Effect of FeO on the formation of spinel phases and chromium distribution in the CaO-SiO_2-MgO-Al_2O_3-Cr_2O_3 system

Synthetic slag samples of the CaO-SiO2-MgO-A1203-Cr203 system were obtained to clarify the effect of FeO on the formation of spinel phases and Cr distribution. X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） equipped with energy-dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）, as well as the thermodynamic software FactSage 6.2, were used for sample characterization. The results show that the addition of FeO can decrease the viscosity of molten slag and the precipitation temperatures of melilite and merwinite. The solidus temperature significantly decreases from 1400 to 1250℃ with the increase of FeO content from 0wt% to 6wt%. The addition of FeO could enhance the content of Cr in spinel phases and reduce the content of Cr in soluble minerals, such as merwinite, melilite, and dicalcium silicate. Hence, the addition of FeO is conducive to decreasing Cr leaching.

Development of an improved CBR model for predicting steel temperature in ladle furnace refining

In the prediction of the end-point molten steel temperature of the ladle furnace, the influence of some factors is nonlinear. The prediction accuracy will be affected by directly inputting these nonlinear factors into the data-driven model. To solve this problem, an improved case-based reasoning model based on heat transfer calculation(CBR-HTC) was established through the nonlinear processing of these factors with software Ansys. The results showed that the CBR-HTC model improves the prediction accuracy of end-point molten steel temperature by5.33% and 7.00% compared with the original CBR model and 6.66% and 5.33% compared with the back propagation neural network(BPNN)model in the ranges of [-3, 3] and [-7, 7], respectively. It was found that the mean absolute error(MAE) and root-mean-square error(RMSE)values of the CBR-HTC model are also lower. It was verified that the prediction accuracy of the data-driven model can be improved by combining the mechanism model with the data-driven model.

Endpoint temperature prediction of molten steel in RH using improved case-based reasoning

An improved case-based reasoning （CBR） method was proposed to predict the endpoint temperature of molten steel in Ruhrstahl Heraeus （RH） process. Firstly, production data were analyzed by multiple linear regressions and a pairwise comparison matrix in analytic hierarchy process （AHP） was determined by this linear regression＇s coefficient. The weights of various influencing factors were obtained by AHP. Secondly, the dividable principles of case base including ＂0-1＂ and ＂breakpoint＂ were proposed, and the case base was divided into several homogeneous parts. Finally, the improved CBR was compared with ordinary CBR, which is based on the even weight and the single base. The results show that the improved CBR has a higher hit rate for predicting the endpoint temperature of molten steel in RH.

Editorial for special issue on metallurgical process engineering and intelligent manufacturing

In recent years, new concepts and new technologies for improving the manufacturing level have emerged one after another, and the global industrial competition pattern will undergo major adjustments. The United States proposed the"Advanced Manufacturing Country" strategy, France proposed the "New Industry France Plan," and Germany proposed "Industry 4.0." At the same time.

Development of CO_(2) capture and utilization technology in steelmaking plant

The performance of a recycling process for CO_(2) capture and utilization of exhaust gas in the steelmaking plant was reported.A facility capable of capturing CO_(2) at 3200 m^(3)/h was established in the steelmaking plant,resulting in the CO_(2) production of 50,000 t/a.The CO_(2) concentration of the exhaust gas from the lime kiln increased from 25.0 to 99.8 vol.%using the comprehensive method of the pressure swing adsorption and cryogenic separation.The captured and purified CO_(2) was successfully applied in the converter process by the top blowing and bottom blowing.The utilization of CO_(2) was 3.5 m^(3)/t through these two modes.After optimizing parameters of CO_(2)-O_(2) mixed top blowing,the value of[C]×[O]and the content of TFe in slag were reduced by 1.33×10-4 and 1.27%,respectively,and the dephosphorization rate of the molten steel increased by 2.31%.For the CO_(2) bottom blowing,the[N]content in the molten steel was significantly reduced by 5.7×10^(-6).

Hybrid Model of Molten Steel Temperature Prediction Based on Ladle Heat Status and Artificial Neural Network

Aiming at the characteristics of the practical steelmaking process, a hybrid model based on ladle heat sta- tus and artificial neural network has been proposed to predict molten steel temperature. The hybrid model could over- come the difficulty of accurate prediction using a single mathematical model, and solve the problem of lacking the consideration of the influence of ladle heat status on the steel temperature in an intelligent model. By using the hybrid model method, forward and backward prediction models for molten steel temperature in steelmaking process are es- tablished and are used in a steelmaking plant. The forward model, starting from the end-point of BOF, predicts the temperature in argon-blowing station, starting temperature in LF, end temperature in LF and tundish temperature forwards, with the production process evolving. The backward model, starting from the required tundish tempera- ture, calculates target end temperature in LF, target starting temperature in LF, target temperature in argon-blo- wiag station and target BOF end-point temperature backwards. Actual application results show that the models have better prediction accuracy and are satisfying for the process of practical production.

