Recent Studies on Hot Metal Desulfurization

Abstract

Hot metal desulfurization station is an indispensable part of a modern integrated iron and steelmaking company. In this plant, roughly speaking, at least ninety percent of sulfur in hot metal is eliminated before basic oxygen steelmaking. In the conventional process, stable sulfide-making additives of various kinds and forms are introduced to the hot metal present in torpedo cars or more commonly in ladles. Together with desulfurization reactions, a slag rich in sulfides is collected at the top, and it is then skimmed out. Other than hot metal treatment stage, further removal of sulfur may be accomplished in secondary steelmaking, depending primarily on suitability of metallurgical conditions in that specific vessel. In this literature work, recent experimental studies related to hot metal desulfurization are reviewed. More emphasis shall be on the works performed after the millennium and specifically in the last decade, including the ones offering new and novel methods.