A method of closing phosphorus furnace tapholes which comprises applying pneumatic pressure at the taphole opening to force molten material in the boretube back into the furnace and then introducing sand particles through the taphole to meet and effect solidification of incoming molten furnace material thereby sealing off the inner opening of the boretube and filling the remainder of the boretube with sand. Tapping is readily accomplished by blowing out the loose sand and breaking the inner seal of solidified furnace material.
For the most part, the countrys mid-section, with its infrastructure, its soil and its usually beneficial weather, will remain the nations Corn Belt, said Jerry Rowe, manager of the Heritage Grain Cooperative in Dalton City, Illinois, traditionally the second-biggest corn-producing state.