METHOD FOR PRODUCING MOLTEN IRON WITH ELECTRIC FURNACE

Molten iron is produced in an electric furnace with high energy utilization efficiency at a low cost. In an electric furnace in which a shaft-type preheating chamber 2 is provided on and continuously with a melting chamber 1 and used to preheat iron scrap x, an exhaust gas generated in the melting chamber 1 is passed through the preheating chamber 2 filled with the iron scrap x so as to preheat the iron scrap x, the iron scrap x thus preheated is sequentially caused to descend in the preheating chamber 2 so as to be supplied into the melting chamber 1, and the iron scrap x is melted in the melting chamber 1 to obtain molten iron m. In this method, the iron scrap x is charged into the preheating chamber 2 so that an apparent bulk density of the iron scrap x filled in the preheating chamber 2 is not less than 0.50 t/m3 and less than 1.00 t/m3 and an iron scrap filling ratio HSC/HSF in the preheating chamber 2 is 0.5 to 0.8. In addition, a carbonaceous material is used as an auxiliary heat source for melting the iron scrap x in the melting chamber 1, and oxygen and the carbonaceous material are blown into the melting chamber 1 so that a carbon-oxygen ratio C/O is not less than 0.70.