See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/349109737

Development of synthetic slag for desulphurisation of the steel during

steelmaking in induction furnace

Article  in  Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies · February 2021

DOI: 10.1080/2374068X.2021.1878729

CITATIONS READS

0 497

1 author:

Ammasi Ayyandurai
National Metallurgical Laboratory
18 PUBLICATIONS   37 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Development of a Cost Effective Green Technology for Pre reduction of Chromite ore in Tunnel Kiln & Production of High carbon Ferro Chrome in SAF . View project

Method for qualification of casting powders for crack sensitive grade steels View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ammasi Ayyandurai on 08 February 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tmpt20

Development of synthetic slag for

desulphurisation of the steel during steelmaking
in induction furnace

Ammasi Ayyandurai

To cite this article: Ammasi Ayyandurai (2021): Development of synthetic slag for desulphurisation
of the steel during steelmaking in induction furnace, Advances in Materials and Processing
Technologies, DOI: 10.1080/2374068X.2021.1878729

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/2374068X.2021.1878729

Published online: 07 Feb 2021.

Submit your article to this journal

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tmpt20
ADVANCES IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES
https://doi.org/10.1080/2374068X.2021.1878729

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Development of synthetic slag for desulphurisation of the

steel during steelmaking in induction furnace
Ammasi Ayyandurai
Metal Extraction and Recycling Division, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Currently, steel production through induction furnace is nearly 30% Accepted 10 January 2021
of the total steel production in the world. However, steel produced
KEYWORDS
through induction furnace routes contains high sulphur (0.06 to Synthetic slag;
0.1 wt %) which is not acceptable for the structural steels. Therefore, desulphurisation of the steel;
it is imperative to develop the synthetic slag for the desulphurisa­ induction furnace; steel
tion of the steel in the induction furnace. The slag properties such making
as sulphide capacity, sulphur partition ratio, viscosity, liquidus tem­
perature, the solubility of components, basicity are considered to
design synthetic slag for desulphurisation of the steel in the induc­
tion furnace. Developed synthetic slag is consisted of 20–30 wt%
SiO2, 5–20 wt% Al2O3, 40–60 wt% CaO, 5–10 wt% MgO. The evalua­
tion of synthetic slag is performed in the induction furnace for
desulphurisation of plain carbon and alloy steel. The maximum
degree of desulphurisation is 84% with the addition of 2–3 wt%
synthetic slag for Al killed steel while 32% for non-killed steel is
achieved. The desulphurisation time to achieve the sulphur level
(0.03–0.04) is 10 minutes using developed synthetic slag (2–3 wt%
liquid metal). Sulphur partition and sulphide capacity of synthetic
slag increase with the basicity of the developed synthetic slag.

1. Introduction
Global crude steel production is 1,869 million tonnes for the year 2019, which is
3.4% higher than steel production in 2018 [1]. Global steel production is increasing
significantly. Along with such big numbers, there has been an increasing demand to
produce clean steel, which is free from inclusions. The secondary steelmaking sector
contributes to around 57% of the total production out of which 29% is through the
induction furnace (IF) route [2]. However, the induction furnace route has its
limitations for the refining of liquid metal, mainly for the production of low
phosphorus and sulphur steel. The refining of steel in induction furnace, particularly
in Indian induction furnace is not favourable as their furnace uses the acidic
refractory lining. It is challenging to carry out refining reactions in the acidic lining.
The use of basic refractory lining in induction furnace is limited due to cost,
spalling resistance, and erratic power supply input [3].

CONTACT Ammasi Ayyandurai masi@nmlindia.org Metal Extraction and Recycling Division, CSIR- National
Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, India.
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 A. AMMASI

Many countries advised to the steelmakers that steel production through IFs must
follow the international standard (IS) w.r.t steel grade for competency and market their
products. According to the steel grade standard, sulphur and phosphorus content must
remain within a range of 0.03% to 0.06 wt% depending on the grade of steel [4.
Furthermore, It is well known that favourable conditions for desulphurisation of steel
are high basicity, high temperature, low oxygen potential and reducing nature of slag
[3–5]. In general, induction furnace industries avoid the use of basic ramming mass (for
refractory lining), reason being, its unacceptably low spalling resistance and high cost.
Sulphur comes to liquid steel from feed materials such as pig iron and directly reduced
iron. Sulphur content in the steel should be as low as possible otherwise; it may cause hot
shortness in the steel due to the formation of eutectic iron sulphide . Steel production via
induction furnace route is increasing significantly as solid feed materials such as genera­
tion of steel scrap is very high and production of DRI become viable process as low grade
iron ore and coal are being used as raw materials for the DRI making. There are hardly
any reports on desulphurisation of steel in the induction furnace by synthetic slag
treatment. Impurities such as sulphur and phosphorus in final steel should be less than
0.06 % otherwise; produced steel affects the properties of the steel viz cold and hot
shortness. It is very important to produce the steel through the induction furnace route
with low sulphur content (≥ 0.04 wt %.) for induction furnace steel produces for
competency and market their steel products.
Therefore, we have developed the synthetic slag for desulphurisation of steel in the
induction furnace at laboratory scale (10–40 kg scale). The developed synthetic slag is
consist of 20–30 wt% SiO2, 5–20 wt% Al2O3, 40–60 wt% CaO, 5–10 wt% MgO which do
not have any harmful oxides that can affect erosion of the induction furnace lining. The
developed synthetic slag is validated with experimental works in the induction furnace
and empirical models and it has been discussed in subsequent section.

