The Research on Carbon Deoxygenation of Molten Steel and Its Application in the Converter Steelmaking Process

At the steelmaking temperature, carbon has a strong deoxidation ability. Under the vacuum condition, its deoxidation ability can be further improved, and it can become a stronger deoxidation element than aluminum. The product of carbon deoxygenation is CO, which floats up and detaches from the molte...

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Main Authors: Fang Gao, Yanping Bao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Metals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/6/648
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author Fang Gao
Yanping Bao
author_facet Fang Gao
Yanping Bao
author_sort Fang Gao
collection DOAJ
description At the steelmaking temperature, carbon has a strong deoxidation ability. Under the vacuum condition, its deoxidation ability can be further improved, and it can become a stronger deoxidation element than aluminum. The product of carbon deoxygenation is CO, which floats up and detaches from the molten steel in the form of bubbles and does not produce oxide inclusions. Under normal pressure, replacing aluminum with carbon to complete partial deoxidation tasks can not only reduce the generation of inclusions and alleviate the pressure of removing inclusions, but also reduce the consumption of aluminum and save deoxidation costs. In this study, the carbon deoxidation process after the converter was investigated. Firstly, the timing of carbon addition was determined through thermodynamic calculations, and it was found that, in oxygen-enriched molten steel, the priority of the reaction of the deoxidation element was [Al] > [Si] > [C] > [Mn]. Through the carbon and oxygen balance calculation, it is known that the carbon deoxidation effect is greatly affected by the carbon content of the molten steel; for low-carbon steel, carbon can be used for pre-deoxygenation, whereas for medium-carbon and high-carbon steel, carbon can complete most of the deoxidation tasks. Finally, with 45 steel as the research object, the carbon deoxidation process was designed and tested in industry. The results showed that, compared with the aluminum deoxidation process, the number of inclusions in the billet casting of the carbon deoxidation process was reduced by 68.8%, and the carbon deoxidation process had fewer large-sized inclusions in the billet casting. In addition, the carbon deoxidation process uses carbon powder instead of the aluminum block for deoxidation during steel tapping from the converter. The deoxidant cost is reduced by CNY 15.47/ton of steel. From a comprehensive point of view, the application of carbon deoxidation after the converter can reduce aluminum consumption and improve the cleanliness of steel, which is an important way for enterprises to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
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spelling doaj-art-655fa34878ed4d8f901232e81a9635e82025-08-20T03:29:48ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012025-06-0115664810.3390/met15060648The Research on Carbon Deoxygenation of Molten Steel and Its Application in the Converter Steelmaking ProcessFang Gao0Yanping Bao1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 10083, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 10083, ChinaAt the steelmaking temperature, carbon has a strong deoxidation ability. Under the vacuum condition, its deoxidation ability can be further improved, and it can become a stronger deoxidation element than aluminum. The product of carbon deoxygenation is CO, which floats up and detaches from the molten steel in the form of bubbles and does not produce oxide inclusions. Under normal pressure, replacing aluminum with carbon to complete partial deoxidation tasks can not only reduce the generation of inclusions and alleviate the pressure of removing inclusions, but also reduce the consumption of aluminum and save deoxidation costs. In this study, the carbon deoxidation process after the converter was investigated. Firstly, the timing of carbon addition was determined through thermodynamic calculations, and it was found that, in oxygen-enriched molten steel, the priority of the reaction of the deoxidation element was [Al] > [Si] > [C] > [Mn]. Through the carbon and oxygen balance calculation, it is known that the carbon deoxidation effect is greatly affected by the carbon content of the molten steel; for low-carbon steel, carbon can be used for pre-deoxygenation, whereas for medium-carbon and high-carbon steel, carbon can complete most of the deoxidation tasks. Finally, with 45 steel as the research object, the carbon deoxidation process was designed and tested in industry. The results showed that, compared with the aluminum deoxidation process, the number of inclusions in the billet casting of the carbon deoxidation process was reduced by 68.8%, and the carbon deoxidation process had fewer large-sized inclusions in the billet casting. In addition, the carbon deoxidation process uses carbon powder instead of the aluminum block for deoxidation during steel tapping from the converter. The deoxidant cost is reduced by CNY 15.47/ton of steel. From a comprehensive point of view, the application of carbon deoxidation after the converter can reduce aluminum consumption and improve the cleanliness of steel, which is an important way for enterprises to reduce costs and increase efficiency.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/6/648carbon deoxygenation process45 steelcleanliness of steelreduce costs and increase efficiency
spellingShingle Fang Gao
Yanping Bao
The Research on Carbon Deoxygenation of Molten Steel and Its Application in the Converter Steelmaking Process
Metals
carbon deoxygenation process
45 steel
cleanliness of steel
reduce costs and increase efficiency
title The Research on Carbon Deoxygenation of Molten Steel and Its Application in the Converter Steelmaking Process
title_full The Research on Carbon Deoxygenation of Molten Steel and Its Application in the Converter Steelmaking Process
title_fullStr The Research on Carbon Deoxygenation of Molten Steel and Its Application in the Converter Steelmaking Process
title_full_unstemmed The Research on Carbon Deoxygenation of Molten Steel and Its Application in the Converter Steelmaking Process
title_short The Research on Carbon Deoxygenation of Molten Steel and Its Application in the Converter Steelmaking Process
title_sort research on carbon deoxygenation of molten steel and its application in the converter steelmaking process
topic carbon deoxygenation process
45 steel
cleanliness of steel
reduce costs and increase efficiency
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/6/648
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