Carbothermic Reduction of Zinc and Iron Oxides in Electric Arc Furnace Dust

The reduction of zinc and iron oxides from electric arc furnace dust （EAFD） by carbon was investigated at temperatures between 800 and 1300℃. The analytic technique employed includes chemical analysis, X-ray fluores- cence spectroscopy （XRF）, X-ray powder diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） equipped with X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry （EDS）, and thermodynamic database FactSage 6.2. It was found that the reduction of zinc and iron oxides depends largely on Boudouad reaction. At 900℃, zinc exists in tested samples as ZnO, which is reduced in the temperature range of 1000--1 100℃. At 1 100℃, 99.11% of the zinc is evaporated. The metallization ratio of Fe is 79.19% at 1300℃, as the content of Fe2＋ is still 9.40%. A higher temperature is thus required for a higher reduction degree of Fe oxides by solid or gaseous carbon.

Recovery rates of iron, nickel, and chromium via iron-bath reduction of stainless steel dust briquettes based on corundum crucible erosion balance analysis

The leaching of chromium from stainless steel dust （SSD） is deleterious to the environment. To address this issue, the reduction of SSD briquettes can be employed to effectively extract chromium. The recovery rates of iron, chromium, and nickel via ironbath reduction of SSD briquettes were determined using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy measurements. First, the effects of basicity and contents of silicon, iron, CaF2, and carbon on the recovery rates of the three metals were analyzed using the slag amount prediction model, which was originally established from the A1203 balance of corundum crucible erosion behavior. Second, the effect of feeding mode, i.e., whether steel scrap and SSD briquettes were simultaneously added, on the recovery rates was discussed in detail. Third, the iron-bath reduction of SSD briquettes was thermodynamically analyzed. The results indicated that the recovery rates of the three metals are greater than 95% those of using a basicity of 1.5 and 6.0% CaF2, 15% carbon, and 7% ferrosilicon. The recovery rate of chromium increases twofold with the addition of ferrosilicon. The feeding mode of adding briquettes and steel scrap simultaneously is better for recovery of metals and separation of the metal and slag than the feeding mode of adding steel scrap firstly and then briquettes.

Case-based reasoning model based on attribute w&ghts optimized by genetic algorithm for predicting end temperature of molten steel in RH

Temperature control is the key of Ruhrstahl-Heraeus (RH) process in steelmaking plant. The accuracy of RH control model greatly affects the molten steel temperature fluctuation. To obtain RH control model with higher accuracy, an improved case-based reasoning (CBR) model based on attribute weights optimized by genetic algorithm (GA) was proposed. The fitness function in GA was determined according to the prediction accuracy of end temperature of molten steel in RH;then, GA is used to optimize all the attribute weights based on known case base. An improved CBR model that contains the optimized attribute weights was applied to predict end temperature of molten steel in RH, and the prediction accuracy wascalculated. Four methods, CBR based on attribute weights optimized by GA (CBR-GA), ordinary CBR, back propagation neural network (BPNN) and multiple linear regression (MLR) method were employed for comparison. The results show that in the error range of [- 3 ℃, 3 ℃],[- 5 ℃, 5 ℃],[- 7 ℃, 7 ℃] and [- 10 ℃, 10 ℃], the prediction accuracy of CBR-GA was improved by 19.99%, 28.19%, 27.11% and 16.3%, respectively, than that of MLR. Compared with BPNN, the prediction accuracy increased by 3.22%, 7.44%, 5.29% and 2.40%, respectively. Compared with ordinary CBR, the accuracy increased by 5.43%, 5.80%, 4.66% and 2.27%, respectively.

Optimization of the Production Organization Pattern in Tangshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd.

High-efficiency production organization should be simple and "laminar". A one to one "laminar flow" operation mechanism is supposed to be accepted as a prerequisite to build high-efficiency clean steel "production platform". Concerning the fact that establishing a one to one "laminar flow" production pattern is impossible at Tangshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., "quasi-laminar flow" production pattern was evaluated. Result shows that rolling bar products of various specifications have great impact on the liquid steel supply model between BOF and CC. Considering the process matching issue of steelmaking-continuous casting-rolling process in bar production line, a "quasi-laminar flow" production pattern between BOF and CC was proposed according to different rolling specification in bar mills. Through analysis and research on current production pattern, combined with principles and strategy for BOF workshop control, and taking the plant layout into account, "quasi-laminar flow" production pattern was finally established. Moreover, Gantt chart of "quasi-laminar flow" production pattern was drawn. It is shown that the relative "order degree" of the "quasi-laminar flow" production pattern rises, which is conductive to production scheduling and ladle operation turnaround in comparison with "turbulence" production pattern. While a careful evaluation should be conducted due to the fluctuant temperature drop caused by the inevitable inserted heats and decreased operation rate of inserted BOF before adapting the production pattern.

