Iron making

The overall flow line of iron and steel making is shown in figure 4.

Figure 4. Flow line of steel making

For iron making, the essential feature is the blast furnace, where iron ore is melted (reduced) to
produce pig iron. The furnace is charged from the top with iron ore, coke and limestone; hot air,
frequently enriched with oxygen, is blown in from the bottom; and the carbon monoxide produced
from the coke transforms the iron ore into pig iron containing carbon. The limestone acts as a flux. At
a temperature of 1,600°C (see figure 5) the pig iron melts and collects at the bottom of the furnace,
and the limestone combines with the earth to form slag. The furnace is tapped (i.e., the pig iron is
removed) periodically, and the pig iron may then be poured into pigs for later use (e.g., in foundries),
or into ladles where it is transferred, still molten, to the steel-making plant.

Figure 5. Taking the temperature of molten metal in a blast furnace

Some large plants have coke ovens on the same site. The iron ores are generally subjected to
special preparatory processes before being charged into the blast furnace (washing, reduction to
ideal lump size by crushing and screening, separation of fine ore for sintering and pelletizing,
mechanized sorting to separate the gangue, calcining, sintering and pelletizing). The slag that is
removed from the furnace may be converted on the premises for other uses, in particular for making
cement.

Figure 6. Hot metal charge for basic-oxygen furnace

Steel making

Pig iron contains large amounts of carbon as well as other impurities (mainly sulphur and
phosphorus). It must, therefore, be refined. The carbon content must be reduced, the impurities
oxidized and removed, and the iron converted into a highly elastic metal which can be forged and
fabricated. This is the purpose of the steel-making operations. There are three types of steel-making
furnaces: the open-hearth furnace, the basic-oxygen process converter (see figure 6) and the
electric arc furnace (see figure 7). Open-hearth furnaces for the most part have been replaced by
basic-oxygen converters (where steel is made by blowing air or oxygen into molten iron) and electric
arc furnaces (where steel is made from scrap iron and sponge-iron pellets).

Figure 7. General view of electric furnace casting

Special steels are alloys in which other metallic elements are incorporated to produce steels with
special qualities and for special purposes, (e.g., chromium to prevent rusting, tungsten to give
hardness and toughness at high temperatures, nickel to increase strength, ductility and corrosion
resistance). These alloying constituents may be added either to the blast-furnace charge (see figure
8) or to the molten steel (in the furnace or ladle) (see figure 9). Molten metal from the steel-making
process is poured into continuous-casting machines to form billets (see figure 10), blooms (see
figure 11) or slabs. The molten metal can also be poured into moulds to form ingots. The majority of
steel is produced by the casting method (see figure 12). The benefits of continuous casting are
increased yield, higher quality, energy savings and a reduction in both capital and operating costs.
Ingot-poured moulds are stored in soaking pits (i.e. underground ovens with doors), where ingots
can be reheated before passing to the rolling mills or other subsequent processing (figure 4).
Recently, companies have begun making steel with continuous casters. Rolling mills are discussed
elsewhere in this chapter; foundries, forging and pressing are discussed in the chapter Metal
processing and metal working industry.

Figure 8. Back of hot-metal charge

Figure 9. Continuous-casting ladle

Figure 10. Continuous-casting billet

Figure 11. Continuous-casting bloom

Figure 12. Control pulpit for continuous-casting process

Hazards

Steel is an alloy produced via two

main methods
Integrated smelting involving blast furnace iron-making followed by basic oxygen
furnace & electric arc furnaces.
1. Basic oxygen furnace
The most commonly applied process for steel-making is the integrated steel-making
process via the Blast Furnace – Basic Oxygen Furnace. In the basic oxygen furnace, the
iron is combined with varying amounts of steel scrap (less than 30%) and small amounts of
flux. A lance is introduced in the vessel and blows 99% pure oxygen causing a temperature
rise to 1700°C. The scrap melts, impurities are oxidised, and the carbon content is reduced
by 90%, resulting in liquid steel.

Other processes can follow – secondary steel-making processes – where the properties of
steel are determined by the addition of other elements, such as boron, chromium and
molybdenum, amongst others, ensuring the exact specification can be met. Optimal
operation of the blast furnace demands the highest quality of raw materials – the carbon
content of coke therefore plays a crucial role in terms of its effect in the furnace and on the
hot metal quality. A blast furnace fed with high quality coke requires less coke input, results
in higher quality hot metal and better productivity.

Around 0.6 tonnes (600 kg) of coke produces 1 tonne (1000 kg) of steel, which means that
around 770 kg of coal are used to produce 1 tonne of steel through this production
route. Basic Oxygen Furnaces currently produce about 74% of the world’s steel. A further
25% of steel is produced in Electric Arc Furnaces.

2. Electric arc furnaces

The Electric arc furnace process, or mini-mill, does not involve iron-making. It reuses
existing steel, avoiding the need for raw materials and their processing. The furnace is
charged with steel scrap, it can also include some direct reduced iron (DRI) or pig iron for
chemical balance. The EAF operates on the basis of an electrical charge between two
electrodes providing the heat for the process. The power is supplied through the electrodes
placed in the furnace, which produce an arc of electricity through the scrap steel (around 35
million watts), which raises the temperature to 1600˚C, melting the scrap. Any impurities
may be removed through the use of fluxes and draining off slag through the taphole.

Electric arc furnaces do not use coal as a raw material, but many are reliant on the
electricity generated by coal-fired power plant elsewhere in the grid. Around 150 kg of coal
are used to produce 1 tonne of steel in electric arc furnaces.