2. Theoretical consideration
2.1. Thermodynamics of sulphur removal
The transfer of sulphur from metal to slag and its reaction with CaO in slag can occur via
an interaction between CaO dissolved in the slag phase and sulphur in metal phase
[6–10]. During primary steelmaking, oxygen is injected into basic oxygen furnace (BOF)
converter, at super-sonic speed, to perform selective refining of hot metal, which is to
lower the impurities like carbon, silicon, manganese, phosphorus except for sulphur.
Removal of sulphur in the BOF converter is not very possible as the highly reducing
atmosphere is required along with high basicity and high temperature. Based on the
above consideration, the overall reaction may be written as shown in equation (1)

3ðCaOÞ þ 3½S� þ 2½Al� ¼ 3ðCaSÞ þ ðAl2O3Þ (1)

The equilibrium constant for Eq.(1) is:

ðaCaS Þ3 ðaAl2O3 Þ
K1 ¼ (2)
ðaCaO Þ3 ½hS �3 ½hAl �2
 ADVANCES IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES 3

Assuming hS = Ws, hAl = WAl and (Ws) in slag proportional to aCaS, therefore, equili­
brium partition coefficient for sulphur (L s, e) can be written as:
� � 2
ð WS Þ ½WAl �3
Ls;e ¼ αðaCaO Þ 1 (3)
½WS � eq ðaAl2O3 Þ3
With increasing wt. % of CaO, it increases the aCaO and by decreases activity of Al2O3,
thereby increasing the equilibrium partition coefficient (Ls,e). The equilibrium constant
(K1) as a function of temperature is given in Eq.(4)
48580
logK1 ¼ 16:997 (4)
T
Where- T is the temperature in kelvin.

2.2. Sulphide capacity (Cs) and sulphur distribution ratio (Ls)

The following equations represent the principal equilibrium reaction of sulphur between
gas and slag phases [10–13].
1 � 1 �
S2 þ O2 ¼ O2 þ S2 (5)
2 2
�1
ðaS2 Þ pO2 2
K5 ¼ : (6)
ðaO2 Þ p �12
S2

Where K5 is the equilibrium constant, a, p, and f represent the activity, partial pressure
and fugacity respectively of the species. Further, rearranging the Eq. (6), we get,
� �12
ðaO2 Þ pO2
S ¼ K5 ¼ ð%SÞ (7)
ðfS2 Þ pS2
Where Cs is the sulphide capacity.
The sulphide capacity (Cs) defined in equation (7) is used for quantifying the
desulphurising capacity of slag. In addition, the relation between the sulphide capacity
of slag and the sulphur distribution ratio (Ls) between slag and molten iron can be
derived as follows [12]
� �
ð%SÞ fS 1070
LS ¼ ¼ CS : : exp þ 2:7 (8)
½%S� hO T

2.3. Empirical relationship for sulphide capacity (Cs) and sulphur distribution
ratio (Ls)
The method for calculating the sulphide capacity (Cs) value, using Eq. (7) and sulphur
distribution ratio using Eq. (8) are very difficult to measure it in actual processes and
conditions of the steelmaking. During steelmaking process, measurement of the partial
pressure of oxygen (pO), the partial pressure of sulphur (pS), activities of oxygen in slag
4 A. AMMASI

(a(O)) and fugacity of sulphur in slag (f(S)) are challenging. Therefore, calculating the
sulphide capacity (Cs) and sulphur distribution ratio (LS) using conventional empirical
relation may come in handy, for developing the synthetic slag (flux) for desulphurisation
of the steel in the electric induction furnace. Tsao et al [14]. have developed an empirical
relationship to the calculate/predict the sulphide capacity (Cs) and sulphur distribution
ratio (Ls) using slag chemistry, temperature and optical basicity value as shown in Eq (9)
and Eq (11) respectively. For validating our experimental result, we have used Tsao
model for sulphide capacity of the slags.
� 9894
logCs ¼ 3:44 XCaO þ 0:1XMgO 0:8XAl2O3 XSiO2 þ 2:05 (9)
T

