Sulfur Containing Atmosphere's Effect on Chromite Pellets’ Structure and Conductivity during Reduction in SAF

Abstract

When producing ferrochrome, submerged arc furnace (SAF) is used. One important aspect of SAF is energy efficiency and this is dependent of the electrical behavior of the charge (chromite pellets, coke, lumpy ore, and quartzite). Sulfur can be found in raw materials, especially in coke. This proposes a question, whether or not the sulfur has an effect on the charge behavior under process conditions. This work concentrates on the chromite pellet and sulfur's effect on the electrical behavior and structure during reduction. The effect of sulfur content in atmosphere (0, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5%) is studied experimentally and the results are analyzed. It is found out that sulfur does have an effect on chromite pellet's electrical behavior and structure during reduction, which, in turn, has an effect on the SAF performance when raw materials with varying sulfur contents are used.