Technological advances in Refining and Processing of stainless Steel - A brief overview

The world production of stainless steels (SS) has witnessed considerable growth over
the last 15 years with a continuing rise in the demand. The production level has soared from
12 million tons per annum to more than 25 million tons per annum at present. Although stainless steel
is more expensive than conventional steels such as mild, HSLA and high carbon grades, its cost is
far outweighed by its benefits. Perceived continued growth in the demand, and favourable investment
returns have encouraged the modifications, innovations and expansion of existing facilities. This
chapter addresses some aspects of recent advances in the area of refining,, process innovations and
developments in stainless steel production. These include a brief account of phase equilibria for
stainless steel, specialized refining technologies such as argon oxygen decarburization (AOD), vacuum
oxygen decarburization (VOD), AOD-VCR and electroslag refining (ESR). Some typical issues of
quantitative modelling and simulation methodologies applied to stainless steel refining processes as
an innovative tool for enhancement of process understanding and control have also been discussed.