The use of silicomanganese is mainly as a deoxidizer and alloying agent in steelmaking, to eliminate excess oxygen and sulfur in the steel and improve the quality and performance of steel.
First, it is used as a deoxidizer. In steelmaking, the oxygen blowing method is used to decarbonize the iron and remove the phosphorus, sulfur and other harmful impurities, this process will increase the oxygen content in the steel, and the high oxygen content will reduce the mechanical properties of steel.
Add some combination with oxygen stronger than iron, and its oxide is easy to discharge from the steel in the form of slag elements, to remove the oxygen in the molten steel, this process is called deoxidation.
Silicon and manganese alloy in silicon and manganese, and the affinity of oxygen are strong, in steelmaking using silicon manganese alloy, the resulting deoxidation products MnSiO3 and MnSiO4 melt are 1270 ℃ and 1327 ℃, respectively, with a low melting point, large particles, easy to float, good deoxidation effect.
The role of two elements of silicon and manganese species in steel
Among them, silicon elements can significantly improve the elasticity and magnetic conductivity of steel, thus in smelting structural steel, tool steel, spring steel, and transformers with silicon steel, are to use silicon alloy.
General steel containing silicon 0.15%-0.35%, structural steel containing silicon 0.40%-1.75%, tool steel containing silicon 0.30%-1.80%, spring steel containing silicon 0.40%-2.80%, stainless Acid-resistant steel contains silicon 3.40%-4.00%, heat-resistant steel contains silicon 1.00%-3.00%, silicon in silicon steel 2%-3% or higher.
The element manganese can reduce the brittleness of steel, improve the hot workability of steel, and increase the strength, hardness, and wear resistance of steel.
Manganese can play a very important role in steelmaking, and the steel industry consumes more than 90% of its production. Manganese is an indispensable functional base raw material for the production of high-quality steel, removing impurities such as sulfur and oxygen during the steelmaking process and improving the physical properties of steel by increasing its strength, hardness, and resistance to wear. At present, there is no other element that can replace the role of manganese in the steel production process.
The raw material of manganese
Manganese ore is the main raw material for smelting manganese alloys. In smelting manganese alloy, the chemical composition and physical properties of manganese ore largely determine the technical and economic indexes of the whole smelting process.
Most of China’s manganese ore is distributed in the southern region, especially in Guangxi and Hunan provinces, accounting for 56% of the national manganese ore reserves, thus forming a pattern of manganese ore resources mining mainly in Guangxi and Hunan, and there are 213 proven manganese ore areas in the country, with reserves of 560 million tons, accounting for the second place in the world. The top ten provinces with manganese ore reserves are Guangxi, Hunan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Liaoning, Chongqing, Hubei, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Shaanxi.
Guangxi is the place with the most manganese ore in China, and Xiaolei Manganese Mine in Daxin County is the largest manganese deposit in China. Chongqing Xiushan is located in the best position of the “Golden Triangle of China’s Manganese Industry” among Chongqing, Xiang, and Qian, and is the world’s largest production base of manganese ore and electrolytic manganese, which is called “the first manganese capital of the world”. The proven manganese ore reserves in its territory are as high as 50 million tons, and the total projected prospective resources are 201,773,500 tons, accounting for 1/4 of the total reserves in China.
The production cost of manganese silicon alloy mainly consists of manganese ore, electricity, and coke, of which manganese ore accounts for about 60%, electricity about 20%-25% and coke about 10%-15%.
This is some basic knowledge of silicomanganese, I hope you can learn more about silicomanganese.