The metallurgical industry is a high-tech industry, which requires not only minerals, but also synthesized products or additives that improve the performance of metals. For the production of steel , iron alloys with certain components are used. The resulting compounds are ferroalloys.
What it is?
Ferroalloy - a material necessary for the metallurgical industry, used for alloying, deoxidation, refining of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The ferroalloy is based on an alloy of iron (Fe, ferrum) with additives (manganese, potassium, molybdenum, silicon, etc.). Production takes place in special units.
To date, an iron alloy with more than twenty elements is used to make the material. New research and industrial needs show an increase in the number of compounds.
The purpose of ferroalloys
In ferrous metallurgy, ferroalloys are used for alloying, which allows you to get more than 2.5 thousand grades of various steels. Improved types of steel are used in the mining, metallurgical, chemical, construction, defense industries and other industries. Ferroalloy is a metal additive that is introduced to change the properties of the final material. Correction of the quality of steel allows to improve mechanical performance, resistance to temperature extremes or aggressive chemical environment. The final properties of the material will depend on the composition that was introduced during the melting period of the metal.
The production of ferroalloys and their further application allows to obtain alloy steels with changed functionality, for example, non-magnetic or tool material. Deoxidation of steel by means of ferroalloys is necessary for binding and removing oxygen from the total mass to the slag. Here, iron compounds are used with silicon, titanium, aluminum, etc.
Also, ferroalloy is a modifier for steel or cast iron, designed to reduce grain, improve the structure of the material and affect the strengthening of mechanical properties. To obtain a modifying additive, iron is combined with several elements, for example, calcium + silicon, iron + manganese, iron + silicon + magnesium, etc.
Raw materials
Ferroalloy production begins with raw materials, which are ore, saturated with a certain group of elements. For example, enriched ore is used for ferrosilicon and ferrochrome, while concentrate is the raw material for ferrotitanium or ferro-tungsten. The technological process includes the stage of reduction of metal oxides included in the compound. The reaction catalyst is iron or its oxides. The reduced element receives conditions for a stable form and their absence for reverse oxidation. The metallurgical industry at the present stage most often uses the electrothermal method for the production of ferroalloys, the basis of which is a reduction reaction. Melting steel with the addition of ferroalloys reduces the temperature in the furnace, thereby reducing the energy intensity of production.
Types of Ferroalloys
Currently, the global production of ferroalloys is 16.5 million tons per year. The number of items is estimated in hundreds of grades, which fully meets the needs of the production of all types of steel (ordinary, special, structural). The Russian share in world production is 12.7%, with China, the USA and Japan occupying the leading positions. Ferroalloy is one of the demanded types of products; its production is a promising area of industrial development.
The main types of ferroalloys:
- Ferrosilicon.
- Silicocalcium.
- Ferromanganese.
- Ferrochrome (medium carbon, low carbon, carbon free).
- Silikochrom.
- Ferro-tungsten.
- Ferromolybdenum.
- Ferrovanadium.
- Ferrotitanium.
- Ferroboron.
- Exothermic alloys.
Ferroalloy industry
Ferroalloy industry in Russia until 1917 was represented by the only enterprise located in the Urals. The plant’s capacities consisted of two 250 kW furnaces. In the 30s, 4 plants were commissioned: Lipetsk, Chelyabinsk, Zaporizhia (Ukraine), Zestafonsky (Georgia).
In the period from 1942 to 1945, the Kuznetsk, Aktobe, and Klyuchevsky ferroalloy plants were built and launched. In the post-war years, the Serov Plant (1956), Stakhanovsky in Ukraine (1962), Nikopolsky (Ukraine, 1966), and Ermakovsky in Kazakhstan (1968) were put into operation in stages. The commissioned capacities fully satisfied the needs of the domestic market and allowed entering the foreign market with a competitive offer. The total production of ferroalloys at the time of the collapse of the USSR was 6 million tons per year. In Russia today there are ten factories specializing in the production of ferroalloys. The largest of these is the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant.
Aksu plant in Kazakhstan
Aksu Ferroalloy Plant is located in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan. Until 1995, it was called the Ermakovsky Ferroalloy Plant, the date of commissioning is 1966. In 1995, the company was sold to the Japanese company Japan Chrom Corp., in the same year it became part of the Kazchrome Corporation. The total annual production is about a million tons of products. Currently, the company is one of the leaders in world production of alloys. Power consumption is 600 megawatts. The main gross product is chromium, manganese, silicon alloys.
Production capacity:
- Four smelters.
- Twenty-six electric furnaces with capacities from 16.5 to 63 MVA.
- Two preparatory workshops.
- Slag processing shop.
- Mechanical repair shops.
- Automobile and railway workshops.
The total number of employees is 6,000 people.
Novokuznetsk plant
In 1942 he began to produce ferroalloys Novokuznetsk. In 1992, the company changed its form of government, becoming a joint stock company. The first change of ownership took place in 2000, the MDM group became the managing company. And since 2010, the plant is controlled by the Ural-Siberian Metallurgical Company.
