STUDIES OF A QUENCHED CUPOLA

Ricardo E. Aristizábal, Paula A. Pérez

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, GIPIMME, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
Seymour Katz
S. Katz Associates, Bloomfield, MI, USA
Mark E. Bauer
General Motors, Saginaw, MI, USA

Copyright © 2014 American Foundry Society

Abstract

Cupola furnace operation is among the most complex pro-
cesses employed in the foundry. In the past, the inner pro-
cesses of the cupola have been inferred from the inputs and
the outputs of the furnace. The lack of experimental infor-
mation related to the internal conditions of the cupola has
left unanswered questions related to important processes,
such as: the oxidation of iron and alloying elements, slag
formation, iron carburization and coke behavior. In order
to obtain needed experimental information of the internal
cupola processes a lined, 310mm (12”) internal diameter
cupola furnace was quenched with water while in full op-
eration. Afterward the materials inside were carefully re-
moved and analyzed using a variety of characterization
techniques.1-4 The quenching experiment provided a large
amount of valuable information, which has provided a bet-
ter understanding of the internal cupola processes. It is
hoped that this study will generate ideas for the improve-
ment of cupola performance which include cost and en-
ergy savings as well as the reduction of carbon emissions.
This paper summarizes the most important findings of the
quenched cupola experiment.
Keywords: cupola furnace, foundry coke, carburization,
coke crystallinity, alloy oxidation

Introduction Overview of the Quenched Cupola Experiment

The cupola furnace produces about 60% of the liquid
iron used for castings. Despite the age of the process,
over 200 years, the cupola has maintained its position as
the predominant melting furnace for cast iron because it
is able to melt a much wider variety of scrap than more
modern electric furnaces, hence providing iron at lower
cost. The virtue of this furnace has been its ability to
transform itself to meet current needs. Today the cupola
furnace must transform itself once more to insure its
continued use. This transformation depends on acquir-
ing a much better understanding of the processes that
take place inside the furnace.
To this end, the Department of Energy, the American
Foundry Society (AFS), the University of Antioquia,
and S. Katz Associates sponsored a project to water-
quench a cupola furnace while in full operation and then
to conduct an archeological examination of the contents.
Four papers have been published covering the details of
the quenching experiment. 1-4 This paper summarizes the
most important experimental findings of the quenched
cupola experiment.
The quenched cupola experiment was performed at the Uni-
versity of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia. A lined 310mm
(12”) internal diameter cupola with one row of four tuyeres
was employed to carry out the experiment.1 The cupola was
front slagging, used heated air [410°C (770°F)] and tuyere
injected oxygen (5.8%). In addition, the cupola shell was
sectioned horizontally in four places to enable the careful
removal of the cupola’s contents after the quenching process
was completed. The metallic charge materials consisted of
50% cast iron and 50% steel. The cast iron contained a pur-
poseful addition of ∼0.8wt% of copper to allow the determi-
nation of whether a metallic drop originated from cast iron
or steel. The cupola was also charged with silicon carbide, in
two commonly used forms, lump (97% SiC) and briquettes
(36wt% SiC).
The cupola was operated under steady state conditions at
1500°C (2732°F) for six hours. Afterwards, the injected air
was replaced with nitrogen. Water was simultaneously in-
troduced through the charge door and sprayed on the cupola
shell. The quenching process was monitored with a thermo-
couple located at the tuyere level. The temperature at the

