CA1233644A - Method of producing ferro alloys - Google Patents

Method of producing ferro alloys

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Publication number
CA1233644A
CA1233644A CA000483990A CA483990A CA1233644A CA 1233644 A CA1233644 A CA 1233644A CA 000483990 A CA000483990 A CA 000483990A CA 483990 A CA483990 A CA 483990A CA 1233644 A CA1233644 A CA 1233644A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
iron
alloy
metallized
furnace
carbonaceous material
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000483990A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Glenn E. Hoffman
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Midrex International BV Rotterdam Zurich Branch
Original Assignee
Midrex International BV Rotterdam Zurich Branch
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Midrex International BV Rotterdam Zurich Branch filed Critical Midrex International BV Rotterdam Zurich Branch
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1233644A publication Critical patent/CA1233644A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22CALLOYS
    • C22C33/00Making ferrous alloys
    • C22C33/006Making ferrous alloys compositions used for making ferrous alloys

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
  • Treatment Of Steel In Its Molten State (AREA)
  • Cephalosporin Compounds (AREA)
  • Saccharide Compounds (AREA)
  • Steroid Compounds (AREA)
  • Compounds Of Iron (AREA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A method of making a molten ferroalloy product in a melting furnace by charging a briquet consisting essentially of metallized iron, granulated alloy metal oxide, a carbon source such as coke breeze, and a binder such as a mixture of calcium hydroxide and molasses, to the melting furnace, burning solid carbonaceous material to reduce the alloy metal oxide to metallized form and to heat the charge to form a molten ferroalloy product. Fluxes and slag formers are also charged to the furnace as required.

Description

~L233~4 METHOD OF PRODUCING EARLS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to alloys having a metallic iron content for use in the manufacture of iron and steel as well as the method of making such alloys.
In the manufacture of iron and steel, it is customary to make certain additions to the melting furnace such as various metalliferous products in the form of alloys such as ferrosilicon, ferronickel, ferrochrome, ferromanganese, and the like. Such furls normally contain a substantial amount of carbon. In the present invention, metallized iron, the alloy element in oxide form, and carbon are formed into a compact, or briquette, then charged into a shaft furnace along with audit oval carbonaceous material such as coke, if necessary, and reduced to form a molten furl product of high value for foundry practice and other iron and steel making uses.
The briquette to be charged to the shaft furnace preferably employs metallized iron fines as the basic ingredient in its composition. Previously known briquettes employ iron oxide fines. The presence of metallized fines reduces the energy requirement for the invented process. Since the iron fines are in the Matilda condition, the energy normally required for reducing iron oxide to iron is not a requirement in this process. Since the iron in the briquette need not be reduced before melting, the energy requirement is reduced.
run 12;33~
-lo-The closest known prior art patents include Render U.S. Patent 4,179,283, Merkert U.S. Patent 4,395,284, and Strange U.S. Patent 4,369,062.