The main types of products are intended for deoxidation, alloying of steel with ferrosilicon. For the engineering industry, modifiers are used for smelting cast iron. Silica fume, used for the manufacture of steel and intermediate, involved in the steel casting process, has become a new type of production.
Kluchevsky plant
Kluchevsky ferroalloy plant was founded on the basis of the chromoprocessing factory in 1941. Today it is the only enterprise in the post-Soviet space that produces more than 30 types of ferroalloys and alloys. It is part of the MidUral Group company.
The range of products includes:
- Silicocalcium with additives of vanadium, zirconium, titanium, aluminum.
- Silicovanadium, ferroniobium, silicocalcium, ferrotitanium.
- Modifier ferrosilicocirconium with magnesium content.
- Ligatures are based on niobium and nickel with rare earth metals.
- Slag and others
The products are used in deoxidation, alloying, degassing of steel and its alloys, as well as modifiers of cast iron.
Nikopol Ferroalloys
The first phase of the plant was launched in 1966. Since 1968, the company was considered the largest in Europe. The Nikopolsky Ferroalloy Plant reached its greatest prosperity and full capacity utilization in 1985-1990. After which, production began to decline steadily. Today, the plant is a recognized industry leader in Ukraine. Due to the difficult economic situation, it is on the verge of closure.
Products:
- Ferrosilicon manganese.
- Ferromanganese.
- The mass is electrode.
- Fluxing agents.
- Slag, abrasives, crushed stone.
- Associated production.
Factory in Bratsk
The fraternal ferroalloy plant is located in the Irkutsk region and is the largest producer of ferrosilicon in the East Siberian region. The plant was created on the basis of one of the workshops of the Bratsk aluminum plant. The need for the enterprise was due to the need of the domestic market for semiconductors, solar panels, and electronics. The main product of the enterprise is ferrosilicon with a high silicon content - up to 75%. The release was launched in 1998. In order to provide its own raw materials, the BFZ is developing the Uvat deposit of quartzite ores. The production complex receives electricity from the nearby Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station, which significantly reduces the cost of production, more than a third of which is sold among the enterprises of the Mechel controlling company.
Serov factory
Serov ferroalloys have been produced for more than 50 years. The plant is the second largest in production in Russia. The main products are ferrochromes (high-carbon, medium-carbon, low-carbon, ferrosilicochrome). The first phase of the plant was launched in 1961. Today it is part of the ChMEK company.
The ferroalloy plant is located in the Sverdlovsk region (Serov), the annual production volume is about 200 thousand tons of finished products. The company produces a wide range of master alloys based on low-carbon ferrochrome obtained by mixing melts. Responding to the needs of the domestic metallurgical market, the company mastered the production of ferrosilicon. Products are supplied to many foreign markets and domestic enterprises.
Aktobe plant
The plant is located in the city of Aktobe (Kazakhstan). The first ton of ferroalloys was produced at the enterprise in 1943. The main products are ferroaluminium, ferromanganese, ferrochrome, ferrosilicon, ferrozinc, non-ferrous metals and their alloys, alloys for catalytic processes.
The Aktobe ferroalloy plant produces more than 300 thousand tons of products per year. In addition, the company produces concentrates for the metallurgical industry (ilmentin, zircon, rutile). The plant is one of the world leaders in production in the industry. The management company is TNK Kazchrome.
Ferroalloy plants of Russia and the CIS
Russian enterprises:
- Alapaevsky Metallurgical Plant, products - ferromanganese.
- Kosogorsky MTZ in Tula, products - cast iron, ferromanganese.
- Serov plant, products - ferrochrome.
- Bratsk plant, the main products are ferrosilicon.
- Ryazan plant, the main products are ferromolybdenum, ferrovanadium, ferro-tungsten; rare-metal alloys are produced at the enterprise.
- Tikhvin plant, products - ferrochrome.
- Kuznetsk ferroalloy plant (ferrosilicon).
- Klyuchevsky plant produces rare types of alloys - ferroboron, ferronobium, ferrotitanium, etc.
- Chelyabinsk IEC is an industry leader. Output products - ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, ferrosilicochrome, silicocalcium, etc.
- Kingisepp Plant (ferromanganese, silicomanganese).
Ukrainian enterprises:
- Zaporizhzhya Ferroalloy Plant produces ferrosilicon, metallic manganese, ferrosilicon manganese, etc.
- Nikopol plant, products - ferrosilicon manganese, ferromanganese, etc.
- Stakhanov plant in the Luhansk region, products - ferrosilicon manganese, ferrosilicon, ferromanganese.
- Donetsk Ferroalloy Plant, the main products are ferroaluminium.
As of the beginning of 2017, Ukrainian enterprises almost stopped their activities due to the civil war and the deep economic crisis in the country.
Kazakhstan enterprises:
- Aktobe plant, manufactured products are based on chromium, manganese, silicon alloys.
- Aksu plant produces ferromanganese, ferrochrome, etc.
Georgian manufacturers:
- Zestafon plant, produced types of ferroalloys - ferromanganese.