9894
log CS ¼ 14:20 ^ 7:55 (10)
T

� 4640
log Ls ¼ 3:59 XCaO þ 0:1XMgO 0:8XAl2O3 XSiO2 0:905logXFeO þ 0:385
T
(11)

3. Experimental
3.1. Design of synthetic slag
The synthetic slag is designed based on basicity (B2 & B4), optical basicity ( ), liquidus
temperature (TL), viscosity (ŋ), sulphide capacity (Cs), sulphur distribution ratio (Lp)
and isothermal liquidus area. The properties of synthetic slag are described in the
subsequent section. Major constituents of a synthetic slag consist of CaO, Al2O3, MgO
and SiO2 is considered for the design of synthetic slag for desulphurisation of the steel in
the induction furnace.

3.1.1. Basicity of the synthetic slag

Basicity of synthetic slags, mentioned above, is computed using the following expression,
given in Eq. (12), Eq. (13), and Eq. (14) are shown in Tables 2 and Tables 3. For optical
basicity calculation, data mentioned in Table 1 is used.
%CaO
Basicity B2 ¼ (12)
%SiO2

%CaO þ %MgO
Basicity B4 ¼ (13)
%SiO2 þ %Al2 O3
Also, Optical basicity,

Table 1. Theoretical basicity of some oxides [11].

Component Al2O3 SiO2 MgO CaO CaF2 FeO MnO TiO2 K2O LiO2 Na2O
^ th 0.605 0.48 0.78 1 0.43 0.53 0.59 0.65 1.4 1 1.15
 ADVANCES IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES 5

Table 2. Viscosity of some of synthetic slags composition.

S. o. SiO2 Al2O3 CaO MgO B2 B4 Temp (°C) Viscosity (Pa.S)
1 16.5 21 62.5 0 3.78 1.66 1650 0.057
2 20.9 15.2 58.95 5 2.82 1.77 1650 0.056
3 27.9 11.7 50.4 10 1.80 1.52 1650 0.067
4 43 0 57 0 1.32 1.32 1650 0.088
5 36.55 0 48.45 15 1.32 1.73 1650 0.066
6 45 0 55 0 1.72 1.22 1650 0.101
7 36 0 44 20 1.77 1.77 1650 0.066
8 27.72 21.25 43.4 7.6 1.56 1.04 1650 0.10
9 18.48 18.48 55.44 7.6 3 1.5 1650 0.06
10 2.77 55.44 34.18 7.6 12.33 0.56 1650 0.1
11 19 19 57 5 3 1.63 1650 0.06
12 18 18 54 10 3 1.77 1650 0.06
13 37 9 46.2 7.6 1.25 1.16 1650 0.09
14 2.85 57 35.15 5 12.33 0.67 1650 0.1
15 19 14 62 5 3.26 2.03 1650 0.05
16 19 6 70 5 3.68 3 1650 0.04

Table 3. Sulphide capacity (Cs) and the sulphur partition ratio (Ls) of the slag.
S. no. SiO2 Al2O3 CaO MgO Temp, °C Optical basicity (^) Cs Cs using ^ Ls
1 16.5 21 62.5 0 1650 0.60 0.023008 9.7E-06 80
2 20.9 15.2 58.95 5 1650 0.61 0.01356 1.2E-05 46
3 27.9 11.7 50.4 10 1650 0.57 0.004338 3.8E-06 14
4 43 0 57 0 1650 0.56 0.003179 2.2E-06 10
5 36.55 0 48.45 15 1650 0.59 0.002824 6.7E-06 9
6 45 0 55 0 1650 0.54 0.002322 1.4E-06 7
7 36 0 44 20 1650 0.59 0.002162 6.5E-06 7
8 27.72 21.25 43.4 7.6 1650 0.51 0.001789 4.3E-07 6
9 18.48 18.48 55.44 7.6 1650 0.60 0.011243 8.4E-06 38
10 2.77 55.44 34.18 7.6 1650 0.44 0.001871 5.0E-08 6
11 19 19 57 5 1650 0.59 0.012167 7.0E-06 41
12 18 18 54 10 1650 0.60 0.010474 9.9E-06 35
13 37 9 46.2 7.6 1650 0.53 0.001654 8.5E-07 5
14 2.85 57 35.15 5 1650 0.43 0.001877 3.7E-08 6
15 19 14 62 5 1650 0.63 0.020853 2.7E-05 73
16 19 6 70 5 1650 0.70 0.046898 2.7E-04 169

PX 1
n1 Λth1 þ X2 n2 Λth2 þ X3 n3 Λth3 þ . . .
Λ¼ PX1 (14)
n1 þ X2 n2 þ X3 n3 þ . . .

