CARBON REACTION

The carbon oxygen reaction plays a dominant role in steelmaking.

The activity of carbon in liquid iron-carbon alloys shows a negative deviation

from ideality.

The equilibrium constant of reaction in Eq is

K(4.2)=P co
or H(c) h(o)

Fc [%C] fo [%O] = Pco

K(4.2)

The relationship of carbon and oxygen contents in liquid iron at various

carbon monoxide pressures are shown in Fig. temperature dependence of
equilibrium constant is believed to be

Log K(4.2) = 1056 + 2.131

giving a value of 494, i.e approximately rounded off to 500 to 1600 C

It is thus possible to produce steels with less than 0.1% C using pure
oxygen as oxidizing reagent (oxygen steelmaking processes).

PHOSPHORUS REACTION
Although the boiling point of phosphorus is very low a considerable amount
of it still remains dissolved in liquid iron because of its strong interaction with
iron. It is experimentally difficult to determine the interaction parameters of
phosphorus with other solutes and thus only a few of these values are
known. The activity co-efficient is given by by3
The iron and phosphorus lines on the Ellingham diagram are so close to each
other that the entire phosphorus is the burden gets reduced along with ironb
in an iron blast furnance. This might have posed a serious problem in the
oxidation of phosphorus but for the
fact that the two lines are widely separated during steelmaking by
decreasing the activity of (P2O5) using a strong and excess external basic flux
line lime. The standard and non-standard lines on the Ellingham diagram are
shown in Fig. The steel making slags may contain upto 25% (P2O5) but even
the activity of (P2O5) in slag remains extremely low. F or effective removal of
phosphorus basic steelmaking processes have to employ slags of high
basicities. If the basicity falls, phosphorus may soon revert back to the metal
phase. In acid steelmaking processes since the slag is nearly saturated with
silica, phosphorus can not be eliminated at all.

In brief high basicity, low temperature and (FeO) content around 15% favour
effective dephosphorisation of metal by slag.

SULPHUR REACTION
Although sulphur has a very low boiling point like phosphorus a considerable
amount of it is found in liquid iron because of its strong interaction with iron.

For efficient removl of sulphur high basicity and low oxygen potential is,
therefore, essential. Thermodynamically lower temperature is bound to
improve the desulphurization index in practice high temperature is favoured
from the kinetic point of view. From the activity point of view it is easier to
remove sulphur from pig iron than from steel because of usual impurities in
pig iron raise the activity coefficient of sulphur.

Since steelmaking is carried out under oxidizing conditions (except in

electric arc furnance reducing slag period) the efficiency of desulphurization
is very low. The value of the index ranges from 50 to 100 under blast furnace
conditions and drops to 5-10 under basic steel making conditions.

In brief sulphur transfer from metal to slag is favoured by high basicity, high
temperature and low oxidizing potential (reducing condition) of the slag.
Sulphur transfer from slag to gas is favoured by high (MgO) content of the
slag and high oxidizing potential of the gas phase. The desulphurization is
less effective than dephosphorisation because of the highly oxidizing
conditions of refining.
CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL MAKING PROCESSES
Modern steelmaking is supposed to have been begun with the advent of
Bessemer process of steelmaking in eighteen sixties in U.K. It is used air for
refining. Soon the open hearth and the electric furnaces were developed to
melt steel scrap and make steel. The open hearth used chemical fuel like
producers gas and the electric furnace used electric energy for melting the
scrap.

Depending upon the impurities to be eliminated the slag nature has to be

adjusted, even with external additions if required. When only silicon
manganese and carbon are to be removed as impurities from iron, the slag
produced is predominantly acidic, nearly silica saturated, and the furnace
lining has to be acidic, nearly contain the slag. Such process came to be
known as acid process of steelmaking. When phosphorus and perhaps
sulphur, along with silicon, manganese and carbon has to be removed the
slag has to be adjusted by external addition of flux like limestone. The slag is
basic in nature and basic lining of the furnace becomes necessary. Such a
process came to be known as basic process of steelmaking.

Acid steelmaking is exceptional, occasionally only used, may be

infoundaries. Modern steel making is carried out in basic lined furnace using
oxygen as refining media. This is often called basic oxygen furnace
steelmaking or BOF for short.

Now only oxygen steelmaking is universally adopted for steel production.

The modified processes are slowly are slowly giving way to these modern
ones to maintain efficiency and economy of steel production.