International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014 13

tuyere level fell to 1150°C (2100°F), the melting point of
cast iron, in five minutes. The quenching was considered to
be complete when the temperature at the tuyere level fell be-
low 200°C (392°F). The entire time required for quenching
was 15 minutes.
Before proceeding with details of the study, there was a le-
gitimate question that needed to be answered. Can a study
performed on a 310mm diameter cupola be counted on to
duplicate the conditions in a commercial cupola that has 100
times its volume? To provide an answer, the operation of the
310mm cupola was modeled using the AFS Cupola Model5
which very reasonably portrays the performance of large com-
mercial cupolas. The predictions by the model for the small
cupola were extremely accurate and had been reported in a
previous paper.1 The cupola modeling provided gas composi-
tion and temperature profiles in the cupola which otherwise
would not be easily obtained. This information allowed for a
much better interpretation of the experimental results.
After quenching the small cupola, the materials inside were
carefully removed and preserved in eighteen 100mm (4”)
layers. A variety of characterization techniques were used
to determine chemical and physical changes in the charge
materials as a function of the distance from the level of the
tuyeres,1-4 including: optical emission spectroscopy (OES),
Leco carbon analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), X-
ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), Mossbauer spectros-
copy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy
dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The information gathered
allowed a better understanding of key processes, such as: ox-
idation of the metallic charge, alloy oxidation losses, carbon
and sulfur dissolution, slag formation, coke performance,
and silicon carbide behavior.
A more detailed description of the experiment, the acqui-
sition and characterization of the samples taken from the
quenched cupola can be found in the previous papers in this
series.1-4 The cupola furnace, more than any other furnace
for the melting of iron, is difficult to operate due to the fact
that heat generation and melting take place in the same fur-
nace. Despite this difficulty, the cupola has maintained its
edge over other furnaces due to lower operating cost. The
current undertaking of adding “greater science” to cupola
melting is an effort to enable its continuing prominence.
Oxidation of the Metallic Charge
Starting at the top of the cupola, oxidation of the metallic
surfaces was the first important chemical process to be as-
sessed. Oxidation of the metallic charge became visible at
Level 9 (0.6m above the tuyeres).
Steel scrap removed from the cupola at a height above where
melting began showed a significant layer of surface oxida-
tion [Figure 1(a)]. For cast iron, a trace of surface oxidation
was observed and a large carbon depleted zone was created
14
as seen in Figure 1(b). The decarburization of the cast iron
surface was the result of preferential oxidation of carbon
over iron at the temperatures in this region of the cupola as
dictated by thermodynamics and facilitated by the rapid rate
of diffusion of carbon in solid iron. Figure 1(c) plots the ex-
perimentally determined amount of oxide created relative to
the weight of the steel. As seen, the AFS cupola model soft-
ware very accurately predicted the region where steel oxida-
tion would take place.5 Gas composition profiles obtained
from the simulation of the cupola operation are included in
Figure 1(c). As can be seen, as the metallic charge approach-
es the tuyeres level, the volume fraction of CO2 increases
leading to a more oxidizing condition.
X-ray diffraction analysis identified three oxides on the coke
surface: FeO, Fe3O4 and Fe2SiO4 [Figure 1(d)].2 Reactions
1-3 account for the formation of these oxides.
Fe + CO2 → FeO + CO Reaction 1
3FeO + CO2 → Fe3O4 + CO Reaction 2
SiO2 + 2FeO → Fe2 Sio4 Reaction 3
The relative concentrations of FeO, Fe3O4, and Fe2SiO4, as
determined by Mossbauer spectroscopy, are given in Table
1. FeO, Fe3O4 and Fe2SiO4 were at their highest concentra-
tions, respectively, at Levels 12, 10 and 9. Between Levels
9 and 10, the FeO concentration decreased and the Fe3O4
concentration increased as expected from Reaction 2. This
behavior is expected because it reflects an increase in the
oxidation level as the tuyeres are approached, which is in
agreement with the gas composition profiles [Figure 1(c)].
There were also variable amounts of FeO connected with the
production of Fe2SiO4 at different levels (Reaction 3). No
further analysis was carried out.
Alloy Losses
Carbon and silicon in the metallic charge materials under-
go some oxidation during cupola melting. Oxidation was
caused by reaction of alloy materials with oxidizing com-
bustion gases and/or iron oxide in the slag according with
Reactions 4-7.
Cmetal + CO2 → 2CO Reaction 4
Cmetal + FeO → Fe + CO Reaction 5
Simetal + 2CO2 → 2CO + SiO2 slag Reaction 6
Simetal + 2FeO → 2Fe + SiO2 slag Reaction 7
Figures 2(a) and 2(b) provide, respectively, carbon and
silicon concentration profiles as functions of the distance
from the tuyeres. Both figures show that alloy loss began
after melting occurred. The carbon profile for cast iron
indicates that there was virtually no change in the carbon
concentration until melting occurred at 0.47m. Earlier it
was pointed out that solid cast iron experienced surface
International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014
decarburization. The carbon concentrations measured here
do not reflect any decarburization of the solid cast iron be-
cause bulk chemical composition analyses were performed
for these samples. As the cast iron droplets approached the
tuyeres, the oxidizing gases reacted with carbon result-
ing in decreased carbon concentration. At and below the
tuyere level, the carbon concentration of cast iron droplets
increased as carburization took place from both coke and
SiC dissolution.
It is clear from Figure 2(a) that the carbon profile for steel
looks different than that for cast iron. Experimental evidence
shows that the steel melted 0.15m above the tuyeres. The
carbon profile for steel does not show a decrease in carbon
content above the tuyeres because there essentially was no
starting concentration of carbon in the steel. Once the steel
melted, the carbon level increased very rapidly to 3.5%C -
4.00%C. The sources of carburization were again coke and
SiC. Steel experiences much higher carbon pickup than cast
iron, as expected, due to its lower starting carbon equivalent
and sulfur concentration.
The silicon concentration profiles for cast iron and steel
were very similar to those for carbon for the same reasons
[Figure 2(b)]. Silicon concentration starts to increase in both
iron and steel at Level 14 (0.1m above the tuyeres), which is

