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Stronger, higher quality steel results when the molten steel is treated
under vacuum
Steel Degassing
Vacuum degassing of steel takes place after the molten steel has left the furnace and before
the steel is poured into ingots or processed through a caster. The main objectives of steel
degassing are:
• Preferential oxidation of dissolved carbon over chromium when refining stainless steel
grades
After leaving the furnace, molten steel is moved in a ladle to the degassing area and
positioned inside the degasser. The ladle is covered with a layer of slag that is penetrated
approximately 18” deep by the snorkels. As the snorkels are inserted, the Nash steam
ejectors create a vacuum of 0.5 mm HgA in the vacuum chamber to draw the steel into the
chamber. The lower partial pressure within the vacuum chamber removes both hydrogen and
nitrogen gases from the liquid steel, which are both vented as the steel is continuously
circulated. The evacuation time is usually five minutes or less.
The steel degassing process requires:
The quantity of dissolved gases to be removed. Absolute pressure, steel chemistry and
argon flow rate will all affect the rates at which the gases will be removed
The load at system design pressure in Dry Air Equivalent
The load the system needs to meet at different pressures (if required by out gassing
system)
The system volume
The process time requirement to go from atmosphere to deep vacuum
The final absolute pressure of the system. This will determine how many stages are
needed
The quantity of argon required. This will determine the agitation energy and the rate of
dissolved gas removal
The in-leakage rate of air into the system Get the
The steam pressure and temperature Nash
The cooling water temperature eNewsl
The cost of steam and electricity etter:
Each degassing system is designed to meet the steel mill’s specific requirements. 100 years of A free
design experience with liquid ring pumps and steam jet ejectors makes Nash the top choice quarterl
for your system. Steam jets work on a constant mass flow basis, while liquid ring vacuum y
publicat
pumps work on a constant volume basis. Used together, an economic break-even point may
ion with
be reached to take advantage of the best characteristics of each. Your Nash engineer can mainten
help you determine the optimal solution. ance
To see this article in pdf format, click here tips,
applicat
ion stories and news about Nash. Available in multiple languages. Sign up now!
Nash - your source for industrial vacuum and compressed gas solutions
Gardner Denver Nash is busy creating an ejector/liquid ring pump hybrid system, destined for a Twin Tank Car Ladle Degasser,
for a major U.S. steel manufacturer. Nash has many systems installed for steel degassing, both all ejector and hybrid. The main
reason for our success is our technical expertise, total system responsibility, customer support and superior products. The
systems are designed to meet end point capacity and vacuum level, evacuation time and multiple other design points based on
the steel that will be produced.
Years ago, steel making involved the direct transfer of liquid steel, via a ladle from a basic steel making vessel or an Electric Arc
Furnace, into ingots, producing a crude composition of steel.
In the 1950’s, attempts were made to reduce dissolved gases, like carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, by vacuum degassing in order
to produce ultra low carbon steel and prevent hydrogen induced defects.
Vacuum degassing became a standard part of the secondary steel making process; taking place after the ladle has left the
furnace and before the steel is poured into the ingots. There are two main types of degassers: recirculating and non-
recirculating. The first type, RH Degassers (invented by Heraeus-Rheinstahl in Germany), involves inserting two legs, or snorkels,
of a vacuum chamber into a ladle of liquid steel. The metal is drawn into the chamber via one snorkel which also injects Argon
to promote turbulence; it is then exposed to the vacuum to remove gases and recirculated back through the second snorkel.
The other system, a tank degasser, is a vessel into which the ladle is set and stirred by the injection of argon. The chamber is
depressurized to remove gases and, finally, the ladle is removed. Both operations are batch processes.
