Boron iron electric furnace for ferroalloy smelting

1. Equipment usage:
1.1 Equipment name: 800KVA boron iron electric furnace;
1.2 Equipment purpose: mainly used for the production of boron iron in cold loading process;
1.3 Equipment form: Fixed semi enclosed low hood three-phase AC electric furnace; Hydraulic driven conductive cross arm electric furnace power supply type;

2. Process Introduction:
2.1 Process flow
2.2 Boric anhydride cold charging process
Adopting an intermittent production process, each furnace operation procedure is divided into: power transmission - distribution, feeding - melting - reduction smelting - sampling - qualified discharge.
Firstly, weigh the boron anhydride, petroleum coke, scrap steel, and wooden blocks according to the ratio, load them onto the conveyor belt and add them to the furnace top material bin, layer by layer add them into the furnace, start the arc and send electricity. After the current stabilizes, add all the required raw materials to the furnace and enter the chemical feeding stage. After the basic cleaning of the furnace materials, samples are taken from the furnace and inspected to be qualified before being taken out of the furnace.
After being discharged from the furnace, the slag and iron are separated, and the molten iron is poured, processed in particle size, and packaged.

3. Basic principles
Electrothermic method: Utilizing the strong reducibility of aluminum, aluminum particles are used as reducing agents to reduce boron from boron containing compounds such as boron anhydrides, forming boron iron alloys with iron. During this process, the electric furnace provides additional heat to enable the aluminum thermal reaction to continue and reach a higher temperature, ensuring that the reaction proceeds fully.
Electric carbon thermal reduction method: Using carbon as a reducing agent, boron oxide in raw materials such as boron concentrate and boron anhydride is reduced to boron in the high-temperature environment of an electric furnace, and combined with iron to form boron iron alloy.

Structural composition
Furnace body: usually made of magnesium lining, capable of withstanding high temperatures and erosion from slag. The furnace body is installed on a movable flatbed truck, which is convenient for pulling out from under the electrode and facilitating operations such as tapping and maintenance. Laying magnesium sand powder on the furnace bottom helps to protect the furnace bottom and facilitate the solidification of molten iron.
Electrode system: Generally, graphite electrodes are used to release heat through the arc generated between the electrode and the furnace charge, providing the required high temperature conditions for the smelting process. The diameter, quantity, and arrangement of electrodes will be designed according to the capacity and production process requirements of the electric furnace.
Feeding system: equipped with spiral feeders and other devices, it can accurately add various furnace materials, such as ignition agents, boron anhydrides, aluminum particles, iron scales, carbonaceous reducing agents, etc., uniformly into the furnace at a certain proportion and speed, ensuring the stable progress of the smelting process.
Electrical system: including transformers, control cabinets and other equipment, used to control the input power, voltage, current and other parameters of the electric furnace. According to different stages and demands of the smelting process, the supply of electrical energy is precisely adjusted to ensure the normal operation and efficient production of the electric furnace.

Technical Parameter:
Electric furnace capacity: The common boron iron electric furnace capacity is generally between 500-1000kV · A, and different production scales and process requirements will choose electric furnaces with different capacities.
Working voltage: The working voltage is usually around 60-80V. The high voltage is converted into low voltage and high current suitable for the operation of the electric furnace through the electrical system to meet the energy requirements of the smelting process.
Electrode diameter: The diameter of graphite electrodes is determined based on factors such as electric furnace capacity and current density, and generally ranges from several hundred millimeters to thousands of millimeters.

Advantages and Applications:
Advantages: The boron iron electric furnace can accurately control the smelting temperature and reaction process, making the production of boron iron alloys highly stable and consistent in product quality. Meanwhile, electric furnace smelting has lower environmental pollution and higher energy utilization efficiency compared to other smelting methods.
Application: Boron iron alloys produced by boron iron electric furnaces are widely used in the steel industry as strong deoxidizers and boron element additives, which can improve the hardenability, strength, toughness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of steel. They have important applications in fields such as automobiles, ships, construction, and machinery manufacturing. In addition, in emerging material fields such as amorphous alloys and permanent magnet materials, boron iron alloys have also been increasingly widely used as key raw materials.