ma 336~

Render teaches the bracketing of metal oxides only and has no direct reduced iron in his briquette charge. He utilizes two sources of carbon, a high reactivity and a low reactivity carbon.
Merkert teaches -that iron and a binder are optional and are not essential ingredients. He prepares porous compacts for use as a feed material to an electric furnace, the material having an apparent low density and high internal porosity. Merkert states that up to about 15% of the silica weight can be iron particles, however, this is identified as mill scale, which is generally in oxide form.
Strange teaches production of a briquette from reclaimed materials, such as iron fines and mill scale up to 41%. A study has shown that he has insufficient carbon in his briquette to reduce the mill scale. He also requires an additional source of energy to provide heat during the melt.
The present invention differs from each of these prior art teachings in that the charged briquettes contain the desired alloy oxide, carbon and iron which is over 60%
metallized, and a binder such as sodium silicate or a mixture of calcium hydroxide and molasses.
A feature of this invention is to provide a method for making a furl more economically than is presently possible, for various steel making and foundry practices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method of producing a furl which comprises forming compacts consisting essentially of a mixture of from 50% to 88% metallized direct reduced iron fines, of which the fines are from 60% to 97%
metallized, from 5% to 15% solid carbonaceous material, and from 7% to 35~ of a metal oxide. The oxide is selected from a group consisting of oxides of silicon, nickel, chromium, manganese, titanium, vanadium, molybdenum and cobalt. The jb/rlt - 2 -,.~ , ~23~
production method also comprises charging only the compacts, additional solid carbonaceous material which provide additional heat and reactive carbon, and slag former to a melting furnace, and burning the solid carbonaceous material to ! reduce the oxides in said compacts, to melt the constituents, and to form a high alloy melt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The invented process utilizes as a charge material an iron bearing briquette consisting essentially of from about 10 to 90~ metallized iron, from about 7 to about 65~ alloy in metal oxide form, and from about 5 to about 26~ carbon.
The iron in the composition could be in the form of turnings, chips or metallized iron fines, but are preferably the latter. Metallized iron fines are preferably made by direct reduction of iron oxide and are at least 60~ metallized, but usually more than 80~ metallized.
The preferred binders are three parts lime and five parts molasses. Lime for the binder is in the form of hydrated lime, which is calcium hydroxide.
All of these components should be in the finely divided form, preferably minus 3 millimeters.
Silica, manganese oxide, cremate, molybdenum oxide, nickel oxide, cobalt oxide, magnesium oxide, vanadium oxide, or other desired alloy oxide is present in fine or granulated form. Such oxides are herein given the formula MOW for ease of notation in equations.
The metallized iron fines within the briquette melt to form discrete iron droplets which are saturated with carbon.
The carbon is preferably a component of a solid fuel, such as coal or coke, or, alternatively, could be pitch or tar.
The briquette should include additional carbon beyond the stoichiometric jb/rlt - 3 -I ~36~
requirements in order to have a portion act as fuel to provide the heat of reaction for reduction and supply the necessary energy to heat and melt the reduced iron and silicon to tapping temperature (about 2700F or 1500C). The function of carbon in the briquette is:
1) to supply the energy required for the heat of reaction to reduce the alloy metal oxide species, the reaction being;
Mix + C M(s) + C0 lo 2) to supply the energy required to dissolve the carbon into the molten iron, the reaction being;
C(S) C
3) to provide the energy required to satisfy the enthalpy requirement in heating the iron and metallized oxide species (after reduction) to tapping temperature; and 4) to provide the energy to dissolve the reduced metal species into the molten iron, the reaction being;
M(s) heat M
Preferably, the particle size of all components is less than 25 millimeters, but most advantageously the particle size of all components will be less than 15 millimeters prior to bracketing.
A more advantageous range of components in the briquette is from 20 to 70% metallized iron, 15 to 60% alloy oxide and 9 to 23% carbon. The optimum composition is from 40 to 55%
metallized iron, 20 to 40% alloy oxide, and 13 to 21~ carbon.

