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Plasma in the Metallurgical Industry

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Handbook of Thermal Plasmas

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Abstract

Following the early success of thermal plasma technology in the aerospace industry, significant efforts were devoted in the 1980s and 1990s for the development of industrial-scale applications of the technology in the metallurgical industry. The trend followed the footsteps of the electric arc furnace which is widely used in the metallurgical industry for melting and smelting processes using graphite or self-baked electrodes in furnaces with power levels up to 80 MW which, even at our present time, is considered as large. Subsequent applications in the ferrous metallurgical industry viewed the use of plasma technology as a means of reducing dependence on consumable graphite electrodes, reducing coke consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. In the present chapter following a historical overview of the electric arc furnace technology and their applications on an industrial scale in the metallurgical industry, a brief overview is presented of basic concepts commonly used in the design of plasma generators. This is followed by a detailed presentation of some of the most important large-scale metallurgical applications developed for plasma smelting and scrap melting including plasma ladle and tundish heating which are presently well-established technologies used on an industrial scale.

The latter part of the chapter is dedicated to high-profile applications of thermal plasma in the nonferrous metallurgical industry, which benefited mostly from the technology for the development of novel processes for the production of high-added value metals and alloys. A good example of the versatility of thermal plasma technology is the development, around the turn of the century, of plasma-based processes for the production of metallurgical powders of a wide range of exotic metals and alloys which are key enabling components for the manufacture of near net shaped parts using hot isostatic pressing (HIP), metal injection molding (MIM), and more recently additive manufacturing (AM).

It is important to point out that some of the technically successful applications of plasma technology in the metallurgical industry did not survive the test of time because of economic constrains. These should not be overlooked or discarded, since in a continuously changing economic and energy context, renewed interest can also develop in such technologies for the same or alternate applications depending on changing market needs, environmental concerns, and technological developments.

Emil Pfender: deceased.

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Abbreviations

AC:

Alternative current

AM:

Additive manufacturing

AOD:

Argon oxygen decarburization

ASEA:

Research organization in Sweden

BF:

Blast furnace

CAB:

Captive argon bubbling

CFM:

Cubic feet per minute

CIP:

Chemical process industries

CRM:

Center for Mineral Research, Belgium

DC:

Direct current

DC-TPAP:

DC-triple plasma atomization process

DRI:

Direct reduced iron

EAF:

Electric arc furnace

EPRI:

Electric Power Research Institute

GA:

Gas atomization

GHG:

Greenhouse gases

GM:

General Motors

HDH:

Hydride-dehydride process

HIP:

Hot isostatic pressing

ICP:

Inductively coupled plasma

IRSID:

Institute de Recherche de la Sidérurgique Française

KISS:

Keep it simple, stupid

LHS:

Left hand side

MIM:

Metal injection molding

Mintek:

Council for Mineral Technology, South Africa

MS&A:

Middelburg Steel & Alloys in Krugersdorp, South Africa

MTMP:

Mintek Thermal Magnesium Process

NASA:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NIM:

National Institute for Metallurgy

NS:

Net shape

OES:

Optical emission spectroscopy

PA:

Plasma atomization

PCHM:

Plasma cold hearth melting

PEC:

Plasma Energy Corporation

PFC:

Plasma-fired cupola

PGM:

Platinum group metals

PIF:

Plasma induction furnace

PLH:

Plasma ladle heater

PM:

Powder metallurgy

PPC-F:

Plasma progressive casting-furnace

PREP:

Plasma rotating electrode process

PSD:

Particle size distribution

QIT:

Quebec Iron & Titanium

R&D:

Research and development

RBM:

Richards Bay Minerals

RF:

Radio frequency

RF-IPAP:

RF-induction plasma atomization process

RF-IPS:

RF-induction plasma spraying

RHS:

Right hand side

SA:

South Africa

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

SER:

Specific energy requirement

SINTEF:

National Research Organization in Norway

SS:

Stainless steel

TPH:

Tundish plasma heater

TRD:

Tetronics Research and Development

UIE:

International Union for Electroheat

VAR:

Vacuum arc refining

XRD:

X-Ray diffraction

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biotechnology Engineering, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Maher I. Boulos

  2. Sciences des Procédés Céramiques et de Traitements de Surface (SPCTS), University of Limoges, Limoges, France

    Pierre L. Fauchais

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Emil Pfender

Authors
  1. Maher I. Boulos
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  2. Pierre L. Fauchais
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  3. Emil Pfender
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maher I. Boulos .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biotechnology Engineering, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Maher I. Boulos

  2. Sciences des Procédés Céramiques et de Traitements de Surface (SPCTS), University of Limoges, Limoges, France

    Pierre L. Fauchais

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Emil Pfender

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Boulos, M.I., Fauchais, P.L., Pfender, E. (2023). Plasma in the Metallurgical Industry. In: Boulos, M.I., Fauchais, P.L., Pfender, E. (eds) Handbook of Thermal Plasmas. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84936-8_38

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