As an alloying compound, high carbon ferrochrome, or charge chrome, is used to manufacture stainless steel and special alloys. Stainless steels are used in a variety of industries, including food, petrochemicals, chemicals, pulp, construction, white goods, dental and medical equipment, and domestic utensils, among others.
Raw Materials: Chrome Ore, which is made up of the useful compounds Cr2O3 and FeO, with gangue that is made up of SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, CaO and P. The reducer, elemental carbon, mainly comes from metallurgical coke and/or charcoal.
Reduction Reactions: The raw materials are loaded into a submerged-arc reducing furnace, and using an electro-fusion process, the ore Cr2O3, FeO and part of the SiO2 react with the carbon in the reducers, obtaining the alloy, containing Cr, Fe, Si, C and P, which is called High Carbon Ferrochromium (HCFeCr). The main reactions are described in the processes indicated below:
Cr2O3 + 3C ------> 2 Cr + 3 CO
FeO + C --------> Fe + CO
SiO2 + C --------> Si + CO2
The HCFeCr alloy and the slag are produced simultaneously in the furnaces. The furnaces are emptied periodically and the alloy is molded in a specific area, where it is cooled, comminuted (crushed) and classified based on customer specifications. Click here to see the flowchart.
Typical Alloy Composition: The typical composition of the High Carbon Ferrochrome (HCFeCr) alloy is represented below:
Cr 55%
C 7.8%
Si 3.5%
P 0.025%
S 0.020%