m/

I ~.~336~
The mixture set forth above can be briquette by hot bracketing at a temperature of at least 600C and a pressure of at least 1,000 pounds per square inch to form a hot iron-bearing briquette.
The preferred binder is a mixture of calcium hydroxide and molasses in roughly equal parts, with an optimum composition of 3 parts lime to 5 parts molasses. However, each can be present in the amount of from 30 to 70~ of the binder.
Alternative binders are sodium silicate, pitch, and tars, other organic or chemical binders, and cements.
In the operation of the invented process, the furl birquet is charged into a shaft furnace melter, such as a cupola or other melting furnace. A substantial portion of the alloy oxide in the briquette will be reduced during the melting process, and the metallic alloy element will become available to the molten product as an alloying element. Thus it is seen that the furl briquettes can be substituted for the more expensive ferro-silicon or other furl.
In a cupola furnace, which is a melting furnace and not a reduction furnace, a loss in melting productivity results when reduction of both alloy oxide and iron oxide must be performed in the furnace. When only the alloy oxide must be reduced, that is if the iron oxide has already been reduced to the metallized iron form, the loss in melting productivity is minimized.
Oxygen for combustion in the cupola is provided by preheated air, with optional oxygen enrichment. The cupola rn/rlt -6- '~36~-~
could be a conventional coke cupola, or a codeless cupola, or any desired melting furnace, which could be fired by oxy-fuel burners, oxygen enriched air/natural gas burners, plasma torches, or electrodes such as carbon arc electrodes in an electric arc furnace.
The briquette charged preferably consists essentially of metallized iron fines, fine or granulated alloy in oxide form, a carbon source such as coke breeze or coal fines, and a binder such as a mixture of calcium hydroxide and molasses. After the mixture is compressed into a briquette, the briquette can be dried or cured at low temperature such as from 150 to 200C (about 300 to 400F) in order to remove any moisture and to improve the green strength.
Stainless steel, alloy chips, borings or turnings, or non-ferrous oxides such as illuminate, cremate, titanic concentrates, nickel literates or oxides, and even alloy mill scale could be included in the briquettes.
Sufficient additional carbon, in the form of solid carbonaceous material such as coke, is charged to the melting furnace in such quantity that it will satisfy the enthalpy and heat of fusion requirements to melt the solid iron, solid iron alloy, and slag former that have been charged to the melter, as well as provide carbon to the extent of being partially oxidized to form a non-oxidizing atmosphere in the melting zone of the melter to protect the iron and any reduced alloy specie against oxidation.

run aye Eye The hollowing tables compare the chemical analyses of various ferrosilicon compositions with equivalent ~errosilica briquettes, as used in the present invention.
TABLE I
Ferrosilicon Analysis Ferrosilicon Phase 1 Phase 5 Phase 10 Phase 25 Phase 50 Phase 75 Designation Fe 98.5~94.5%89.5% 74.5% 49.5% 24.5%
So 1.0 5.0 10.0 25.0 50.0 75.0 C 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 TABLE II
Ferrosilica Briquette Composition Ferrosilicon Equivalent Phase phase phase phase 25 Phase 50 Phase 75 Metallized Iron Fines 96.6%86.7% 75.9% 51.6% 26.2% 10.5%
Sue 0.5 7.8 15.7 33.5 52.1 63.6 C 2.9 5.5 8.4 14.9 21.7 25.9 TABLE III
Ferrosilica Briquette Analysis Phase 1 Phase 5 Phase 10 Phase 25 Phase 50 Phase 75 Fe 81.9~73.5%64.4% 43.7% 22.2% 8.9%
Foe 9.3 8.3 7.3 4.9 2.5 1.0 C 4.3 608 9.5 15.7 22.1 26.0 Sue 1.9 9.1 16.8 34.3 52.5 63.8 Coo 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.1 Other 1.6 1.5 1.3 0.9 0.4 0.2 rn/rlt ~L233~

"Metallized", as used throughout this specification does not mean coated with metal, but means nearly completely reduced to the metallic state, i.e., always in excess of 60%
metal, and usually in excess of 80~ metal in the material Such metallized iron in many forms, including pellets, is well suited as feed material to steel making furnaces such as an electric arc furnace.
ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS
Alternative binders of the matrix type such as coal-tar pitch, or of the film type such as sodium silicate, or of the chemical type such as hydrated lime and carbon dioxide, are all envisioned to be suitable binders for this application.
The charge to the cupola could be a mixture of briquettes, hot briquette iron, plain carbon steel scrap, alloy steel scrap, reclaimed cast iron, and coke.
Flux additions such as limestone, burned lime, dolomitic lime, spar, and the like would be utilized to form a suitable slag for either desulfurization, dephosphorization, or both, or just to flux impurities from the melt to the slag.
The molten furl product could be granulated, or cast into pigs or small ingots.
From the foregoing description, it is readily apparent that I have invented a process for making molten furls which attains the object set forth above. Modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and no limitations are to be inferred except as specifically set forth in the appended claims.

