BAB I

PENDAHULUAN
1.1.

STEEL MAKING
Pig iron is not a useful material for practical use because of its high impurities &
gas content. By remelting & minor adjustment; it can be rendered useful as cast iron
for founding. The major disadvantage of cast iron is that it is not a malleable &
ductile alloy. The malleable & ductile form of iron can only be produced by
removing of the impurities present in pig iron dan converting it into steel. Steel
making process is reverse of iron making in the sense that here selective oxidation
of impurities take place. The oxides are eliminated either as gas or as liquid slag.

Classification of steel making processes:

1. Bessemer process
2. Open hearth process
3. Electric furnace process
4. LD process
5. Kaldo process
6. Rotor process
Bessemer process, open hearth process and electric furnace processes are
often called conventional methods of steel making. LD process, Kaldo process,
Rotor process and their modifications are called oxygen steel making
processes. They are also called basic oxygen furnace processes because of their
basic nature. Steel making is a refining or an oxidation process with the
exception of reducing conditions being specifically required to eliminate
sulphur, phosphor, and other impurity. Being an oxidation process steelmaking
needs a source of oxidizing agent. The obvious choice being the oxygen in the
form of atmospheric air and / or iron oxide in the form of iron ore and mill
scale (oxide produced during hot working of steels). The conventional
methods of steelmaking use either or both of these reagents.

The chemistry of steelmaking refining process can be simply described as

[Fe} + [O] = (FeO)

[C] + [O] = {CO}

[Si] + 2[O] = (SiO2)
[Mn] + [O] = (MnO)
2[P] + 5[O] = (P2O5)
[S] + (CaO) = (CaS) + [O]
Except the sulphur reaction, all the rest are oxidizing processes
and are favored
under the oxidizing conditions of steel making. In the case of
oxidation of carbon
the product, being a gas, will pass off into the atmosphere but
the rest of the oxide products shall remain in contact with the
iron melt in the form of a slag phase. As far as the physical
requirement of the oxide product is concerned it should be
readily separable from the

iron

melt. This

is achieved by

keeping the
slag and the metal both as thin liquids so that the metal
being heavier settles down and the slag floats on top in the
form of two immiscible liquids which can be separated readily.