Gardner Denver Nash has sold vacuum systems, which have been operating
successfully for decades, for all types of degassers. Nash-designed systems meet Steam jets work on a
the evacuation requirements to maintain the production rate as well as meets
the capacities at different pressures to maintain product quality.
constant mass flow basis,
while liquid ring vacuum
pumps work on a constant
Typical systems sold in this application are four or five stage all ejector systems volume basis. Nash can
or hybrid systems. System design and cooling water temperatures determine the help you determine the
number of stages required to meet customer’s requirements.
optimal economic break-
even point of a system that
The four stage hybrid system we are currently working on saves 13,500 PPH of uses both. taking
steam and uses 540 BHP. Using a steam cost of $7.5/ 1,000 lbs power at $ 0.065/ advantage of the best
KWH, operating savings using a hybrid system is over $500,000. The payback
time for this hybrid system is less than 7 months! 99% of the hybrid systems for
characteristics of each.
steel degassing application will give a payback of less than 1 year because of the
large volume of NCG gas that has to be handled.
The customer’s decision to go with hybrid system, in spite of higher initial cost,
was due to:
The vacuum
circulation or RH
process is widely
used to produce
ultra-low carbon
steels. Besides
decarburisation, it
also comprises
hydrogen and
nitrogen removal
under vacuum. The
course of the
decarburisation
treatment can be
observed, in
principle, on the
basis of off-gas
measurement data,
while this is not
possible for the
removal of nitrogen
and hydrogen.
Accuracy of the
process model
(standard deviation
of the modelling
error)
Carbon 6 ppm
content
Oxygen 30
content ppm
prior to 8 ppm
deoxidation 0.2pp
Nitrogen m
content
Hydrogen
content
Temperatur 5 K
e
Within a dynamic control concept the model is used for on-line calculation of the current process status
and for prediction of the evolution of decarburisation and temperature behaviour. From a comparison
with the target values from the continuous casting plant it is decided if an additional oxygen supply for
forced decarburisation or for chemical heating is required, or if carbon for pre-deoxidation or cooling
scrap have to be added. By this process control system the accuracy in meeting the aim temperature
can be improved while reducing on the average the consumption of oxygen and aluminium for
deoxidation.
Structure of a model-based control concept for a RH plant with oxygen lance
Search the w e
Industrial Solutions International
Refractory supply and expertise to industry
Home The degasser operation imposes severe stress into the refractory lining system owing
to rapid changes in temperature.
About Us
In the recirculatory degassing operation, liquid steel is forced from the ladle into an
Site map evacuated refractory chamber by atmospheric pressure. The low pressure in the
chamber then allows the entrapped gases to expand and rise to the surface, resulting
Non Ferrous in the denser degassed steel returning to the ladle. The action of the degassing
process also results in high turbulence within the steel volume giving rise to
Ferrous homogenisation. Gases from the chamber are removed through off takes and coolers.
Water Cooled EAF The DH degassing system is typically used in the production of high alloy and speciality steels
from low tonnage electric arc furnace shops, whereas the RH degassing system is associated with
EBT EAF
high tonnage BOS shops producing low-carbon aluminium-killed steel.
Steel Degassing
RH degassing is generally preferred owing to the metallurgical advantage of downstream refining
RH Degasser processes to produce large tonnage's of high quality lower cost continuously cast steel.
Technical Information
EROSION
The action of molten steel and slag entering the vacuum chamber places a highly erosive action
upon the refractory lining.
ABRASION
Abrasive forces exists in the gas off takes owing to the action of fine steel particles entrapped in
the exiting gases.
THERMAL CYCLING
Owing to the intermittent nature of the process there is inevitably temperature cycling in the
vessel, this coupled with invasion into brick matrices leads to disruptive spalling of the refractory
lining.
SNORKEL LEG
Materials based upon direct bonded sintered and fused co-clinker have been shown to give
optimum performance.
Snorkel leg materials are supplied with all mating faces diamond ground to tight tolerance to allow
construction without the use of mortar joints.
ALLOY CHUTE
The alloy chute demands refractory materials with high resistance to thermal shock and abrasion,
and here again fused grain magnesia chrome clinker are preferred.
SAFETY LININGS
All areas of the vessel require a high quality economical safety lining capable of resisting metal at
high temperature.