(a) (b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 1. (a) SEM image of a steel sample showing an oxide layer on the steel surface. (b) SEM image of a cast iron
sample showing a carbon depleted zone. (c) Measured concentrations of solid oxide materials on the steel surface,
model predicted range for solid steel oxidation (dashed vertical lines) and the model predicted gas composition profiles.
(d) XRD from the oxide layer on steel.

Table 1. Relative Amounts of FeO, Fe3O4, and Fe2SiO4 in the Oxide Layer on
the Steel Surfaces Obtained from Mossbauer Spectroscopy

International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014 15

explained by silicon carbide dissolution. The experimental
data shows that very important processes take place in very
small distances and that there is a wide divergence in molten
metal droplet composition that can exist in a relatively small
area, which emphasizes the random statistical nature under-
gone by molten metal droplets in a cupola furnace.
Slag Formation
The compositions of the slags and other inorganic materials
found at different levels in the cupola provided information
about the slag formation process. Photographs were taken to
record the progress of changes that took place on the coke’s
surface (Figure 3). The examination showed that no visible
changes occurred in the highest regions of the cupola (Levels
1-3). Between Levels 4 and 12 (1.1m - 0.3m above tuyere
level), some coke particles showed a white powder on their
surface [Figure 3(b)] containing mainly, SiO2, Al2O3, CaO
and FeO (see Table 2). At Level 13, (0.2m above the tuyeres)
slag and metal drops were found on the coke surface [Figure
3(c)]. It appears from the photos that, in general, a relatively
small portion of the coke’s surfaces were covered with liquid
metal. Figures 3(c), 3(e), and 3(f) suggest poor wetting of the
coke surface as a reason. Figure 3(d) shows two effects; good
and poor wetting. Poor wetting is shown on the right side of
the figure while very good wetting is seen as a large area in
the center of the Figure 3(d). Unfortunately the composition
of both these slags is not available for comparison.
Table 2 provides the XRF semi-quantitative compositions of
the nonmetallic materials (presumed oxides) that were found
adhering to the coke surface. The data suggest a wide variety
of non-metallic materials can be found on the coke surface in
the upper levels and that there is a progression of solid and
liquid oxides which finally combine in the well to form the
slag that leaves the cupola.

(a) (b)

Figure 2. Carbon concentration in iron and steel as a function of distance from the tuyeres.

(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e) (f)

Figure 3. Macro-photos of selected coke samples taken from different levels (distances from the tuyeres). (a) Level 0
(charge material). (b) Level 9 (0.6m). (c) Level 13 (0.2m). (d) Level 14 (0.1m). (e) Level 15 (tuyeres). (f) Level 18 (0.3m
below the tuyeres).

16 International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014

Table 3 provides the semi-quantitative compositions of me-
tallic drops found adhering to coke at different levels. The
absence of copper indicates a sample coming from the steel
in the charge.1 Iron composition showed great variations at
a given level. To emphasize the point, Table 3 contains the
compositions of three metallic drops taken from Level 15
(tuyere level). It illustrates the wide divergence in metallic
drop compositions that can exist even in a relatively small
area and again emphasizes the random statistical nature un-
dergone by liquid droplets in a cupola furnace. This is most
prominently demonstrated by examining the silicon composi-
tions in Table 3. The carbon concentrations showed similar,
but smaller, variations, due to the limited solubility of carbon
in iron.

