Steel Production with Microwave Assisted Electric Arc Furnace Technology

摘要

Microwave assisted electric arc furnace technology is a new steelmaking technology under development at Michigan Technological University. This technology is a revolutionary change from the current technology. It is achieved through the combination of microwave, electric arc and exothermal heating. This technology can produce molten steel directly from a shippable agglomerate (green ball) consisting of iron oxide concentrate, coal, and fluxing agent without the intermediate steps of coking, sintering, Blast Furnace (BF) ironmaking, and Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) steelmaking. The unique aspect of this technology utilizes the advantages of rapid volumetric heating, high energy efficiency, and chemical reaction acceleration through the use of microwaves. The viability of the technology lies in the fact that iron ore and carbon are excellent microwave absorbers. This new, simplified process translates into less capital cost, higher productivity, less environmental pollution and treatment cost, higher energy efficiency, and lower production cost.