Materials based upon Andalusia have proven to be the most sensible choice
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Vacuum degassing, which involves exposing the liquid steel to a low absolute Enlarge this picture
vacuum, serves several purposes from reduction of dissolved gases to carbon
removal from high-chrome stainless-steel melts. Several different types of
vacuum degassers are available. In addition to reviewing the primary objectives
of vacuum degassing, the various types of vacuum degassers will also be
reviewed.
processing of liquid steel after it has left the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) or the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)
and before the steel is poured into ingots or processed through a continuous caster. Vacuum degassing
involves exposing liquid steel to a low absolute vacuum. The actual process vacuum needed depends on the
goals of the steelmaker, but absolute vacuum levels below 1 Torr are common. The primary objectives of
Reduction of dissolved gases (hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen) in the molten steel
Preferential oxidation of dissolved carbon over chromium in the application of refining stainless-steel
grades
Provide the means and technical conditions that are favorable for final desulfurization
Reheating of the steel melt through the oxidation of reagent elements in solution in the steel or
Provide the delivery of bulk alloys through vacuum lock or micro-alloying elements via cored wire
Enlarge this picture The effect of exposing liquid steel to a low-pressure atmosphere (i.e. vacuum)
has several benefits to the steelmaker. The first is the reduction of dissolved
gases. The reduction of hydrogen is the main objective for most vacuum
noted, however, that the reduction of nitrogen is limited and not as easy as
hydrogen. In addition to final vacuum level and purge gas rate, nitrogen removal
Fig. 2. Solubility of
hydrogen and nitrogen in is also dependent on the quantity of oxygen and sulfur in the liquid steel. These
iron at 1-atmosphere
surface-active elements severely limit the nitrogen removal rate. The solubility of
dissolved gases in steel decreases as the steel solidifies and cools (Fig. 2). This
results in the formation of internal stresses, flakes, cracks and pinholes in the steel. The exposure of liquid
steel to a vacuum can reduce the dissolved-gas content such that internal stresses are avoided. The
quantity of dissolved gases in liquid steel is proportional to the square root of the partial pressure of the
dissolved gas. This relationship was determined by Sievert and is expressed by the following equation
[% X] = K (Px2)1/2
where [%X] is the percent dissolved gas in the molten steel, K is the equilibrium constant and PX2 is the
partial pressure of the dissolved gas expressed in terms of atmosphere. This relationship for hydrogen and
nitrogen is as follows:
Equilibrium solubility of hydrogen and nitrogen in molten iron at various partial pressures is shown in Fig. 3.
In any vacuum-degassing system, the following conditions affect the amount of dissolved gas removal:
surface area of the molten steel exposed to the vacuum; mean free path for diffusion from the steel; the
amount and type of deoxidizers used before vacuum degassing; vacuum degassing pressure; exposure time
at vacuum; initial dissolved gas content; use of purging gases; and dissolved gas pickup from contamination
Vacuum degassing can also be used to produce ultra-low-carbon steels. Exposing Enlarge this picture
liquid steel to an oxidizing environment (e.g. unkilled steel, slag or oxygen
injection) will reduce carbon content of the steel. Likewise, the oxygen content of
Under proper vacuum conditions, the steel can be decarburized to levels less than 0.005%. Figure 4 shows
the carbon–oxygen relationship at two partial pressures of CO in liquid steel at 1600˚C (2912°F).
Preferential Oxidation
Enlarge this picture Another application for vacuum degassing is the production of stainless steels.
partial pressure can be accomplished by dilution of CO by argon or exposing the liquid melt to a vacuum.
The former is known as Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD), and the latter is Vacuum Oxygen
Decarburization (VOD).
There are three basic types of vacuum degassers (stream, recirculation and ladle). All three methods are
batch-type operations. The choice of a vacuum-degassing system is determined by many factors. These
include primary objective of vacuum degassing, capital investment, operating costs, temperature losses,
Stream Degassers
The stream degassing process occurs as the tapping ladle is being emptied and a Enlarge this picture
receiving ladle/ingot mold is being filled. The low-pressure atmosphere (i.e.
teeming/receiving ladle can be used as the vacuum enclosure. For either system,
the steel is transferred into another ladle while the pouring steel stream is broken
Recirculation Degassers
The recirculation degassing process occurs as the liquid steel in a ladle is forced by atmospheric pressure
into an evacuated chamber where it is exposed to a low absolute pressure and then returned back to the
ladle. The steel is circulated through the evacuation chamber until the desired level of degassing has
occurred. This is repeated for 30 to 60 cycles. The possible arrangements of recirculation degassers include
Dortmond Horder (DH) – single snorkel and Ruhrstahl Heraeus (RH) – dual snorkel.