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy quantitative chemical anal- Figure 4. Chemistry of coke ash/slag as a function of
ysis of the coke ash composition showed that the iron oxide the distance from the tuyere level and the cupola model
concentration in coke ash increased from Level 6 to Level 12 simulated coke temperature profile.
(0.9m to 0.3m above the tuyeres). The origin of the iron oxide
was oxidation of the metallic charge due to the presence of
oxidizing combustion gases and high temperature in Table 2. XRF Semi-Quantitative Chemistry of
the cupola.2,3 Below tuyere level, the iron oxide con- Non-Metallic Materials Adhering to Coke Observed in Figure 3
centration decreased because of the reducing condi-
tions existing in this region (Reactions 5, 7 and 8).

Ccoke + FeOslag → Femetal + CO Reaction 8

The concentration of CaO from the coke ash began

to increase below Level 12 (0.3m above the tuyere
level). This indicated that at this level, CaO pro-
duced from the decomposition of limestone started to com-
bine with the other oxides
that were present to form Table 3. Carbon and SEM-EDS Semi-Quantitative Alloy Concentrations of
the slag. The presence of Metal Drops Adhering to Coke (Observed in Figure 3)
CaO reduced the melting
point of slag, which al-
lowed the slag to flow on
and away from the coke,
thereby increasing the
available area for combus-
tion, gasification, and car-
burization. The SiO2 and
Al2O3 concentrations were
very stable until Level
12 where they decreased
slightly as the result of di-
lution from the incorpora-
tion of CaO. Table 4 and
Figure 4 show the varia-
Table 4. Coke Ash and Slag Compositions Regions Where Each Exists (XRF) Vs. Cupola Height
tion of coke ash and slag
composition as a func-
tion of the distance from
the tuyeres, the results
are compared with the
coke temperature profile
obtained with the cupola
model software.5

International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014 17

Coke-Carbon Dissolution and
Carbon Oxidation in Cast Iron
Coke-carbon dissolution takes place at the coke-metal
interface [Figure 5(a)]. It is expected that the diffusion
of carbon to the iron will be greatly limited in areas cov-
ered with slag or solid oxides [Figures 5(b), 5(c), 5(d)].
Other conditions that will affect the rate of carburization
are: the effective carbon concentration (carbon activity),
the metal temperature and perhaps the crystallinity of the
coke (see Coke Phase Transformations section). SEM-
EDS semi-quantitative measurements of the intervening
slag layer between iron and coke (Table 5) showed that
it was composed mainly by silicon and calcium oxides,
which indicates a low melting point and the reasonable
probability of a dynamic situation with slag flowing on
and then away from the coke surface, which agree with
the observations discussed in the Slag Formation section
(Figure 3).
Figure 5(d) illustrates the processes that are occurring rela-
tive to the oxidation of carbon in iron by the action of slag
in the cupola. Slags C, D and F are in direct contact with
the metallic drop and contain iron oxide (Table 5), which
indicates a reasonable probability that iron is being reduced
and carbon oxidized at the high temperature interface ac-
cording to Reaction 5. Also, any residual iron oxide that was
formed on the solid scrap metal (see Slag F in Figure 5(d)
and Table 5) will be reduced by carbon in the metal. The
presence of pores at the metal-intervening slag interface in-
dicates the generation of a gas, CO, seen in the magnified
view in Figure 5(d). Upon cooling, the carbon present in the
metal droplets precipitates as graphite flakes. Therefore two
processes are taking place simultaneously; first, carburiza-
tion of the metal at the coke-metal interface when there is
no intervening slag layer and, second, carbon in the metal is
being oxidized by the presence of iron oxide in the interven-
ing slag layer. Both processes are possible because of the
high rate of carbon diffusion in the iron at high temperatures.

Figure 5. SEM images of the coke-metal interface. (a) Direct contact between
coke and a steel droplet, sample from Level 16 (0.1m below the tuyeres). (b)
Intervening slag layer between coke and a cast iron droplet, sample from
Level 16 (0.1m below the tuyeres). (c) Direct contact between coke and a
steel droplet and intervening coke ash between coke and metal, sample
from Level 17 (0.2m below the tuyeres). (d) Intervening slag layer between
coke and a steel droplet, sample from Level 16 (0.1m below the tuyeres), at
the left secondary electron image at the right backscattered image.