Steel scrap melting model for a dephosphorisation basic oxygen furnace

Dephosphorisation basic oxygen furnaces (deP-BOFs) greatly differ from conventional BOFs in the melting process, especially its many limits on adding scrap. A mathematical model of the steel scrap melting process was established in MATLAB to investigate the mechanism of scrap melting in deP-BOF in terms of coupling effects of the carbon content of the molten steel, temperature, scrap preheating and converter blowing time on the melting rate and size of the steel scraps. The scrap melting rate was influenced by both the heat and mass transfer during the melting process: at 1350℃, when the carbon content was increased from 4.5 to 5.0 mass%, the scrap melting rate increased by 43%;for the carbon content of 4.5 mass%, when the temperature was increased from 1350 to 1400℃, the scrap melting rate increased by 60%. The carbonisation was found to be the restrictive step of the scrap melting process in deP-BOFs with respect to conventional ones. The scrap heating from room temperature to 800℃ reduced the crusting thickness on the scrap surface but there was no obvious influence on the melting rate. The scrap melting size in the deP-BOF was rather limited by its low melting rate and short melting time.

Influence rule of downtime on heat transfer in converters

The models for calculating the heat transfer in converters allow the accurate control of heat dissipation caused by downtime,and thus help in crease scrap ratio and reduce energy consumptio n.ANSYS 17 was used to establish such a model to analyse the coupling law between the downtime and heat dissipation of the converter and the temperature drop of molten iron.Temperature was measured by infrared detection,and model accuracy was verified by comparative analysis.The variation law of the amount of cold charge added for different downtimes under different process conditions was studied.The results show that the range of the variation of heat dissipation caused by downtime is 8.9-78.5 GJ.If the downtime increases by 30 min,heat dissipation of dephosphorisation(deP)and decarburisation(deC)converters increases by about 23.4 and 41.3 GJ,respectively.In a certain smelting cycle,the temperature drop of the molten iron for deP,deC and conventional converters increases by about 12.5,15.0 and 17.0 K,respectively;and the amount of scrap added in the double-linking and conventional smelting processes decreases by 0.93 and 0.75%,respectively.

First-principles study on stability, electronic, and mechanical properties of La-C and Ce-C binary compounds

The phase stability and electronic and mechanical properties of rare earth (RE) carbides (La2C3, LaC2, Ce2C3, CeC2, and CeC) were investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. The calculated equilibrium lattice constants and cell volume agree well with available experimental data. The cohesive energy and formation enthalpy of these carbides show that they are thermodynamically and mechanically stable except LaC. The strong covalent bonding exists in these compounds, and the covalent bonds are mainly determined to be RE-C and C-C bonds. The hardness of RExCy compounds is less than 10 GPa, and the bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Young's modulus of Ce2C3 are the largest. The values of BIG (ratio of bulk modulus to shear modulus) and Poisson's ratio indicate that all the compounds have good ductility, and the ductility of CeC is larger than others. The Debye temperature of Ce2C3 is 429.67 K, which is the highest in those of experimental compounds.

Carbonation Behavior Assessment of RH Slag Batch after Aqueous Extraction at Environmental Pressure

In order to assess CO2 sequestration amount and carbonation degree for RH slag at surrounding pressure, carbonation process of RH slag batch in lab is investigated, and the parameters of carbonation degree and CO2 sequestration amount are the targets, and the relationship between both and relevant factors, such as CO2 flow, gas bubble size etc. is originally discussed. The carbonation degree increases when temperature increases before 60 oC, then decreases. Particle size has a positive effect on carbonation degree, and carbonation degree for 0.5 L/min is bigger than those for 0.1 L/min and 1.0 L/min. When small gas bubble generator is adopted, carbonation degree and CO2 sequestration amount is improved. The maximum carbonation degree and CO2 sequestration amount is 34% and 178.65 g/kgslag, respectively when 38 μm RH slag batch is carbonated for 90 min at 60 oC under the conditions that CO2 flow is 0.5 L/min and bubble size equals 5 mm. CaCO3 and MgCO3 phases exists through XRD analysis, showing that carbonation process is effective. Carbonation degree model is established assuming carbonation reaction occurs on the active surface of RH slag batch. This model fits very well by comparison between experimental results and model results.