Selenium

Atomic number

34

Density,

20 C (68 F) 4.85 g/cm3

Atomic weight

78.96

Melting point

220 C (428 F)

Boiling point

695 C (1283 F)

GENERAL
Selenium is recovered as a by-product during the refining of copper and lead. Its
principal uses are in electronics and only 5% of total consumption is relegated to steel.
Most of this goes into the production of free-machining grades.
AVAILABLE FORMS
Selenium is sold as elemental metal and as ferro-, copper-, and nickel-selenium
alloys. All are available in lump form; the metal may also be purchased as powder. Lump
selenium metal is the preferred addition agent for carbon and low alloy steels, while the
ferroalloy is normally added to stainless and high alloy grades.
Selenium is not recovered from alloy scrap in oxygen or electric furnace
steelmaking practices. Induction melting, being less turbulent, will recycle between 3040% of scrap selenium values.
ADDITION PRACTICE
All selenium addition agents are lighter than liquid steel and will tend to float on
the bath before being assimilated. Selenium metal is also very volatile, with a boiling
point well below steelmaking temperatures. These factors combine to give relatively poor
recoveries (around 60%) unless special techniques or ferroselenium is used, in which
case recovery would be 80-85%.
For more even distribution, selenium additions to the ladle or ingot mold should
begin early in the tap-teeming cycle and be completed before the receiving vessel is onehalf full. Ladle additions give more uniform distributions but lower recoveries than ingot

mold inoculation. Although metallic selenium is generally regarded as being

physiologically inert, hydrogen selenide and selenium oxide are extremely toxic
compounds, producing effects similar to arsenic when present in atmospheric
concentrations as dilute as 1.5 ppm. Maximum time weighted average allowable
concentration of selenium compounds in air has been fixed by OSHA at 0.2 mg/m^3 for
any 8-hour shift in a 40-hr. workweek. Since selenium addition to liquid steel can
produce copious fuming it is absolutely imperative that provision be made for adequate
venting and removal of both gaseous and particulate emissions. To avoid contamination
and reaction with moisture, addition agents should be kept dry in sealed containers and
handled mechanically or with gloves.
ROLLING/FORGING
Selenium does not produce the hot shortness effects common to its sister element,
tellurium, and no special processing precautions need therefore be taken when processing
selenium steels.
HEAT TREATMENT
Selenium does not affect hardening or tempering reactions and is generally benign
toward weldability and mechanical properties.
APPLICATIONS
Selenium improves the machinability of steels. As little as 0.05-0.10% is effective
in carbon and low alloy steels, but about 0.30% is needed in high alloy and stainless
steels. The "internal lubricant" properties of selenium are retained in steels even when
they are heat treated up to at least 1300 MPa (200 ksi). Selenium is, however, a relatively
expensive free-machining additive and its use versus cheaper replacements such as sulfur
or lead must be weighed against added benefits gained.
Transverse ductility and toughness are improved when selenium is added in equal
proportion to the steel's sulfur content (e.g. about 0.035%). Selenium alters the shape of
sulfide inclusions, making them more globular, and is thus similar to calcium and the rare
earth metals. Somewhat larger concentrations, 0.05%-0.10% Se, significantly reduce the
rate of nitrogen absorption in liquid steel, and steels treated in this fashion will have
better cold forming properties. High alloy steel castings inoculated with 0.02% Se will
show less pinhole porosity, even at hydrogen concentrations of 8 to 11 ppm.