18 International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014

Figure 5 shows that both metal droplets originating from
charged steel scrap and from charged cast iron scrap
contain significant carbon which precipitated as graph-
ite flakes on freezing. The origin of the metal droplets
is known because only the cast iron charge material con-
tained copper. Table 6 shows the composition information
for the metal droplets in Figure 5. Even though carbon
concentration wasn’t measured in three of the droplets,
the presence of graphite shows that the droplets originat-
ing from steel scrap had already picked up carbon from
coke, SiC, or both. The presence of silicon in the droplets
originating from steel scrap also demonstrates that these
droplets picked up silicon and carbon from SiC. The ab-
sence of copper in the droplets originating from the cast
iron and steel scrap indicate that no mixing of droplets
had occurred yet.
This is further evidence of the random statistical nature of the
chemical interactions in the cupola. Obviously, steel drop-
lets that had already been carburized would react with iron
oxide in slag the same as a liquid cast iron droplet would.
Coke Size
The average size of coke was characterized by a statisti-
cal, five length measurement in different directions (Fe-
ret’s diameter).6 From these measurements the average
Feret’s diameter for all coke lumps at each level was cal-
culated. Figure 6 shows a plot of this data which demon-
strates that the size of coke decreases as it travels from the
charge opening to the bottom of the cupola. The gas com-
position data in Figure 6 was obtained with the cupola
model software.5 Coke size is reduced due to mechanical
Table 5. EDS Semi-Quantitative Composition of the Slag Intervening Layer at the Coke-Metal Interface
Table 6. Composition of Metal Droplets in Figure 5
International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014
degradation and Reactions 9 – 11. The data suggest three
contiguous regions existed. Regions 1, 2, and 3 had an
average Feret’s diameters of 58mm, 46mm, and 29mm,
respectively. The third region encompassed the distance
between the tuyeres and tap hole. The percentage of coke
held in each region, from top to bottom, respectively, was
27%, 60% and 13%.
Ccoke + O2 → CO2 Reaction 9
Ccoke + CO2 → 2CO Reaction 10
Ccoke → Ciron Reaction 11
In Region 1 (the upper region) there was a reduction in
coke size consistent with mechanical degradation of the
coke (i.e. abrasive losses and the mechanical breakdown).
Coke size reduced due to mechanical degradation has two
consequences. The smaller the coke becomes, the less ef-
ficient combustion becomes due to increased surface area
for Reaction 10 to take place. Also, when the coke de-
grades to small particles high in the cupola stack, it can
be blown out the charge opening or carried into the emis-
sions system with the effluent gases without producing
any useful heat. The loss of smaller pieces of coke from
mechanical degradation in Region 1 to the emissions sys-
tem or due to falling into Region 2 would explain why
both the mean coke size and coke size standard deviation
increased between the start and end of Region 1. Large
decreases in coke size occurred in Region 2 where CO2,
from the combustion process was generated (Reactions
9 and 10) and in Region 3 below the tuyeres where coke
is being consumed to carburize iron (Reaction 11) and in
reactions with slag, for example Reaction 8.
19
Figure 6. Feret’s diameter and gas composition as
functions of distance from the tuyeres.
Coke Phase Transformations
Carbon in coke is amorphous when it enters the cupola. It be-
comes more graphitic (crystalline) as it descends the cupola
due to the prevailing high temperatures7,8 which enables atom-
ic movement. Previous research, performed on charcoal and
metallurgical coke, indicated that the degree of graphitization
of carbon influences the gasification and carburization pro-
cesses. A high degree of graphitization will decrease the rates
of carbon gasification and combustion and will increase the
rate of carburization at the carbon-liquid metal interface.9-12
This has not been adequately examined for foundry coke.
