Steelmaking requires the use of air separation equipment because it can provide high-purity oxygen, nitrogen, and argon gases necessary for the steelmaking process, which play a critical role in the steelmaking process.
Provide high-purity oxygen: In the steelmaking process, oxygen is used for blowing oxygen steelmaking, including top or bottom blowing steelmaking with converter pure oxygen, electric arc furnace steelmaking, and flat furnace steelmaking. Oxygen can oxidize impurities such as carbon, phosphorus, sulfur, and silicon in iron. The heat generated by oxidation is sufficient to maintain the temperature required for steelmaking, thereby shortening the smelting time and improving the quality of steel. For example, converter steelmaking consumes 50-60 cubic meters of oxygen per ton of steel, while electric arc furnace steelmaking consumes 10-25 cubic meters of oxygen per ton of steel.
Providing nitrogen as a protective gas: Nitrogen is mainly used as a protective gas in steel plants, such as steel rolling, galvanizing, chrome plating, heat treatment (especially for thin steel sheets), continuous casting and other processes that require nitrogen as a protective gas to prevent metal oxidation. The purity requirement for nitrogen is usually above 99.99%.
Provide argon gas for the purification and protection of molten steel: Argon gas is mainly used for the smelting of special steels such as stainless steel, bearing steel, high-speed steel, and high-temperature steel. Blowing argon gas into molten steel can make the composition uniform, purify the steel, and remove impurities such as hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen dissolved in the steel, thereby improving the quality of steel billets. Blowing argon can also eliminate the reduction period, shorten the smelting time, increase production, and save electricity.
