Case Study on a New Alternate Charge Material for Electric Arc Furnace

Abstract

Steel production through the electric arc furnace contributes nearly 30% of the total world steel production. To-day, this process is well established as an energy efficient economic process. The likely share of steel production through the electric are furnace route is projected to go up to around 40% of the world steel production, by the turn of this century. Till the seventies, steel scrap has traditionally been used as a main metallic source, as it has certain advantages such as low power consumption,low slag volume, less wear in the refractory lining, besides smooth furnace operation. However, the presence of tramp elements in scrap has shortcomings in producing quality steel products. Besides the quality aspects, the phenomenal rise in steel production through the EAF and increasing adoption of continuous casting have had a great impact on the availability and cost of steel scrap.