Where n- number of oxygen atoms in the molecule. e.g. 2 for SiO2; X – mole fraction;^ th
-theoretical basicity of various oxides; Λ = optical basicity of slag.

3.1.2. Liquidus area in the ternary phase diagram

The phase diagram (Isothermal, Ternary) is computed using the thermodynamic software
package, Factsage6.4 [15] for the synthetic slag consist of CaO, MgO, Al2O3 and SiO2 to
predict the possible phase formation and liquidus area identification with different isotherms,
varying slag composition and temperature. Referring to Figure 1 (ato d), it can be seen that,
with increasing temperature of the isotherm (1400⁰, 1500⁰, 1600⁰, 1650⁰, 1800⁰ Celsius),
liquidus region/area widens from 1400⁰ until 1800⁰C. At around 1650⁰C, up to 62.5 wt%,
CaO can dissolve (with the formation of liquid phase), into SiO2-Al2O3-CaO system.
6 A. AMMASI

Figure 1a. (a) Ternary phase diagram of CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 with MgO = 5 wt%, (b) Ternary Phase
diagram of CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 with MgO = 7.6 wt%, (c) Ternary Phase diagram of CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 with
MgO = 10 wt%, (d) Ternary phase diagram of CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 with MgO = 15 wt%.

Upon increasing MgO from 0–20 wt%, the composition line starts shifting towards
SiO2 line, intersecting at around 45 wt% SiO2 which indicating that, with increasing MgO
wt %, dissolution of CaO into CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-MgO is decreased. Figure 2 shows that at
1650 ⁰C, with increasing MgO content, are of Aslag liquid increasing up to 7.6 % then

Figure 1b. (Continued)

 ADVANCES IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES 7

Figure 1c. (Continued)

Figure 1d. (Continued)

decreasing. Therefore, optimisation of MgO is required to obtain the required area of the
liquid region. In this study, the main purpose of considering MgO in the synthetic slag is
to protect the lining of the induction furnace along it helps in reducing sulphur some
extent as mentioned in the subsequent section.

3.1.3. Viscosity of the synthetic slag

The viscosity of selected composition within the liquid region of the ternary phase
diagram (Figs 1 & Figs 2) is measured using a viscosity module of FactSage 6.4, as
shown in Table 2.
8 A. AMMASI

Figure 2. Ternary phase diagram of CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 varying MgO content, at 1650°C.

3.1.4. Sulphide capacity and sulphur partition ratio

The sulphide capacity (Cs) and the sulphur partition ratio (Ls) of the slag is calculated
using Eqn (9) and Eqn (11), respectively, with varying slag composition and temperature.
Sulphide capacity (Cs) is also measured using optical basicity data. Results of the
calculation are tabulated in Table 3.
The sulphide capacity of different slag is measured using Eq. (9) with different
temperature. It has found that sulphide capacity increases with temperature for all the
slag. At 62 % CaO, Cs is achieved around 0.045 at 1650 ◦C, as shown in Figure 3. The

Figure 3. Effect of temperature on sulphide capacity of synthetic slag.

 ADVANCES IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES 9

higher the sulphide capacity more the sulphur removal; therefore, it is always important
to consider the synthetic slag that has higher sulphide capacity so that higher sulphur
removal may be possible from the steel
Based on properties of CaO-MgO-SiO2-Al2O3 system, such as basicity (B2&B4),
optical basicity (^;), sulphide capacity (Cs), sulphur partition ratio (Ls), viscosity (ŋ),
Liquidus temperature (TL), area of liquid regions, the composition of different constitu­
ents, and dissolution of CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 and MgO in the system; the final flux
composition, for desulphurisation of the steel in electric induction furnace, is proposed.
Thus, the composition of developed flux/synthetic slags is consist of 20–30 wt% SiO2,
5–20 wt%, Al2O3, 40–60 wt% CaO, 5–10 wt% MgO for desulphurisation steel in the
induction furnace (Lab scale study) at CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, India.

3.2. Experimental
3.2.1. Raw materials
To prepare synthetic slag for desulphurisation of steel in induction furnace, the following
raw materials (oxides) are used. The chemical composition of different oxides and steel
used in the experiments are shown in Table 4 and Table 5, respectively.

3.2.2. Preparation of synthetic slag

The synthetic slag is prepared in three different methods, mentioned as follows,

(1) Preparing the mechanical mixture of various raw materials, shown in Table 4.
(2) Pre-fusing of raw materials in the Rotary Kiln/Gas-fired Pit Furnace, at tempera­
ture 1200⁰–1250⁰C.
(3) Solidifying the slag, which is produced from the liquid formation, brought about
by cooling to room temperature.

