Electric arc furnace of the main characteristics

Electric energy is the main energy of arc steelmaking furnace. The electric energy through the graphite electrode and the charge discharge arc, the high temperature up to 2000 ~ 6000℃ above, in the arc radiation, temperature convection and heat conduction way to melt the scrap raw material.  In most of the time when the charge is melted, the high temperature heat source is surrounded by the charge, and the heat loss caused by the high temperature exhaust gas is relatively less, so the thermal efficiency is higher than that of other steelmaking equipment such as converter.  In addition, electric heating is easy to accurately control the furnace temperature, according to the process requirements in oxidizing atmosphere or reducing atmosphere, atmospheric pressure or vacuum heating operation under any conditions.  

The eAF steelmaking process is short, the equipment is simple, the operation is convenient, the pollution is easy to control, the construction investment is small, the area is small, and it does not need to rely on the complex iron making system like the converter steelmaking.  

Eaf steelmaking has strong adaptability to the burden, it takes scrap steel as the main raw material, but at the same time can also use hot iron (blast furnace or cubano hot iron), sponge iron (DRI) or hot pressed block (HBI), pig iron block and other solid and liquid iron containing raw materials.  

Because of the controllable atmosphere in eAF steelmaking furnace, the operation of slag adjustment or replacement is easy, and can be completed in the same set of operating system melting, decarburization, dephosphorization, degassing, inclusion removal, temperature control, composition adjustment (alloying) and other stages of the complex process operation.  Electric arc furnace steelmaking can be produced intermittently and the varieties of production can be changed flexibly within a certain range.  In addition, modern electric arc furnace can also use a large number of auxiliary energy, such as injection of heavy (light) oil, coal, natural gas, etc.  Therefore, the eAF steelmaking process has strong adaptability, flexible operation and wide application.  

Smelting electric arc furnace can not only low phosphorus, sulfur, oxygen content of high quality steel, and can use a variety of elements for alloying (including lead, boron, vanadium, titanium and rare earth elements of easy oxidation), to produce all kinds of high quality steel and alloy steel, such as ball bearing steel, stainless acid-resistant steel, tool steel, electrical steel, heat-resistant steel, magnetic materials and special alloys.