Introduction of steel:

Steel: Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon Ores of iron: 1) 2) 3) 4) Magnetite Fe3O4 ( 70-75% Iron) Hematite Fe2O3 (70 % Iron) Iron Pyrite FeS2 ( 45% Iron) Siderite FeCo3 (40% Iron) Extraction Process: Oxides of Iron + Flux Pig Iron +Water Billets (Ingots):

Date: 29-01-2014

2300oC Coke

Pig Iron +Water Steel (Molten Form) Billets

A steel billet is a piece of steel that is in the form of a bar or rectangle. Billets are produced by a process called casting but are of no use until their shaped into more functional sizes and shapes.

75 mm

100mm

Grade 40

Grade 60

100 mm

75 mm

Types Of Steel: Type of steel Low Carbon Medium Carbon High Carbon Ultra High Carbon Mild steel Carbon Content (%) 0.05-0.29 0.3-0.59 0.6-0.99 1-2 0.16-0.29

Note: With the increase in Carbon content strength of material increases while ductility decreases. Composition of Mild steel: Element Carbon Phosphorus Sulphur Maximum %age 0.29 0.06 0.06

Manufacturing Process of Steel: 1) Bessemer Process 2) Blast Furnace 3) Electric Arc Furnace

Electric Arc Furnace:

An electric arc furnace (EAF) is a furnace that heats charged material by means of an electric arc

Electric Arc Process

Basic Layout of EAF:

2) Blast Furnace Method (From Pig Iron)

Step1:
Blast furnace, a vertical shaft furnace that produces liquid metals by the reaction of a flow of air
introduced under pressure into the bottom of the furnace with a mixture of metallic ore, coke, and flux fed into the top. Blast furnaces are used to produce pig iron from iron ore for subsequent processing into steel, and they are also employed in processing lead, copper, and other metals. Rapid combustion is maintained by the current of air under pressure. Blast furnaces produce pig iron from iron ore by the reducing action of carbon (supplied as coke) at a high temperature in the presence of a fluxing agent such as limestone. Ironmaking blast furnaces consist of several zones: a crucible-shaped hearth at the bottom of the furnace; an intermediate zone called a bosh between the hearth and the stack; a vertical shaft (the stack) that extends from

the bosh to the top of the furnace; and the furnace top, which contains a mechanism for charging the furnace. The furnace charge, or burden, of iron-bearing materials (e.g., iron-ore pellets and sinter), coke, and flux (e.g., limestone) descends through the shaft, where it is preheated and reacts with ascending reducing gases to produce liquid iron and slag that accumulate in the hearth. Air that has been preheated to temperatures from 900 to 1,250 C (1,650 and 2,300 F), together with injected fuel such as oil or natural gas, is blown into the furnace through multiple tuyeres (nozzles) located around the circumference of the furnace near the top of the hearth; these nozzles may number from 12 to as many as 40 on large furnaces. The preheated air is, in turn, supplied from a bustle pipe, a large-diameter pipe encircling the furnace. The preheated air reacts vigorously with the preheated coke, resulting in both the formation of the reducing gas (carbon monoxide) that rises through the furnace, and a very high temperature of about 1,650 C (3,000 F) that produces the liquid iron and slag. The stack is kept full with alternating layers of coke, ore, and limestone admitted at the top during continuous operation. Coke is ignited at the bottom and burned rapidly with the forced air from the tuyeres. The iron oxides in the ore are chemically reduced to molten iron by carbon and carbon monoxide from the coke. The slag formed consists of the limestone flux, ash from the coke, and substances formed by the reaction of impurities in the ore with the flux; it floats in a molten state on the top of the molten iron. Hot gases rise from the combustion zone, heating fresh material in the stack and then passing out through ducts near the top of the furnace.

C + O2 Co2 + C Fe2O3 + 3Co

Co2 2Co 2Fe + 3Co2

Step2: Production of steel from Pig Iron:

Mild steel is manufactured from that pig iron by removing the carbon content using any of the process, the reaction would be as following. Pig iron + Admixtures Steel molten Molten Steel Billets