Abstract

Ferroalloys, such as ferrochromium, ferromanganese and ferrosilicon are pyrometallurgically produced in energy intensive submerged arc furnaces. In turn, these materials can be used as reagents in a number of pyrometallurgical processes, where the energy requirements are typically supplied by electricity or by the combustion of hydrocarbons. Presently, there are significant incentives to develop more efficient processes, which utilize renewable energy. The electricity from these renewable sources can be converted into electromagnetic radiation, such as microwaves, which in turn can be used as a thermal energy source. The amount of energy absorbed from the electromagnetic field and the amount converted into heat are determined by the real and the imaginary permittivities, respectively. These permittivity results are needed for process development, in particular for numerical modelling. In this research, the permittivities of selected ferroalloys and reaction mixtures were determined as a function of temperature and frequency using the cavity perturbation technique. Also, the limitations of the cavity perturbation technique for these types of measurements are highlighted. In order to interpret the permittivity changes for the reaction mixtures, HSC Chemistry®7.1 was utilized to model the compositional changes as a function of temperature. The results indicate that microwaves are a potential heating source for ferroalloy production and also in processes which utilize ferroalloys as a reagent.

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