Impact of solid particles on high temperature slag electrical conductivity through a combination of experiments, slag property modelling and process simulations
Context
The transition towards a net zero emission society poses the metals industry with a twofold challenge of both increasing the production output while simultaneously decreasing its own CO2 emissions. Electric furnaces can provide a crucial role in achieving both goals. Their operation is strongly dependent on slag properties such as electrical conductivity and viscosity as it affects the furnace’s heat generation and metal droplet recovery. Although the presence of solid particles within the slag hinders furnace operation, it is still unclear how such situations occur and what can be done to mitigate the effects.
Research objectives
The main objective of this work is to understand the impact of solid particles on electric furnace operation. This is done via:
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Obtaining electrical conductivity data for slag suspensions as a function of solid volume fraction and solid type (conducting vs insulating)
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Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of an electric furnace using the material property relations obtained from experiments.
Project logo and funding logo
This project is supported by Research Foundation Flanders.