For the third method, optimised synthetic slag compositions are prepared in an induc­
tion furnace using graphite crucible since the constituents to be used, i.e. CaO, SiO2, Al2
O3, MgO are non-conductive. After complete melting, the mixture is tapped to a graphite
crucible to obtain the solidified synthetic slag.

Table 4. Chemical composition of raw materials.

Consitutents CaO, wt % MgO, wt% SiO2, wt % Al2O3
Lime 88–95 1–2 8–12
Quartz 0.2 0.2 98
MgO 1–2 98 -
Alumina 0.5 0.5 98

Table 5. Steel composition for the induction melting (wt %).

Elements C Si Mn P S
Steel composition Min-0.05 Min-0.002 Min-0.02 Min-0.01 Min-0.005
Max-0.2 Max-1.0 Max-0.8 Max-0.18 Max-0.2
10 A. AMMASI

3.3. Treatment of synthetic slag for sulphur removal in the air induction furnace
The melting of steel scrap is done in the air induction furnace (10–40 kg scale) at CSIR-
National Metallurgical Laboratory. Then, the initial sulphur content in the molten steel
and temperature of the melt is measured using spectroscopy and infrared thermometer,
respectively. The prepared synthetic slag is gradually added into the air induction furnace
contains liquid steel. Based on sulphur content in the steel, the addition of sulphur is
done to increase the sulphur content of steel for the initial sulphur content. Laboratory
grade pure sulphur is added. The addition of synthetic slag is varying from 2–3 wt%
liquid metal. The schematic flow diagram for the treatment of synthetic slag for nitrogen
removal is shown in Figure 4. The slag and metal are taken for the chemical analysis of it
with different time.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. Evaluation developed synthetic slag for desulphurisation of non-killed steel
Steel scrap is melted in induction furnace which is lined MgO-based ramming mass to
assess the performance of synthetic slag for sulphur removal using developed synthetic
slag. The prepared synthetic slag (about 2–3%) is added into the IF, after melting of steel
scrap is completed, in such a manner that the slag covers the top surface area of molten
metal. After 10 minutes of processing time, a sample of molten metal is taken and sent for
chemical compositional analysis. 0.026 ppm of S (Al is <0.0010%, i.e. high amount
oxygen is present) is achieved, in the first 10 minutes, with initial S concentration
being 0.038 ppm. The chemical composition of the steel after treatment is shown in

Figure 4. The schematic diagram for synthetic treatment in the air induction furnace.
 ADVANCES IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES 11

Table 6. However, sulphur content is not reduced for non-killed steel that due to presence
of high oxygen content in the liquid metal (which should ideally be negligible for
desulphurisation to happen), as a consequence, the slag becomes oxidising in nature.
The main aim of this study is to reduce sulphur content in the metal, carried out by the
addition of synthetic slag, during melting and alloy making steps, of the steelmaking
process in the induction furnace. Further, the assessment of sulphur removal in the
induction furnace using developed synthetic slag for killed steel is also presented in the
subsequent section.

4.2. Evaluation developed synthetic slag for desulphurisation of aluminium-killed

steel
In the case of Al-killed steel, aluminium maintained at least 0.2% in liquid metal
throughout the experiment, so that oxygen content in the steel should be very low. We
melted steel scrap in an induction furnace with the addition of aluminium. We con­
ducted desulphurisation experiments with varying amount of synthetic slag say from
1–5 wt% of metal weight. It is observed that synthetic slag of 2–3% of metal weight is
required to achieve the targeted sulphur in the steel produced through induction furnace
steel making. Around 2–3 wt% prepared synthetic slag is added into induction furnace
after the liquid metal is formed. In the Al killed steel, we evaluated the performance of
synthetic slag for different grades of the steel in the induction furnace. The chemical
composition of the steel after and before synthetic slag treatment is shown in Table 7.

4.3. Degree of desulphurisation of the steel

The degree of desulphurisation [13] is calculated using the following equation (15) found
that the maximum around 84% for killed steel while a minimum of 32% for non-killed
steel as shown in Table 8.

Table 6. Effect of synthetic slag on the desulphurisation of non-killed steel.

