Abstract
As a result of the depletion of high-grade manganese reserves, it has become necessary to consider the exploitation of low-grade manganese ores. The main problem of low-grade manganese ore is the low Mn/Fe ratio, which makes it unfit for the production of manganese ferroalloys. In this work, a selective reduction technique was used for smelting low-manganese ore in the presence of coke and fluxing material in an electric submerged arc furnace to obtain a rich manganese slag and low-manganese pig iron. The product slag was blended with medium-manganese ore and smelted in an electric submerged arc furnace, in the presence of coke and the fluxing agent, to produce silicomanganese alloy. The influence of reducing agent ratio, charge basicity, and charge Mn/Si ratio on the smelting process was investigated. The optimum conditions were found to be a coke ratio of, 1.35, Mn/Si ratio of 2.0, and charge basicity of 2.5. The silicomanganese alloy produced under these conditions satisfies the specifications for Si16Mn63 and Si17Mn65. The experimental results were applied on a pilot scale, producing a silicomanganese alloy with a chemical composition close to that of the standard specifications.
Highlights
Silicomanganese alloy is used as a source of silicon and manganese in steelmaking to produce different steel grades
Based on the optimum conditions of coke ratio, basicity, and charge Mn/Si ratio in the blend that resulted in the highest yield and recoveries of Mn and Si, further heats of the silicomanganese alloy were performed in the 100 kVA pilot-scale submerged arc furnace
The Egyptian low-grade manganese ore with a high iron content was upgraded by smelting the ore in an open submerged arc furnace
Summary
Silicomanganese alloy is used as a source of silicon and manganese in steelmaking to produce different steel grades. A programme of work has been initiated in the Steel and Ferroalloys Department, Central Metallurgical Research and Development Institute (CMRDI), aimed at the selective reduction of low-grade manganese ore in an electric submerged arc furnace to separate pig iron and produce a high-manganese slag for the production of manganese ferroalloys. The use of such slag in the production of silicomanganese alloys is very attractive from an economic point of view. The process in which high-carbon ferromanganese is produced using acidic rich-slag practice with subsequent
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