Short metallurgical process flow
Date: 2025/1/17
Category: Metallurgical encyclopedia terms
Views: 28
Definition
The short steelmaking process is a steel making method compared with the traditional long-process steelmaking (starting from raw materials such as iron ore and coke, and going through complex processes such as blast furnace ironmaking and converter steelmaking). It mainly uses scrap steel as the main raw material, uses electric arc furnace (EAF) to melt scrap steel, and then produces steel through refining and continuous casting processes.
Main procedure
Raw material preparation
Scrap steel is a key raw material for short process steelmaking, and it has a wide range of sources, including scrapped cars, machinery and equipment, building structures and other scrap metal materials. Before use, it is necessary to classify and pretreat the scrap steel, such as removing impurities (such as soil, oil, etc.), and cutting it into the appropriate size to facilitate loading into the electric arc furnace. Some auxiliary materials, such as slag forming materials (lime, etc.), are also added to remove impurities and adjust the composition of the liquid steel during the steelmaking process.
Electric arc furnace smelting
This is the core of short process steelmaking. The electric arc furnace produces an arc between the graphite electrode and the scrap steel, and the high temperature generated by the arc (up to several thousand degrees Celsius) will quickly melt the scrap steel.
Compared with traditional converter steelmaking, electric arc furnace steelmaking has the advantage of better composition control in the melting process. Because the composition of scrap steel is relatively clear, the amount of alloying elements added during the smelting process can be precisely adjusted according to the requirements of the target steel grade. For example, when producing high-strength alloy steel, alloying elements such as nickel, chromium and molybdenum can be precisely added.
The energy source in the smelting process is mainly electrical energy, and part of the heat also comes from the chemical energy in the scrap steel (such as the rust on the surface of the scrap steel emits heat in the biochemical reaction at high temperature).