Ladle Degassers
Enlarge this picture The ladle degassing or tank degassing process occurs when a full ladle of steel is
placed into a vacuum tank or a vacuum cover is placed directly onto the ladle of
steel (Fig. 1). The steel is circulated to the top of the ladle and exposed to the
vacuum by either gas stirring (i.e. porous plugs) or induction stirring. The
Vacuum Arc Degassing (VAD), Vacuum Oxygen Decarburization (VOD) and Lid Degasser (LD). The
Freeboard (i.e. the distance between the slag/metal interface and the ladle rim) must be sufficient
in order to contain the slag and steel boiling intensity during pump-down and vacuum treating. Too
little freeboard will require a slower, more rigorously controlled pump-down and hence a longer
overall treatment time at the ladle degassing station. Table 1 provides a guideline for freeboard and
Ladle Stirring: There are two methods for ladle stirring: gas stirring through the use of a porous
plug and/or induction stirring. The liquid steel must be stirred at variable intensities that are
appropriate for the metallurgical and process work during the degassing process. Typically for gas
stirring, the flow rate is minimized during pump-down but is increased during deep degassing. This
promotes the interaction of the steel with the vacuum and allows the dissolved gases in the steel to
Temperature Loss: The temperature of the steel at the beginning of the process should be
sufficient, allowing for the temperature losses during degassing, subsequent feeding of cored wire
Refining Slag: The steel must be covered with a refining slag whose weight (hence thickness),
composition and fluidity are suitable for the process objectives. For example, for typical gas removal
and desulphurization to the lowest sulfur level, the slag should be fully deoxidized.
The Vacuum Tank Degasser (VTD) can be configured in many different arrangements depending on the shop
layout and flow of steel through the facility. A stationary, foundation-mounted twin-tank arrangement is
shown in Fig. 6. This allows one tank to be processing a heat while the second tank is available for
processing the next heat. The arrangement of the facility provides for ladles to be transported to and from
the VTD by the existing overhead ladle crane. At the tank degasser, ladles are supported during the
Regardless of the type of vacuum degasser used, the vacuum pumping system Enlarge this picture
has to be designed to meet the process goals of the steelmaker. Parameters
required for designing the vacuum pumping system include the following:
including hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. These gases will be removed Fig. 6. Plan view of a twin-
tank vacuum degasser
at different rates depending on absolute pressure, steel chemistry and arrangement
The system volume, including the tank, drop-out chamber and ducting, and the process time
requirement to reduce the system from atmosphere to deep vacuum degassing operation (e.g. 1
Torr).
The final absolute pressure of the system. This is also known as the system blank-off point and
determines the quantity of stages needed to reach the desired vacuum level.
The quantity of argon required during deep degassing, as this will determine the stirring energy and
The in-leakage rate, which is the rate at which air is leaking into the system.
References
1. Ahindra Ghosh, Secondary Steelmaking, Principles and Applications, CRC Press LLC., New York, NY, 2001.
3. M. A. Orehoski and R. D. Gray, “Ladle Refining Processes,” AISE Fall Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, 1985
4. K.J. Shoop, R.W. Arnold and K. Perala, “Start up and Commissioning of a Twin Tank Vacuum Degasser for
Ladle refining
Dr. Dmitri Kopeliovich
Methods of vacuum ladle degassing utilize the reaction of deoxidation by carbon dissolved in
steel according to the equation:
where:
[C] and [O] - carbon and oxygen dissolved in liquid steel; {CO} - gaseous carbon monoxide.
Vacuum treatment of molten steel decreases the partial pressure of CO, which results in shifting
equilibrium of the reaction of carbon oxidation. Bubbles of carbon monoxide form in the liquid
steel, float up and then they are removed by the vacuum system.
