The Direct Alloying of Steel through Silicothermic Self-Reduction of Chromite Ore Utilizing Si-Containing Solid Waste
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Raw Materials
2.2. Experimental Research Methodologies
2.2.1. Preparation of Silicothermic Self-Reduction Compacts
2.2.2. Direct Alloying Experiment
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Thermodynamic Analysis
3.2. Analysis of the Results of Direct Alloying
3.3. The Mechanism of Silicothermic Self-Reduction
4. Conclusions
- Within chromite ore, Fe2O3 is preferentially reduced by Si over Cr2O3. The introduction of CaO and Al2O3 serves to alter the equilibrium states of Fe and Cr oxides, concurrently diminishing the activity of the reduction product SiO2. This leads to a conspicuous reduction in the ΔG0 of the reduction reaction.
- The addition of CaO and Al2O3 significantly lowers the melting point and viscosity of the initial slag. The melting point and viscosity of the initial slag, originally 1700 °C and 134.09 Pa·s without additives, are markedly decreased to 1500 °C and 1.81 Pa·s, respectively, upon the addition of slag.
- The incorporation of CaO and Al2O3 expedites the reduction of Cr and enhances the Cr recovery rate. The final recovery rates of Cr in the silicothermic self-reduction compacts, with and without CaO and Al2O3 addition, directly alloying the molten steel, are 95.4% and 86.4%, respectively. Therefore, employing Si-containing solid waste as a reductant for the direct reduction and alloying of chromite ore is deemed viable. This not only addresses the environmental pollution and resource wastage resulting from Si-containing solid waste but also transforms it into a valuable resource, concurrently reducing the cost associated with Cr alloying in molten steel. However, to achieve the goal of the efficient and economical direct reduction alloying of chromium oxide, the optimum reductant ratio and the different w(CaO)/w(Al2O3) ratio, as well as the amount of CaO and Al2O3 additions, still need to be further investigated.
- However, a side-effect of steel alloying by silicothermic self-reduction is that the reduction product SiO2 reduces the basicity in the LF refining furnace, and in practice, it is necessary to supplement the LF furnace with activated lime to ensure that the basicity remains unchanged. In addition, to achieve higher metal yields, excess reductant Si must be added, which results in the introduction of additional Si into the steel, a factor that needs to be taken into account when deoxidizing or alloying with ferrosilicon. In terms of industrial relevance, the steel industry can provide for the consumption of Si-containing solid waste generated by the silicone industry. Silicothermic self-reduction direct alloying steelmaking is useful for the smelting of ultra-low carbon steels, such as 301L (12Cr17Ni7) stainless steel, to avoid the carbon increase in steel due to the introduction of carbon from high-carbon ferrochromium.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Si | Fe | O | Cl | Cu | C | Al | Ti | Ca | P | Zr | V | Mn |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
68.56 | 9.52 | 7.90 | 4.29 | 3.39 | 2.60 | 1.25 | 1.05 | 0.64 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.11 |
Cr2O3 | Fe2O3 | Al2O3 | MgO | SiO2 | CaO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
46.02 | 26.10 | 13.60 | 10.25 | 0.98 | 0.28 |
Components | Chromite Ore | Si-Containing Solid Waste | Al2O3 | CaO |
---|---|---|---|---|
S1 | 62.4 | 37.6 | - | - |
S2 | 34.7 | 21.0 | 16.6 | 27.7 |
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Chen, Y.; Xue, Z.; Song, S. The Direct Alloying of Steel through Silicothermic Self-Reduction of Chromite Ore Utilizing Si-Containing Solid Waste. Metals 2024, 14, 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/met14020138
Chen Y, Xue Z, Song S. The Direct Alloying of Steel through Silicothermic Self-Reduction of Chromite Ore Utilizing Si-Containing Solid Waste. Metals. 2024; 14(2):138. https://doi.org/10.3390/met14020138
Chicago/Turabian StyleChen, Yiliang, Zhengliang Xue, and Shengqiang Song. 2024. "The Direct Alloying of Steel through Silicothermic Self-Reduction of Chromite Ore Utilizing Si-Containing Solid Waste" Metals 14, no. 2: 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/met14020138
APA StyleChen, Y., Xue, Z., & Song, S. (2024). The Direct Alloying of Steel through Silicothermic Self-Reduction of Chromite Ore Utilizing Si-Containing Solid Waste. Metals, 14(2), 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/met14020138