Accelerated decarburization of Fe-C metal alloys
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsUday B. Pal, Donald R. Sadoway
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process for improving the rate of metal production and FeO utilization in a steelmaking process or a process combining iron-making and steelmaking in a single reactor that uses or generates Fe-C metal alloy droplets submerged in an FeO-containing slag. The process involves discharging a charge build-up (electron accumulation) in the slag at the slag-metal alloy interface by means of an electron conductor connected between the metal alloy droplets and a gas at a gas-slag interface, said gas having an oxygen partial pressure of at least about 0.01 atmosphere.
Claims18
In a process for improving the rate of metal production and FeO utilization which contains Fe-C metal alloy droplets submerged in an FeO-containing slag in which a charge build-up occurs in the slag at slag/Fe-C metal alloy interfaces and the charge build-up is discharged by means of an electron conductor, the improvement comprising connecting the electron conductor between the Fe-C metal alloy droplets and a gas at a gas-slag interface, said gas having an oxygen partial pressure of at least about 0.01 atmosphere.
A method for improving the rate of metal production and FeO utilization in a process that uses a first chamber containing Fe-C metal alloy droplets submerged in an FeO-containing slag and a reducing atmosphere covering the slag;
- and a second chamber containing a second slag and a gas-slag interface and an oxidizing atmosphere above said second slag;
- wherein the second chamber is located adjacent to the first chamber and is electrically connected to the first chamber by means of the electron conductor;
- and wherein a charge build-up occurs between the slag in the first chamber and the Fe-C metal alloy droplets in the first chamber, said method comprising the step of:
- (a) contacting the charge build-up with an electron conductor that is connected from the slag in the first chamber to the gas-slag interface in the second chamber to discharge the charge buildup, said oxidizing atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of at least about 0.01 atmosphere.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.