Exp. no. Treatment time %C % Si % Mn %P %S % Al % Ca
Heat 1 Initial 0.05 <0.002 0.17 0.02 0.038 <0.005 0.00043
After 10 min 0.04 0.02 0.24 0.02 0.026 0.26 0.00035

Table 7. Effect of synthetic slag and processing time on sulphur removal for Al killed steel.
Exp. no. Treatment time %C % Si % Mn %P %S % Al % Ca
Heat 2 Initial 0.11 0.24 0.636 0.02 0.017 0.3871 0.00026
After 10 min 0.149 0.979 0.772 0.018 0.0067 0.2255 0.00032
After 20 min 0.141 0.981 0.778 0.019 0.0054 0.1827 0.00029
Heat 3 Initial 0.05 <0.002 0.17 0.02 0.038 <0.005 0.00026
After 10 min 0.15 0.9 0.714 0.019 0.0059 0.2 0.00029
Heat 4 Initial 0.15 0.82 0.74 0.02 0.023 0.74 0.00032
After 5 min 0.13 0.99 0.77 0.02 0.018 0.27 0.00041
After 10 min 0.15 1.0 0.78 0.02 0.0076 0.22 0.00042
Heat 5 Initial 0.19 <0.002 0.03 0.016 0.072 0.0013 0.00086
After 10 min 0.07 0.21 0.2 0.02 0.016 0.05 0.00079
Heat 6 Initial 0.04 <0.002 0.2 0.17 0.02 <0.001 0.0005
After 10 min 0.15 0.18 0.34 0.15 0.0067 0.1 0.0007
12 A. AMMASI

Table 8. Performance of the synthetic slag in basic lined induction furnace for plain carbon
steel.
S. no. [S]o, wt % [S] f wt % (S) wt % L s,e Ŋs (%)
Heat 1 0.038 0.026 0.012 0.47 32
Heat 2 0.017 0.0054 0.011 2.14 68
Heat 3 0.036 0.0059 0.030 5.13 84
Heat 4 0.023 0.0076 0.015 2.03 67
Heat 5 0.072 0.016 0.056 3.51 78
Heat 6 0.02 0.0067 0.013 2.0 67

½S�i ½S�f
Degreeofdesulphurisation ¼ � 100 (15)
½S�i

Where [S]i and [S]f are sulphur concentration in initial and final respectively
In addition, the sulphur distribution ratio (Ls) is calculated using data from experi­
mental slag analysis to assess the degree of desulphurisation of the steel in an induction
furnace for the developed synthetic slag. Upon analysing the data, it was found that the
ratio (wt% S)/[wt% S] increases with increasing basicity for alloy steel as well as carbon
steel. The maximum Ls is achieved around 115, where S content is found 0.001 wt% in the
steel as shown in Table 9.
Using FactSage, liquidus temperature and viscosity of final slag were computed, and are
shown in Tables 10 and Tables 11, for carbon steel and alloy steel respectively. It can be
observed that viscosity decreases with increasing temperature for the developed synthetic
slag.
Table 9. Performance of the synthetic slag in basic lined
induction for alloy steel.
Exp. o. [S] f, wt % (S), wt % L s,e
Heat 7 0.009 0.08 8.89
Heat 8 0.006 0.05 7.69
Heat 9 0.003 0.08 26.67
Heat 10 0.011 0.1 9.09
Heat 11 0.015 0.14 9.33
Heat 12 0.003 0.13 43.33
Heat 13 0.001 0.22 115.79

Table 10. Liquidus temperature and viscosity of final slag for plain carbon steel.
Slag composition (wt %)
Exp. o. CaO MgO SiO2 Al2O3 [Al] [S] Liq. tem (°C) Vis (PaS)
Heat 1 33.08 9.8 31.47 21.34 <0.001 0.026 1391.71 0.588
Heat 2 46.22 9.9 38 5.28 0.18 0.0054 1487.18 0.192
Heat 3 34.02 9.81 37.88 16.09 0.19 0.0059 1252.38 1.850
Heat 4 42.5 8 33 16.5 0.16 0.0076 1407.35 0.39
Heat 5 45.2 4.63 7.17 12.65 0.05 0.016 2075.61 0.01
Heat 6 75.9 4.71 3.7 12.45 0.1 0.0067 2321.31 0.004

Table 11. Liquidus temperature, sulphur distribution and viscosity of final slag for alloy steel.
Slag composition (wt%) Liq. tem
Exp. no. CaO MgO SiO2 Al2O3 MnO [Al] [S] (S) LS (°C) Vis (PaS
Heat 7 19.76 0.5 8.32 32.18 4.83 3.9 0.009 0.08 8.89 1577.2 0.16
Heat 8 21.66 8.61 3.68 46.98 2.99 0.04 0.006 0.05 7.69 1425.1 0.28
Heat 9 32.29 9.19 5.18 52.13 0.75 0.01 0.003 0.08 26.67 1405.7 0.31
Heat 10 25.73 10.41 8.67 41.1 1.63 0.11 0.011 0.10 9.09 1421.6 0.29
Heat 11 29.75 12.60 9.78 38.45 2.35 0.78 0.015 0.14 9.33 1580.5 0.11
Heat 12 35.29 30.05 8.71 24.78 0.38 0.19 0.003 0.13 43.33 2190.4 0.01
Heat 13 53.07 19.03 9.37 18.01 0.25 0.20 0.001 0.22 115.79 2088.5 0.01
 ADVANCES IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES 13

