Smelting of High-Carbon Ferrochrome from Prereduced Chromite Raw Materials of the Donskoy Ore Mining and Processing Plant

Experimental smelting of three batches of prereduced chromite raw materials with different degrees of metallization of chromium was conducted in the 0.2 MVA ore-smelting furnace of the Chemical and Metallurgical Institute named after Zh. Abishev (Karaganda). To assess the performance indicators of the remelting of prereduced chromite raw materials in industrial direct-current furnaces, a batch of base charge consisting of chromite ore, coke fines, and quartz flux and intended for smelting high-carbon ferrochrome (HCFC) was smelted at a separate stage. The dependence of the specific power consumption for the smelting of HCFC in the pilot furnace on the degree of metallization of chromium in the range of 0–65% was determined. The data obtained made it possible to estimate the parameters of the smelting of HCFC from a prereduced product with different degrees of metallization of chromium in a 72 MW furnace. The results show the possibility of reducing the specific power consumption by half, up to 3.4 MW∙h/t of chromium, with the degree of chromium metallization in the prereduced product being 65%.