Control of Sulphur Content and Relative Steelmaking Process
Sulfur is an unavoidable element in steel due to the content of rust in iron ore, but at the same time too much sulfur exists in steel, which will make the toughness of steel effectively reduced and even lead to some serious problems such as brittleness. It is reasonable to adopt corresponding steelmaking processes to control the sulfur content.
The first step is to select reasonable raw materials in the production of steel. Generally speaking, in the steelmaking, as long as the sulfur containing materials are excluded reasonably, the sulfur content can be effectively reduced. Material selection includes not only raw materials, but also steelmaking aids, such as refractories and flux. The choice of refractory materials should be based on their rich alkalinity and light bulkiness. The addition of alkaline refractory materials such as magnesia and dolomite can effectively reduce sulfur, promote the oxidation of sulfur, and make it combined with slag. At the same time, the flux should be added as much as possible to enhance the slag-forming ability of steelmaking and reduce the absorption of sulfur.
The second step is to reduce the sulfur content in steel in the smelting process. Smelting process includes oxygen blowing, alloying and desulphurization. The process of oxygen blowing can enhance the oxidation of sulfur, make the sulfur up to 90% oxidized, and reduce the content of sulfur comparatively. Alloys such as aluminum, silicon and manganese can also be reasonably added to improve the oxidization degree of sulfur, thus decreasing the sulfur content in steel. At the same time, desulphurizers such as calcium carbide and silicon carbide can be added to reduce the sulfur content in steel, and the effect of desulphurization can be maximized by improving the production process.
In conclusion, steelmaking process plays an important role in controlling and reducing the sulfur content in steel, but the effect can be maximized if the reasonable selection of raw materials and the reasonable improvement of smelting process are combined. In this way, the sulfur content in steel can be reduced to the most reasonable level.
