Uses of ferrosilicon and manganese silicon
Ferrosilicon and manganese silicon are the most widely used iron alloys in the process of steelmaking. They are mainly used as deoxidizer and alloying agent in steelmaking to eliminate excessive oxygen and sulfur in molten steel and improve the quality and performance of steel. Besides steel making, another important use of ferrosilicon is to smelt magnesium.
Used as a deoxidizer
The method of blowing oxygen or adding oxidant is used to decarbonize hot iron and remove harmful impurities such as phosphorus and sulfur. In the process of pig iron refining into steel, the oxygen content in liquid steel gradually increases and exists in the form of FeO in liquid steel. If the oxygen is not removed from the steel, the mechanical properties of the casting billet are not good.
Some elements that combine with oxygen and are easily removed from the molten steel into the slag are added. According to the oxygen binding strength of various elements in the molten steel, the order from weak to strong is as follows: chromium, manganese, carbon, silicon, vanadium, titanium, boron, aluminum, zirconium, calcium. Therefore, steel deoxidation is commonly used by silicon, manganese, aluminum, calcium composed of iron alloy.
Use as alloying agent
Alloying elements can not only reduce the content of impurities in steel, but also adjust the chemical composition of steel, commonly used alloying elements are silicon, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, titanium, tungsten, cobalt, boron, niobium and so on. Steel with different alloying elements and alloy content has different characteristics and uses.
Used as a reducing agent
Ferrosilicon can be used as reducing agent for producing ferromolybdenum, ferrovanadium and other ferroalloys, and silico-chromium alloy and silico-manganese alloy can be used as reducing agent for refining medium-low carbon ferrochrome and medium-low carbon ferromanganese respectively.
In conclusion, silicon can significantly improve the elasticity and magnetic conductivity of steel. Manganese can reduce the brittleness of steel, improve the hot working property of steel, and increase the strength, hardness and abrasion resistance of steel. Manganese is an indispensable functional basic raw material for the production of high-quality iron and steel. It can remove impurities such as sulfur and oxygen in the process of steel making, and improve the physical properties of steel by improving the strength, hardness and abrasion resistance. At present, no other element can replace manganese in the process of steel production.
