Electric-arc steelmaking

About one-quarter of the world’s steel is produced by the electric-arc method, which uses high-current electric arcs to melt steel scrap and convert it into liquid steel of a specified chemical composition and temperature. External arc heating permits better thermal control than does the basic oxygen process, in which heating is accomplished by the exothermic oxidation of elements contained in the charge. This allows larger alloy additions to be made than are possible in basic oxygen steelmaking. However, electric-arc steelmaking is not as oxidizing, and slag-metal mixing is not as intense; therefore, electric-arc steels normally have carbon contents higher than 0.05 percent. In addition, they usually have a higher nitrogen content of 40 to 120 parts per million, compared with 30 to 50 parts per million in basic-oxygen steels. Nitrogen, which renders steel brittle, is absorbed by liquid steel from air in the high-temperature zone of the arc. The nitrogen content can be lowered by blowing other gases into the furnace, by heating with a short arc, and by applying a vigorous carbon monoxide boil or argon stir to the melt.

The charge

The major charge material of electric-arc steelmaking is scrap steel, and its availability at low cost and proper quality is essential. The importance of scrap quality becomes apparent when making steels of high ductility, which must have a total maximum content of residuals (i.e., copper, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, and tin) of 0.2 percent. Most of these residuals are present in scrap and, instead of oxidizing during steelmaking, they accumulate and increase in recycled scrap. In such cases some shops augment their scrap charges with direct-reduced iron or cold blast-furnace iron, which do not contain residuals. Generally, the higher contents of carbon, nitrogen, and residuals make the electric-arc process less attractive for producing low-carbon, ductile steels.

Most scrap yards keep various grades of scrap separated. High-alloy shops, such as stainless-steel producers, accumulate, purchase, and charge scrap of similar composition to the steel they make in order to minimize expensive alloying additions.

The furnace

The electric-arc furnace (EAF) is a squat, cylindrical vessel made of heavy steel plates. It has a dish-shaped refractory hearth and three vertical electrodes that reach down through a dome-shaped, removable roof (see figure). The shell diameter of a 10-, 100-, and 300-ton EAF is approximately 2.5, 6, and 9 metres. The shell sits on a hydraulically operated rocker that tilts the furnace forward for tapping and backward for slag removal. The bottom—i.e., the hearth—is lined with tar-bonded magnesite bricks and has on one side a slightly inclined taphole and a spout or, as shown in the figure, an oval hearth and a vertical taphole. With this latter arrangement, a furnace needs be tilted only 10° for tapping, producing a tight and short tap stream that decreases heat loss and reoxidation of the liquid steel. Before charging, the vertical taphole is closed from the outside by a movable bottom plate and is filled with refractory sand.

Most furnace walls are made of replaceable, water-cooled panels; these are covered inside by sprayed-on refractories and slag for protection and to keep heat loss down. The roof is also made of water-cooled panels and has three circular openings, equally spaced, for insertion of the cylindrical electrodes. Another large roof opening, the so-called fourth hole, is used for off-gas removal. Additional openings in the furnace wall, with water-cooled doors, are used for lance injection, sampling, testing, inspection, and repair. The roof and electrodes can be lifted and moved away for charging scrap and for hearth maintenance.

The graphite electrodes, produced to high standards by a specialized industry, are actually strings of individual electrodes bolted end to end by short graphite nipples. This is done because shorter electrodes are easier to manufacture, transport, and handle. Electrode diameters depend on furnace size; a 100-ton EAF typically uses 600-millimetre electrodes. Three electrode strings are each clamped to arms that extend over the furnace roof and that are bolted to a vertically movable mast located beside the furnace. The mast controls the distance between each electrode tip and the scrap or melt, thereby regulating the arc length and current flow. Power-supply equipment—normally a step-down transformer, vacuum circuit breakers, a tap changer for electrode voltage control, and a furnace transformer—is installed in a concrete vault a short distance from the furnace. Heavy water-cooled cables and the power-carrying arms connect the furnace transformer with the electrodes.

EAF plants are smaller and less expensive to build than integrated steelmaking plants, which, in addition to basic oxygen furnaces, contain blast furnaces, sinter plants, and coke batteries for the making of iron. EAFs are also cost-efficient at low production rates—e.g., 150,000 tons per year—while basic oxygen furnaces and their associated blast furnaces can pay for themselves only if they produce more than 2,000,000 tons of liquid steel per year. Moreover, EAFs can be operated intermittently, while a blast furnace is best operated at very constant rates. The electric power used in EAF operation, however, is high, at 360 to 600 kilowatt-hours per ton of steel, and the installed power system is substantial. A 100-ton EAF often has a 70-megavolt-ampere transformer.

