Beijing Huasheng Metal Materials Co., Ltd.

Classification and Applications of Ferroalloys

Ferro alloy is an alloy formed by one or more elements with iron. According to the classification of elements, it is mainly divided into silicon-based, manganese-based, chromium-based, etc. According to the classification of carbon content, it is divided into high carbon, medium carbon, low carbon, micro carbon, ultra micro carbon, etc. According to the production method, it can be divided into blast furnace ferroalloy, electric furnace ferroalloy, furnace external law (metal thermal law) ferroalloy, vacuum resistance furnace ferroalloy, oxygen converter furnace ferroalloy, etc.


The main use of ferroalloy is as a deoxidizer and alloying agent in steelmaking, to remove excess oxygen and sulfur in molten steel, improve the quality and performance of steel.


Classification of ferro alloy


With the development of modern science and technology, various industries have increasingly high requirements for the variety and performance of steel, which also puts higher demands onferro alloys. There are many ways to classify ferroalloys. Generally, they are classified by the following methods:


  • According to the classification of main elements in ferroalloys, it can be divided into: silicon, manganese, chromium, vanadium, titanium, tungsten, molybdenum and other series of ferroalloys.

  • According to the classification of carbon content in ferroalloys, it can be divided into: high carbon, medium carbon, low carbon, micro carbon, ultra micro carbon and other varieties.

  • According to the production method, it can be divided into blast furnace ferroalloy, electric furnace ferroalloy, furnace external law (metal thermal law) ferroalloy, vacuum solid-state reduction ferroalloy, converter ferroalloy, electrolytic ferroalloy, etc. In addition, there are special ferroalloys such as oxide compression blocks and exothermic ferroalloys.

  • According to the classification of two or more alloying elements contained in multi-element ferroalloys, the main varieties are silicon aluminum alloy, silicon calcium alloy, silicon manganese aluminum alloy, silicon calcium aluminum alloy, silicon calcium barium alloy, silicon aluminum barium calcium alloy, etc.


In the three major series of ferroalloys, silicon iron, silicon manganese, and chrome iron are the largest varieties in terms of output.


Application of ferro alloy


Ferroalloys are an essential raw material in the steel and mechanical casting industries. With the sustained and rapid development of the steel industry and the continuous expansion and improvement of the quality of steel, higher requirements have been put forward for ferroalloy products.


Used as a deoxidizer


The combination strength of various elements in steel to oxygen, i.e. deoxidation capacity, from weak to strong order as follows: chromium, manganese, carbon, silicon, vanadium, titanium, boron, aluminum, zirconium, calcium. General steelmaking deoxidation is commonly used by silicon, manganese, aluminum, calcium composition of the iron alloy.


Used as an alloying agent


Used to adjust the chemical composition of steel to make steel alloying elements or alloys called alloying agents, commonly used alloying elements are silicon, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, titanium, tungsten, cobalt, boron, niobium, etc..


Used as a casting nucleus breeding agent


In order to change the solidification conditions, usually add certain iron alloys as nuclei before pouring, forming the center of the grain, so that the graphite formed becomes finely dispersed, grain refinement, thereby improving the performance of the casting.


Used as a reducing agent


Ferrosilicon can be used as a reducing agent for the production of ferroalloys such as ferro molybdenum and ferrovanadium, and silicon-chromium alloy and silicon-manganese alloy can be used as reducing agents for refining low-carbon ferrochrome and low-carbon ferromanganese, respectively.


Other uses


In the non-ferrous metallurgy and chemical industry, ferroalloys metal are also being used more and more widely.

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