4.4. Effect of processing time on sulphur removal steel during alloy making in the
induction furnace
It is observed that the degree of sulphur removal increases with the processing time after
the addition of synthetic slag. After 10 minutes of synthetic slag treatment, sulphur
reduced to below 0.04 wt% S in the steel. After 15 minutes of processing time, the sulphur
level reduced to 0.01% in the final steel as shown in Figure 5. Every 5 minutes after
synthetic slag addition, lollypop sample is collected for Spectro analysis. It found that the
sulphur level in the liquid metal is decreasing with the processing time. This might be
happening because of the high reaction time between synthetic slag and liquid steel.
According to the BIS standards, the maximum level of sulphur in the liquid is acceptable
up to 0.04 except for some special grades. Therefore, the processing time of 10 minutes is
recommended to achieve the sulphur level during steelmaking in the induction furnace.
A distinct change in colour contrast of slag is observed with processing time. After
5 minutes of synthetic slag addition, the colour of slag became black, however, after
completion of 10 minutes of processing time, whitish hue with light yellow is observed in
the final slag, as shown in Figure 6. The reason for the change of slag colour form black to
whitish might be due to dissolution of lime in the slag phase, which generally takes
10 minutes approximately in the induction furnace.

4.5. Effect of temperature and basicity on sulphide capacity (Cs) and sulphur
partition (Ls.e)
It is observed that the sulphide capacity of synthetic slag increases with basicity up to 3.5
then decrease at 3.75 for our system, as shown in Figure 7. This phenomenon can be
attributed to the presence of MgO in the synthetic slag, which evidently helps in
desulphurisation of the steel, and increases the refractory lining life of the induction
furnace. The reason for decreasing sulphide capacity at above 3.75 basicity may be due to
high content of CaO in synthetic slag as beyond its solubility limit of CaO in synthetic

0.1
0.09
0.08
Sulphur (wt.%)

0.07
0.06
0.05
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 27
Processing time (min)

Figure 5. Effect of processing time on sulphur removal.

14 A. AMMASI

Figure 6. Change in colour of slag with the processing time.

0.0500
0.0450
0.0400
Sulphide Capacity (Cs)

0.0350
0.0300
0.0250
0.0200
0.0150
0.0100
0.0050
0.0000
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00
B2=CaO/SiO2

Figure 7. Effect of CaO/SiO2 on sulphide capacity of the slag.

slag which resulted in solid phase of CaO thereby lower fluidity may slow down or lower
the slag-metal interaction in the induction furnace. Hence, thus, optimum basicity,
liquidus temperature and less viscous synthetic slag are very important slag properties
for desulphurisation of the steel in the induction furnace using synthetic slag as desul­
phurising flux. Sulphide capacity of the synthetic slag decides the desulphurisation degree
of the steel in the induction furnace. Sulphide capacity of the synthetic slag is increased
with the temperature of the process temperature as shown in Figure 8. The higher the
sulphide capacity indicates the maximum degree of the desulphurisation of the steel.
Using the Tsao model, which is originally developed for the BOF steelmaking, as
mentioned in Eq. 9 and data obtained from the analysis of experimental slag, sulphur
partition (Ls,e) is determined. It found that both Tsao model and experimental method
are in perfect agreement with each other. The experimental value of sulphur partition is
determined using the ratio of sulphur in the slag and sulphur in the liquid metal, i.e. Ls,
e = (wt% S)/[wt% S]. It has been found that with increasing B2and B4 of the slag, the
sulphur partition of slag is increased, as shown in figures 9 and figures 10 respectively.
The sulphur distribution indicates that how much sulphur content is the transfer from
the liquid steel to the slag phase after treatment of synthetic slag in the induction furnace.
 ADVANCES IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES 15

Figure 8. Effect of temperature on sulphide capacity of developed synthetic slag.

140

120
Tsao Method
Sulphur Partition (L s,e)

100
Exprimental Method
80

60

40

20

0
2 3 4 5 6
B2=CaO/SiO2

Figure 9. Effect of CaO/SiO2 on the sulphur partition of synthetic slag.

