.
Accordingly, the conventional melting furnace requires an additional device for discharging waste lumps that remain in the furnace without being melted so that the time and cost required to treat the waste are increased and this reduces work efficiency when treating the waste.