The process

After tapping a heat, the roof is moved away, and the hearth is inspected and, when necessary, repaired. An overhead crane then charges the furnace with scrap from a cylindrical bucket that is open on the top for loading and fitted with a drop bottom for quick charging. Scrap buckets are loaded in such a manner as to assure a cushioning of heavy scrap when the load drops onto the hearth in order to obtain good electrical conductivity in the charge, low risk of electrode breakage, and good furnace wall protection during meltdown. Carbon and slag formers are sometimes added to the charge to prevent overoxidation of the steel and to quicken slag formation. After charging one bucket, the roof is moved back to the furnace, and the electrodes are lowered. Meltdown begins with a low power setting until the electrodes have burned themselves into the light scrap on top of the charge, protecting the sidewalls from overheating during higher-power meltdown. Leaving some scrap unmelted at the furnace wall for its protection, a second bucket is charged and the same meltdown procedure is followed. Melting very light scrap sometimes requires the charging of a third or even fourth bucket.

After meltdown, the carbon level in the steel is about 0.25 percent above the final tap level, which prevents overoxidation of the melt. By this time a basic slag has formed, typically consisting of 55 percent lime, 15 percent silica, and 15 to 20 percent iron oxide. Slag foaming is often generated by injecting carbon or a lime-carbon mixture, which reacts with the iron oxide in the slag to produce carbon monoxide gas. This foam shields the sidewall and permits a higher power setting. As required, the carbon content of the steel is either decreased by oxygen blowing or increased by carbon injection. Samples are taken, the temperature is checked, additions are made, and, when all conditions are right, the furnace is tapped by rotating it forward so that the steel flows over the spout or through the vertical taphole into a ladle. When slag appears, a quick back tilt is applied and the slag is poured through the rear door of the furnace into a slag pot. Some shops leave 15 percent of the liquid steel in the furnace. This “hot heel” practice permits complete slag separation.

Very clean steel—i.e., with low oxygen and sulfur content—can be produced in the EAF by a two-slag practice. After removal of slag from the first oxidizing meltdown, new slag formers are added that contain carbon or aluminum or both as reducing agents. The new reducing slag may consist of 65 percent lime, 20 percent silica, calcium carbide or alumina (or all three), and practically no iron oxide. Alloys, which oxidize easily, are added at this time to minimize losses and to improve metallurgical control. Refining continues under the reducing slag until the heat is ready for tapping. Total heat time is one to four hours, depending on the type of steel made—that is, on the amount of refining applied and auxiliary heating used. Many shops do not apply a two-slag practice but treat the steel, after scrap meltdown and tapping, in ladle treatment stations. These secondary metallurgical plants, discussed below, allow the EAF to run only as a highly efficient scrap melter.

From time to time, as the arc erodes their tips and the high-temperature furnace atmosphere oxidizes their bodies, new electrodes are added to the top of the electrode strings at the furnace. Electrodes are consumed at the rate of three to six kilograms per ton of steel, depending on the type of operation.

Variations

In order to lower power consumption, scrap can be preheated in both batch and continuous processes, often utilizing the heat of furnace off-gases. Scrap preheating to 500° C (930° F) cuts power consumption by 40 to 50 kilowatt-hours per ton, and decreases tap-to-tap time and electrode consumption. Sometimes scrap is preheated inside the EAF by oxyfuel burners, but this requires a large off-gas system for handling combustion gases. In addition, for better mixing and heat transfer, electromagnetic coils or permeable refractory blocks for gas stirring are often installed in furnace bottoms. Applying these methods and using the EAF as a scrap melter can reduce power and electrode consumption to a mere 360 kilowatt-hours per ton and three kilograms per ton. Heat times are reduced to about one hour. This means, by applying methods originally developed for the basic oxygen process, the EAF can approach the steelmaking rates of the BOF.

Several EAFs are operated by direct current (DC) instead of alternating current (AC). DC furnaces normally have only one very large electrode extending through the centre of the roof, with the counter electrode embedded in the furnace bottom and contacting the melt. A hot heel is kept in the furnace to ensure a good current flow through the charge. Power and electrode consumption is lower than in regular AC furnaces. The DC arc has a steadier and quieter burn, which results in less disturbance of the surrounding power system and less noise around the furnace. The electrical equipment is smaller but still expensive because of the required rectifiers. Critical in DC furnace operation are the short life of the bottom electrode, integrity of the hearth, and current limitations with a one-electrode system. Furnaces with capacities up to 130 tons are in operation.