Equilibrium model of the ferrosilicon process in the submerged ARC furnace

Based on the non-stoichiometric Gibbs free enthalpy minimization algorithm (FEM), an equilibrium physicochemical model of the ferrosilicon FeSi75 smelting process has been elaborated where the influence of process parameters was determined. In the above model in the submerged arc furnace, the basic parameters are temperatures of the upper and lower reactors and a fraction of the reducer in reaction mixture expressed by the molar ratio C/SiO ₂ . In addition, considering the carbon content and the content of admixtures in the metallic phase, small amounts of oxides: Al ₂ O ₃ ,CaO,MgO,TiO ₂ in the simulation calculations were included in the reaction mixture. The following temperature ranges were taken into account: 1630 to 1650 °C for the upper reactor and 1920 to 2010 °C for the lower one. The presented calculation results show a good compliance with the observations of the increased quality ferrosilicon FeSi75 (used in the production of special steels) smelting process under industrial conditions. This concerns in particular the influence of temperature conditions and the fraction of the reducer in the reaction mixture on the silica reduction process efficiency as well as the yields of basic component Si and the trace elements Al, Ca, Mg, Ti.