Steel industry

Steel industry

Calcium aluminate plays an essential role in steelmaking, being widely used in steel refining as an efficient desulfurizing agent. Furthermore, it replaces fluorite, improving the fluidity of the slag without the environmental impacts associated with it.

Synthetic slag, composed mainly of lime, silica and alumina, has been the main substitute for fluorite as a fluxing agent, helping to reduce the viscosity of the slag and remove impurities, such as phosphorus and sulfur, from steel. Furthermore, the choice between using synthetic slag in the form of a powder mixture or sintered depends on the specific operating conditions, taking into account factors such as cost, process control and environmental impact.

Calcined alumina acts to enrich synthetic slag in the Steelworks, due to its high resistance to high temperatures and its chemical stability. Its application helps to control and stabilize the composition of the slag, facilitating the efficient removal of impurities from the steel, in addition to controlling the formation of non-metallic inclusions in the steel, resulting in a final product of superior quality.

Furthermore, ITAFORTE has in its portfolio ferroalloys such as Nitridated Ferrosilicon (FerSiN®). This raw material is used in the secondary refining stage of steel in a ladle furnace, being widely used to obtain alloys that require greater mechanical resistance, abrasion and corrosion.