The degree of crystallinity was determined using X-ray dif-
fraction measurements.7,8 These measurements provided the
thickness (stacking height) of the crystalline carbon layers in
the coke as a function of height in the cupola.12 The stacking
height is the height of aromatic (benzene-like) carbon layers
based on the intensity of the L002 carbon peak in the X-ray dif-
fraction spectrum.12 These measurements showed that graph-
itization took place at points lower than Level 12 (0.3m
above the tuyere level). At Level 12 a small degree of order-
ing was detected and below that level the crystalline order
increased significantly. As expected, the increase also paral-
leled the increased temperatures in the region just above the
tuyeres and the amount of time that coke exists in the well in
an atmosphere devoid of oxygen. Figure 7 shows the varia-
tion of the average carbon stacking height, L002, as a function
of the distance from the tuyeres. The coke temperature data
was obtained with the cupola model software.5
Sulfur
As described in Table 1, the oxide layer on the steel surface
contained Fe2SiO4. This compound is thought to be related
to the deposition of sulfur on the solid steel surfaces, as fol-
lows: In the tuyere region, a silicon sulfide gas, SiS, is formed
in the interior of the coke via Reactions 12 and 13.15 Once
released from the coke, SiS combines with the combustion
20
Figure 7. Variation of L002 carbon peak as a function of
the distance from the tuyere level.
gases and reacts with Fe3O4 on the steel surfaces forming Fe-
2
SiO4 and FeS (Reaction 14). SEM-EDS elemental mapping
performed on the surface of a sample of steel obtained from
Level 12 indicated the depostion of a sulfur-bearing phase
on the steel surface [Figure 8(a) and (b)]. When the metallic
charge is cast iron, FeS may form according to Reaction 15.
SiO2 coke ash + Ccoke → CO + SiOgas Reaction 12
SiOgas + Scoke + Ccoke → CO + SiSgas Reaction 13
SiSgas + Fe3O4 slag → FeSsteel surface + Fe2Sio4 steel surface Reaction 14
SiSgas + Fesurface + Cdisolved → FeSiron surface + SiC iron surface
Reaction 15
Figure 8(c) shows the experimentally determined profiles of
sulfur in steel, iron, and coke. The steel data is incomplete as
the recovered drops were sufficient only for the needed carbon
analysis. The data suggest the following: At tuyere level, sul-
fur is released as a SiS gas during combustion. SiS is rapidly
absorbed in the liquid cast iron. Virtually no sulfur dissolves
in steel because it is a solid (see Figure 11). It is seen that the
sulfur content started to increase below 0.7m above the tuy-
eres where cast iron began to melt. It was followed by an in-
crease in sulfur content at 0.4m where the iron melted and fi-
nally there was a decrease in the sulfur concentration. As seen
in Figure 8(c), the coke-sulfur concentration did not show a
change until coke fell below the level of the tuyeres, which
reinforces the hypothesis of the formation of a silicon sulfide
gas, and a limited transfer of sulfur at the coke-liquid metal
interface.
Summary
The purpose of this study was to uncover more information
regarding the poorly understood aspects of cupola operation
which ultimately can help to improve cupola performance.
Important clues to the mechanism of key processes in cu-
pola melting were determined by examining the contents of
International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014
a cupola that was quenched with water and nitrogen while
operating under steady state conditions. A wide range of an-
alytical instruments were employed to determine the physi-
cal and chemical changes in the charge materials allowing a
better understanding of processes such as: oxidation of the
metallic charge, sulfur and carbon dissolution, alloy oxida-
tion, slag formation, carbon consumption and the crystal-
linity of carbon in coke. The results allowed the following
conclusions to be made:
6. Iron oxides from the oxidation of the metallic
charge become incorporated with the coke ash at
about 0.3m from the tuyere level and calcium oxide
is incorporated into the coke ash at the tuyere level.
Both the iron and calcium oxides will reduce the
melting point of the coke ash allowing it to flow on
(a)