It has also found that sulphur partition ratio decreases above basicity 5.5. The exact
reason for decreasing the sulphur partition ratio is not found in this study. However,
a possible reason could be sulphur maybe revert from sulphide present in the slag or
solubility of sulphur compounds in the slag may be limited above basicity 5.5. yet another
reason may be attainted equilibrium.
With increasing B4 (CaO+0.66MgO)/(SiO2+ Al2O3), the sulphur partition is increas­
ing linearly as shown in Figure 10. The B4 is considered in our study because the
induction furnace is lined with MgO-based refractory lining. The addition of MgO in
our synthetic slag is considered to attain the equilibrium with furnace lining. Addition of
MgO beyond 10 wt%, maybe the trouble in the furnace operation temperature and
16 A. AMMASI

140.00

120.00
Exprimental Method

Sulphur Partion ( L s,e)

100.00 Tsao Method

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
B 4 (CaO+0.66 MgO)/ (SiO2+Al2O3)

Figure 10. Effect of B4 on sulphide capacity of the slag.

behaviour of the furnace due to the increase in liquidus temperature of the slag and
viscosity. However, sulphur partition ratio is increased linearly with B4, which indicates
that MgO is also helping in desulphurisation of the steel along with protection induction
furnace lining. The refining reactions such as desulphurisation and dephosphorization
are not advisable in acidic lined induction furnace because unwanted chemical reactions
between synthetic slag and refractory lining materials occur.

5. Conclusion
The investigations for preparation of synthetic slag and its assessments in an induction
furnace to remove the sulphur content during alloy making are performed. The synthetic
slag composition consists of 20–30 wt% SiO2, 5–20 wt%, Al2O3, 40–60 wt% CaO, 5–10 wt
% MgO is used for our study. The evaluation of the synthetic slag on the removal of
sulphur is performed for plain carbon and alloy steels at 1600–1650°C in the induction
furnace. After going through the whole investigation, we can conclude that

(1) Synthetic slag (flux) is developed for desulphurisation of steel in MgO-based

refractory lined induction furnace at laboratory scale (10–40 kg scale). The
desulphurisation degree (ŋs) is achieved up to 84% at laboratory scale at 3-wt%
synthetic slag addition.
(2) The desulphurisation time for achieving sulphur level (0.03–0.04 wt%) during
steelmaking in induction furnace is 10 minutes after treatment of synthetics slag
(2–3 wt% of liquid steel).
(3) Sulphur partition (Ls,e) and sulphide capacity of synthetic slag increase with (CaO
+0.66 MgO)/(SiO2 + Al2O3) of the developed synthetic slag. Sulphide capacity
(Cs) and sulphur partition (Ls, e) of developed synthetic slag (flux) are determined
and validated with Tsao Model and found fitting perfectly.
 ADVANCES IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES 17

Acknowledgements
The authors express their sincere gratitude to the Director, CSIR-National Metallurgical
Laboratory, to accord permission in publishing the paper.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID
Ammasi Ayyandurai http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2532-8857

References
[1] World Steel Association, “Fact Sheet: steel and Raw materials,” Wsa, 2019.
[2] FICCI Report, “Indian secondary steel industry :opportunities & challenges,” 2015.
[3] Chattopadhyay AK, Dasgupta A, “Political & economic challenges facing Indian refractory
industry,” in 14th Biennial Worldwide Congress on Unified International Technical
Conference on Refractories, UNITECR 2015, in conjunction with the 58th International
Colloquium on Refractories, Vienna, Austria 2015.
[4] 1786:2008 IS, “High strength deformed steel bars and wires for concretereinforcement—
specification,” Bur. Indian Stand. New Delhi, 2008.
[5] Turkdogan ET, Fruehan RJ. Fundamentals of Iron and steelmaking. Steelmak Refin Vol.
1998;i:13–157.
[6] Ghosh A. Secondary steelmaking: principles and applications. CRC Press, 2000.
[7] Turkdogan ET. Fundamentals of steelmaking. Int Mater Rev. 2012;41(4):165.
[8] Turkdogan ET. Physicochemical aspects of reactions in ironmaking and steelmaking
processes. Transactions of the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan. 1984;vol.24(no.8):
pp.591–611.
[9] Park H, et al. Modelling of the sulphide capacity of steelmaking slags. ISIJ Int. 2012;52
(1):327–330.
[10] Allibert M, et al. Slag Atlas. 2nd Edition. Düsseldorf: Verlag Stahleisen GmbH; 1995.
[11] Radovic Z, Tadic N, Lalovic M, et al. Modelling of the sulphide capacity of steelmaking slags.
Mater Tehnol. 2014;48(3):327–330.
[12] Lachmund H, Xie Y, Harste K. Thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the desulphurisation
reaction in secondary metallurgy. Steel Res. 2001;72(11–12):452–459.
[13] TSAO T, KATAYAMA HG. Sulphur distribution between liquid Iron and CaO-MgO-
Al2O3-SiO2 Slags used for ladle refining. Transactions of the Iron and Steel Institute of
Japan. 1986;26(8):717–723.
[14] Bale CW, Bélisle E, Chartrand P, et al. FactSage thermochemical software and databases —
recent developments. Calphad Comput Coupling Phase Diagrams Thermochem. 2009;33
(2):295–311.

View publication stats