In addition to deoxidation vacuum treatment helps to remove Hydrogen dissolved in liquid steel.
Hydrogen diffuses into the CO bubbles and the gas is then evacuated by the vacuum pump.
Movement of the molten steel caused by CO bubbles also results in refining the steel from non-
metallic inclusions, which agglomerate, float up and are absorbed by the slag.
CO bubbles also favor the process of floating and removal of nitride inclusions and gaseous
Nitrogen.
Steels refined in vacuum are characterized by homogeneous structure, low content of non-
metallic inclusions and low gas porosity.
Vacuum degassing methods are used for manufacturing large steel ingots, rails, ball bearings and
other high quality steels.
The snorkels of the vacuum chamber are immersed into the ladle with molten steel. Liquid metal
fills the chamber to a level determined by the atmospheric pressure (4.2ft/1.3m). Argon bubbles
floating up in one of the snorkels (up-leg) force the melt to rise in the snorkel. Through the
second snorkel (down-leg) the molten steel flows down back to the ladle producing circulation.
The circulation rate may reach 150-200 t/min.
The recirculation degassing vacuum chambers are usually equipped with addition hoppers,
through which alloying elements or/and desulfurization slag may be added.
Steel-making processes
Abstract:
Steel is made by the Bessemer, Siemens Open Hearth, basic oxygen furnace, electric
arc, electric high-frequency and crucible processes. In both the Acid Bessemer and Basic
Bessemer (or Thomas) processes molten pig iron is refined by blowing air through it in an
egg-shaped vessel, known as a converter, of 15-25 tonnes capacity. In the Siemens
process, both acid and basic, the necessary heat for melting and working the charge is
supplied by oil or gas.
(Both the gas and air are preheated by regenerators, two on each side of the furnace,
alternatively heated by the waste gases. The regenerators are chambers filled with
checker brickwork, brick and space alternating. The high nitrogen content of Bessemer
steel is a disadvantage for certain cold forming applications and continental works have,
in recent years, developed modified processes in which oxygen replaces air.
Steel is made by the Bessemer, Siemens Open Hearth, basic oxygen furnace, electric arc, electric high-frequency
and crucible processes.
Crucible and high-frequency methods
The Huntsman crucible process has been superseded by the high frequency induction furnace in which the heat is
generated in the metal itself by eddy currents induced by a magnetic field set up by an alternating current, which
passes round water-cooled coils surrounding the crucible. The eddy currents increase with the square of the
frequency, and an input current which alternates from 500 to 2000 hertz is necessary. As the frequency increases,
the eddy currents tend to travel nearer and nearer the surface of a charge (i.e. shallow penetration). The heat
developed in the charge depends on the cross-sectional area which carries current, and large furnaces use
frequencies low enough to get adequate current penetration.
Automatic circulation of the melt in a vertical direction, due to eddy currents, promotes uniformity of analysis.
Contamination by furnace gases is obviated and charges from 1 to 5 tonnes can be melted with resultant economy.
Consequently, these electric furnaces are being used to produce high quality steels, such as ball bearing, stainless,
magnet, die and tool steels.
Figure 1.
Furnaces used for making pig iron and steels. RH side of open hearth furnace shows use of oil instead of gas
Figure 2.
The Kaldo (Swedish) process uses top blowing with oxygen together with a basic lined rotating (30 rev/min) furnace
to get efficient mixing (Fig. 2a). The use of oxygen allows the simultaneous removal of carbon and phosphorus from
the (P, 1,85%) pig iron. Lime and ore are added. The German Rotor process uses a rotary furnace with two oxygen
nozzles, one in the metal and one above it (Fig. 2c). The use of oxygen with steam (to reduce the temperature) in
the traditional basic Bessemer process is also now widely used to produce low nitrogen steel. These new techniques
produce steel with low percentages of N, S, P, which are quite competitive with open hearth quality.