rn/rlt

Claims (5)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A method of producing a ferro-alloy, comprising:
forming compacts consisting essentially of a mixture of from 50% to 88% metallized direct reduced iron fines which fines are from 60% to 97% metallized, from 5% to 15% solid carbonaceous material, and from 7% to 35% of an oxide of a metal selected from the group consisting of silicon, nickel, chromium, manganese, titanium, vanadium, molybdenum and cobalt;
charging only said compacts, additional solid carbonaceous material to provide additional heat and reactive carbon, and slag formers to a melting furnace; and burning said solid carbonaceous material to reduce the oxides in said compacts, to melt the constituents, and to form a high alloy melt.
2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising charging solid iron, iron alloy, hot briquetted iron, carbon steel scrap, alloy steel scrap, reclaimed cast iron, or a mixture thereof to said melting furnace.
3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising injecting oxygen into said furnace to aid combustion.
4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said oxygen is present in the form of preheated air.
5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising pro-viding heat to said furnace by oxy-fuel burners, oxygen enriched air/natural gas burners, plasma torches, or electrodes.
CA000483990A 1985-04-01 1985-06-14 Method of producing ferro alloys Expired CA1233644A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US71868885A 1985-04-01 1985-04-01
US718,688 1985-04-01

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1233644A true CA1233644A (en) 1988-03-08

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000483990A Expired CA1233644A (en) 1985-04-01 1985-06-14 Method of producing ferro alloys

Country Status (12)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS61231134A (en)
AU (1) AU5375186A (en)
BE (1) BE904480A (en)
BR (1) BR8601396A (en)
CA (1) CA1233644A (en)
DE (1) DE3610248A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2579625A1 (en)
GB (1) GB2173216A (en)
IT (1) IT1190249B (en)
NO (1) NO861232L (en)
SE (1) SE8601450L (en)
ZA (1) ZA862076B (en)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5242483A (en) * 1992-08-05 1993-09-07 Intevep, S.A. Process for the production of vanadium-containing steel alloys
US6030434A (en) * 1999-03-31 2000-02-29 International Briquettes Holding Method for hot agglomeration of solid metallized iron particles to produce alloyed briquettes
EP1942201A1 (en) * 2007-01-04 2008-07-09 China Steel Corporation Ore sintering composition and ore sintering method
US9540707B2 (en) * 2011-11-25 2017-01-10 Ab Ferrolegeringar Iron and molybdenum containing agglomerates
DE102012111679A1 (en) 2012-01-19 2013-07-25 Gesenkschmiede Schneider Gmbh Low-alloy steel and components manufactured using it

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4113479A (en) * 1976-02-27 1978-09-12 Amax Inc. Vacuum smelting process for producing ferrotungsten
JPS5873742A (en) * 1981-07-07 1983-05-04 Sumitomo Metal Ind Ltd Manufacture of ferroalloy
US4369062A (en) * 1981-09-28 1983-01-18 Strange Robert R Method of making briquettes and product

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ZA862076B (en) 1986-11-26
SE8601450D0 (en) 1986-03-27
GB2173216A (en) 1986-10-08
JPS61231134A (en) 1986-10-15
IT8647839A0 (en) 1986-03-28
BR8601396A (en) 1986-12-09
IT1190249B (en) 1988-02-16
BE904480A (en) 1986-07-16
GB8605370D0 (en) 1986-04-09
NO861232L (en) 1986-10-02
AU5375186A (en) 1986-10-09
FR2579625A1 (en) 1986-10-03
DE3610248A1 (en) 1986-10-02
SE8601450L (en) 1986-10-02

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