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STEEL MAKING PROCESS

2.1. INTRODUCTION -

Various metallurgical processes are employed for converting iron


ore into steel and shaping it into different products as required by the
consumer industries and the people. Currently, there are two process
routes that dominate global steel manufacturing, although variations
and combinations of the two exist. These are the 'integrated' and the
'mini-mill' routes. The key difference between the two is the type of
iron bearing feedstock they consume. In an integrated works this is
predominantly iron ore, with a smaller quantity of steel scrap, while a
mini-mill produces steel using mainly steel scrap, or increasingly, other
sources of metallic iron such as directly reduced iron.
Increased energy and resource efficiency in steel production will bring
significant advances in the sustainability of the steel industry. These
gains in efficiency result from achievements in optimizing current
production methods and through the introduction of new technologies.

Steel plays a key role in the industrial development and economic


growth of a country. Therefore, the selection of very efficient and
effective metallurgical processes at the time of installation and their
continuous up gradation through research and development is very
vital.

1.2. PROCESS FLOW OF MATERIALS IN STEEL PLANTS-


The process flow of materials and converting them into semi
finished and finished products, is summarized below:
 Metallurgical grade coals are received from collieries & Washeries.
Part of this coal is also imported.
 The coals are crushed, screened and blended.

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STEEL MAKING PROCESS
 The coals are fed to coke Ovens to make Coke suitable for use in
the Blast Furnaces. The Coke oven Gas which comes out as a by-

Iron Ore Other Materials

RAW MATERIALS
Coal HANDLING Lime Stone
PLANT

Coke from coke BLAST FURNACE Sinter from Sinter


ovens Plant

STEEL MELTING SHOP

INGOT SHOP

SLABBING MILL

REHEATING FURNACE

ROLLING OF INGOTS

OTHER PROCESSES

FINISHED PRODUCTS

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STEEL MAKING PROCESS

PROCESS FLOW OF MATERIALS

 product is sent to By-product plant to recover many valuable Coal


Chemicals after which it is used as fuel.
 The Coke from Coke-Ovens, Iron ore after beneficiation and
agglomeration and Lime Stone as a flux along with hot blast of air,
are main raw materials which are used to make molten pig iron in
the blast furnaces. In the steel making converters, molten iron is
charged along with scrap and various alloying elements to make
different grades of steels.
 The liquid steel is cast into ingots and fed to soaking pits for
primary rolling into blooms, slabs and billets.
 The liquid steel can also be fed to continuous casting machine to
cast billets or slabs or even near finished shapes, where not only
primary rolling is totally avoided but also a portion of secondary
rolling may not be needed. (3)

1.3. STEEL MAKING PROCESS-


Ores are mainly iron-oxygen compounds mixed with gangue. So
the compound must be broken down if the iron is to be accessed. A
suitable reducing agent is therefore needed for removing the oxygen,
in other words, reducing the ore and for performing this reduction
process, heat is required. The reducing agent must force the oxygen to
break its chemical bond with the iron, and then bind itself the oxygen
so that the iron is released. The most important reducing agent in the
production of iron is coke, which removes the oxygen either indirectly
by forming carbon monoxide or directly by its own content of carbon.
The burning of the coke supplies at the same time the heat required for
reduction. Apart from this reduction as the main reaction, several
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STEEL MAKING PROCESS
secondary reactions take place, which, in turn, partly interact or
overlap. So, the process of

reducing iron ore with coke is much more complex. Nonetheless, it is


possible nowadays to describe all the individual processes in
quantitative terms and at the same time control them so that the
reduction process is smooth and optimum. The purpose of reducing the
iron ore is to produce pig iron or hot metal as the stage preceding the
production of steel. Apart from its main component iron, steel has
several alloying elements added in order to achieve specific service
properties. Depending on costs and the availability of raw materials
and energy, a variety of approaches are adopted in the production of
steel. (15)
The ideal method would be to move from ore to steel in a single
step. However, this is not yet possible. The generally used technique
for obtaining steel from ore consists of two stages they are:
Ore reduction to form
- Hot metal (liquid) or
- Sponge iron (solid);

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