This document describes improvements to self-supporting containers made of carbon or graphite. It discusses how prior containers used ceramic linings that had poor thermal conductivity. The new containers described are built from interlocking carbon or graphite plates that form a self-supporting inner structure. This allows the container to be spaced within an outer metal or concrete vessel, improving heat transfer and accommodating different expansion rates of the materials. Diagrams show how the plates interlock at joints and are held together with cement.