Other processes which are developing are the Fuel-oxygen-scrap, FOS process, and spray steelmaking which
consists in pouring iron through a ring, the periphery of which is provided with jets through which oxygen and fluxes
are blown in such a way as to "atomise" the iron, the large surface to mass ratio provided in this way giving
extremely rapid chemical refining and conversion to steel.
Vacuum degassing is also gaining ground for special alloys. Some 14 processes can be grouped as stream, ladle,
mould and circulation (e.g. DH and RH) degassing methods, Fig. 3. The vacuum largely removes hydrogen,
atmospheric and volatile impurities (Sn, Cu, Pb, Sb), reduces metal oxides by the C – O reaction and eliminates the
oxides from normal deoxidisers and allows control of alloy composition to close limits. The clean metal produced is
of a consistent high quality, with good properties in the transverse direction of rolled products. Bearing steels have
greatly improved fatigue life and stainless steels can be made to lower carbon contents.
Figure 3. Methods of degassing molten steel
Vacuum melting and ESR. The aircraft designer has continually called for new alloy steels of greater uniformity and
reproducibility of properties with lower oxygen and sulphur contents. Complex alloy steels have a greater tendency
to macro-segregation, and considerable difficulty exists in minimising the non-metallic inclusions and in accurately
controlling the analysis of reactive elements such as Ti, Al, B. This problem led to the use of three processes of
melting.
(a) Vacuum induction melting within a tank for producing super alloys (Ni and Co base), in some cases for further
remelting for investment casting. Pure materials are used and volatile tramp elements can be removed.
(b) Consumable electrode vacuum arc re-melting process (Fig. 4) originally used for titanium, was found to eliminate
hydrogen, the A and V segregates and also the large silicate inclusions. This is due to the mode of solidification. The
moving parts in aircraft engines are made by this process, due to the need for high strength cleanness, uniformity of
properties, toughness and freedom from hydrogen and tramp elements.
(c) Electroslag refining (ESR) This process, which is a larger form of the original welding process, re-melts a
preformed electrode of alloy into a water-cooled crucible, utilising the electrical resistance heating in a molten slag
pool for the heat source (Fig. 5). The layer of slag around the ingot maintains vertical unidirectional freezing from the
base. Tramp elements are not removed and lead may be picked up from the slag.
Figure 4. Figure 5.
Typical vacuum arc remelting furnace Electroslag remelting furnace
DEGASSER® is built around two major components. A degas chamber (vacuum
container) enclosing a degas membrane module that is fabricated with gas/liquid
separation membrane such as hollow fiber non-porous membrane. A vacuum control
device controls a vacuum outside or inside of the membrane module.
For the sake of discussion here, we use a most fundamental schematic as below though a
way of membrane fabrication and a way of vacuum application are varied by purposes and
ambient environment differences.
In this case, a liquid is pumped (suctioned) through a hollow fiber membrane module and
is expelled out of outlet port. Though the hollow fiber membrane is non-porous so called,
small and highly mobile gaseous compounds (molecules) infuse into and permeate
through the membrane wall.
Dissolved gaseous compounds near by membrane surface infuse and permeate the
membrane wall and diffuse out it to the exterior where regulated vacuum is applied. At
first, those dissolved gaseous compounds (molecules) migrate to the region near by
membrane surface by mainly diffusing action that is explained by the Fick's Law.
And, Henry's Law, which describes an equilibrium action between different solute
concentrations, governs a mechanism of infusion into the membrane wall. This same
principle keeps fueling the migration of gaseous compounds inside of wall and to the
outside of membrane.
The migration speed differs at inlet port and outlet port because concentrations of
dissolved gaseous compounds are different there. Within the flow path, diffusion speed is
influenced by rheological state and linear velocity. Also, the migration speed inside of
membrane wall differs by characteristics, molecular structure and a crystal structure of
membrane.
Although Fick's Law and Henry's Law could explain the basis of migration theory, many
factors influence each other. Thus the mechanism of degassing is fairly complex and
cannot be described like a rather simple model of gas/gas separation or equations.
ERC optimizes a degassing mechanism based on those principles and many years'
experiments and keeps its uncompromising effort to improve the efficiency further.