1. Oxidation of the metallic charge starts when the

metallic materials are solid and occurs preferential-
ly with steel. Oxidation leads to the formation of
FeO and Fe3O4 on the steel surface, which partially
accounts for the further alloy losses in the cupola.
The experimental information suggested that the
interaction between Fe3O4 and a SiSgas leads to the
formation of Fe2SiO4 on the steel surface and may
account, at least partially, for the sulfur recovery in
the cupola process.
2. Carbon and silicon profiles in iron and steel and
the non-metallic materials found adhered to the
coke surface were evidence of the wide variation of (b)
chemical composition that can exist in very small ar-
eas, which emphasizes the random statistical nature
of the chemical interactions that occur in the cupola.
3. The analyses of the coke-metal interface identified
two possible scenarios for carbon reactions. First,
direct contact between the coke and metal allows
for carburization of the metal at the coke-metal
interface when there is no intervening slag layer.
Second, the presence of an intervening slag layer
between the coke and metal blocks the transfer of
carbon from coke to the metal but allows carbon
in the metal to reduce iron oxide in the slag. Both
processes are possible because of the high rate of
carbon diffusion in iron at high temperatures.
4. It is well understood that coke size decreases as
the coke descends in the cupola. About 12% of the (c)
coke was reduced in size in the region immediately
below the charge door. Very little coke size reduc-
tion was noted below this level, until the tuyeres
were approached. In this lower region the size re-
duction was due to combustion, gasification and
carbon dissolution. The decreasing coke size im-
mediately below the charge door is attributed to
mechanical breakdown of the coke.
5. The crystalline order of coke increases as coke ap-
proaches the tuyere level due to the existing high
temperatures in the region. High crystalline order
could increase the carburization rate of iron and
decreases the rates of combustion and gasification.
There are questions related to this that need fur- Figure 8. (a) SEM secondary electron image of the surface
ther answers, such as whether the rate of crystal- of a steel sample obtained from Level 12 (0.3m above the
lization is sufficiently fast at cupola temperatures. tuyere level). (b) Elemental map for sulfur from the same
Certainly coke residing in the cupola well would area shown in Fig. 8(a). (c) Sulfur concentration in cast iron,
have longer exposure to high temperatures. steel and coke as a function of the distance from the tuyeres.

International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014 21

 and away from the coke surface thus, leaving the
coke surface free for combustion, gasification and
carburization. Iron oxide however is deleterious to
another very important function of slag which is to
minimize alloy loss. The final slag obtained from
the combination of the different oxides in the pro-
cess occurs in the cupola well.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank AFS for their financial and
technical support necessary to undertake and complete this
work (AFS Research Contracts 02-05#06 and 11-12#01)
and the University of Antioquia for the financial and techni-
cal support needed for this work (CODI MC08-1-02). Also,
thanks to AFS Technical Committee 8K, the Melting Meth-
ods and Materials Research Committee.
REFERENCES
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681-691 (2009).
2. Aristizabal, R.E., Silva, C.M., Perez, P.A., Stanek, V.,
Katz, S., “Studies of a Quenched Cupola Part II: The
Behavior of C, Si, Mn and S in the Metallic Charge,”
AFS Transactions, vol. 117, pp. 693-708 (2009).
3. Aristizabal, R.E., Silva, C.M., Perez, P.A., Katz, S.,
“Studies of a Quenched Cupola Part III: Behavior of
Silicon Carbide and Slags,” AFS Transactions, vol.
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4. Aristizabal, R.E., Perez, P.A., Machado, H.D., Perez,
A.M., Katz, S., “Studies of a Quenched Cupola Part
Technical Review and Discussion
Studies of a Quenched Cupola
Ricardo E. Aristizábal, Paula A. Pérez, University of
Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia;
Seymour Katz; S. Katz Associates, Bloomfield, MI,
USA; Mark Bauer, General Motors, Saginaw, MI; USA
Reviewer: If Reaction 7 takes place, why doesn’t sulfur in
steel vary like sulfur in iron?
Authors: We think that is because sulfur deposition in the
solid state takes place at the steel surface and chemistry
analyses gives the bulk chemistry composition but not the
surface composition. Sulfur concentration in iron showed
that the largest increase in sulfur concentration takes place
when iron is melted; also when iron is melted sulfur on the
surface will dissolve on the entire material and will show
up in the chemistry analysis. In the other hand, we do not
have sulfur chemistry values for steel after melting because
we preferred to use the samples to determine carbon (the
22
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samples were too small to perform both carbon and sulfur).
In order to support better reaction 7 we included Figure
4, which is a SEM image and an elemental mapping of the
surface of a steel sample taken from level 12. The analysis
indicates the presence of a sulfur-bearing phase at the steel
surface, which is consistent with Reaction 7.
Reviewer: In Table 4, why is no manganese detected in the
metal drops from Levels 1d and 1e? All other metal drop sam-
ples have significant manganese content. Were different types
of steel scrap used, some with and some without manganese?
Authors: The steel we used for the experiment was all the
same. During the SEM-EDS analyses of the metal drops from
in the Figures 1d and 1e we did detect manganese, however
the sigma error of the analyses reported for the manganese
content by the SEM-EDS in those particular drops were of
the same order as the manganese content. Then, we decided
not to report the values because we consider that they were
not reliable. In order to make that clearer, we changed “not
detected” for “not reliable” in Table 4 of the final docu-
ment. We think this better represents what we found.
International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 8, Issue 3, 2014