Secondary Steelmaking: Overview

Secondary steelmaking is a critical step in the steel production process between the primary processes (Basic Oxygen Furnace or Electric Arc Furnace) and casting. Some elements are added and some have to be removed during secondary steelmaking in order to fine-tune the composition of the steel to meet the specification and the customer’s requirements. The temperature, internal quality and the inclusion content of the steel also have to be carefully controlled during secondary steelmaking. Several types of furnace and other equipment are used for these purposes. Each has a specific role to play and their use is selected depending upon the particular requirements of the type of steel being made. After secondary steelmaking, the ladle of liquid steel is taken, at the required composition, quality, cleanness, time, temperature and at least cost to the casting process.
Learning Outcomes for this Section.

After completing this section, you should be able to:

    * Explain the overall purposes of secondary steelmaking
    * Describe some of the equipment and processes involved in secondary steelmaking
    * Successfully perform a simulation of a secondary steelmaking shop by applying the main thermodynamic and kinetic principles

Pre-Requisites

Before starting, it is important that you are familiar with the following terms:  Phase equilibria; Desulfurization; Ellingham diagram; Ladle stirring; Phase diagram;

You should be familiar with the concepts covered in:

    * Thermodynamics and Kinetics

See Also

    * Thermodynamics and Kinetics > Thermodynamics and Kinetics
    * Deoxidation > Why Deoxidize?
    * Decarburization > Decarburization Introduction
    * Desulfurization > Why Control Sulfur Content?
    * Hydrogen Removal > Hydrogen Removal
    * Nitrogen Removal > Nitrogen Removal

http://www.steeluniversity.org/content/html/eng/default.asp?catid=26&pageid=1019640234

Don't forget to click the "next" button to view and digest the entire module! ;)

Respectfully,
Henry