CARBON REDUCTION WITH THE AID OF GRANULATED MILLSCALE (FeO) DURING STEEL PRODUCTION VIA THE ELECTRIC ARC FURNACE PROCESS

Abstract

In Nigeria and the Third Countries generally, conventional carbon reduction mechanism using 02 lance during steelmaking is usually plagued with a lot of hitches which bother on irregular supply of gaseous oxygen coupled with a rather exorbitant cost regime. This has resulted in high cost of production which invariably renders steels produced in Nigeria not being competitive in the market.

The above necessitates a concerted effort geared towards finding functional alternative for 0,- Lance. This was achieved, as revealed by the results of the experiments using granulated iron-oxide otherwise called millscale. The scope of its application for carbon reduction during steelmaking was found to be between 0.50% and 0.90% of the initial carbon content. The optimum charging sequence of the millscale was obtained at 70kg with respect to a range of furnace liquid steel capacities from 10-20 tons per heat.

With the application of millscale, the desirable carbon reduction value was achieved within a time frame which compared favourably with that of the conventional 0, Lance. Other advantages of the millscale application for carbon reduction in steelmak-ing include:-

• Consistency in production as the supply of the material (millscale) is not hampered by any constraint.
• Reduction in production cost.
• Self reliance since the materialis sourced within the factory.
• Improved environmental condition on the factory floor.
• Low down-time hours.