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Cleans Steel Production Technology for Ultra Low

Carbon Steel

By HY£ON- SOO CHOIII Synopsis;

SUNGMO SEO'I Steel cleanness of ultra low carbon steel is affected by many factors
JU HAN CHOpl such as oxygen b lOwing In RH, Impurities 01 Fe alloys and slag deoxida-
SEOK-Y()I.ING PARK'I tion J'lr;tct lce . Oxygen btowing In RH is one of the detrlmel\\<ll lactors thaI
JUNG-HYUNG PARK51 deteriorale steel cleanness. For minimization of oxygen blowing in RH ,
following countermeasures have been applied . Selting up a standard of
KWANG-CHUN KIM'"
end point temperature and Iree oxygen conlents in molten steel from a
BOF, conlrolling of temperature in the bubbling slation and slag deoxida-
tion after bubbling are applied 10 control steel temperature and free
oJlygen contents of molten steel in RH arrival and these countermeasures
result in the reduction of oxygen btown ratio under 5% . The erlect of
impurities in alloys such as oxides in Ti sponge was Identified and
countermeasure has been applied to solve nozzle clogginC . In addition,
the secondary slags kill ing pract ices was done to improve steel clean-
ness and above measures were confirmed for improving nozzle clogging
and defects in cold rolled products that caused by inclus i ons from
stee!m aklng process .
Key w ords: double slag practice , slag deoxidation , nozzle clogging, ultra
tow carbon steel

1. I ntroduction oxygen contents in molten steel from the BOF ,

controlling of temperature in the bubbling station
Reoxidation of steel during secondary refining and slag deoxidation after bubbling are applied to

- or after finishing refining causes problem for the

production of clean steels . AlorTi is oxidized by
the reducible oxides such as FeO, MnO and SiOz
in slag , fluxes or refractories in the ladle and tundish .
The major oxygen sources for reoxidation of molten
steel are FeO, MnO, and Si0 2 in slag and oxygen
in the atmosphere. Reoxidation phenomena of AI
are investigated by many authors with different slag
com position. 1-5)
The addition of slag deoxidanl during BOF
tapping has been a com m only adopted practice to
reduce the FeO in teeming ladle slag and to
improve steel cleanness in ultra low carbon(ULC)
steel production . However. the addition of slag
deoxidant during tapping causes operational
problems such as phosphorus reversion or
insufficient free oxygen in molten steel for
decarburization in RH . To cope with this problem,
double slag practice was adopted to solve
phosphorus reversion problem. Steel cleanness of
ultra low carbon steel is deteriorated by oxygen
blowing in RH that caused by insufficient free
oxygen or inaccurate temperature control. For
minimization of oxygen blowing in RH, following
counter measures have been applied, Setting up
a standard of end point temperature and free
control steel1emperature and free oxygen con1ents
of m allen steel at RH arrival. In present trials, part
of slag deoxidant was added just after bubbling
in bubbling station and add itional slag deoxidant
was added after decarburization in RH to reduce
T. Fe in ladle slag.
2. Phosphorus control in the BOF
Minimization of operational variations is
impoFtant to achieve consistent qual ity of ULC
steels. In order to reduce variations. operational
improvement such as double slag practice in BOF
has been applied.
Figure 1 shows the steelmaking process forthe
production of ULC steels in Gwangyang Works.
POSCO. Molten steel after tapping from the BOF
is transferred to a bubbling station . Molten steel
temperature is adjusted in the bubbling station by
the addition of coolant or bubbling considering
present steel temperature, RH arrival time and
temperature. Slag deoxidation practice is applied
after bubbling and additional slag deoxidation is
done after decarburizatlon in RH,

Ii Principal researcher, Sleeimaking Research Group, POSLAB, POSCO, Pohang, Korea

11 Senior researcher, Steelmaking Research Group, POSLAB, POSCO, Gwangyang, Korea
.11 Junior researcher, Steelmaking Research Group, POSLAS, POSCO, Gwangyang, Korea

J} ,16' Steelmaking Department. Gwanayang works, POSCO, Gwangyang Korea

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BOF SAP RH cc
Figure 2 shows the operational proce-
dure of the double slag practice in the BOF .

EJ:I~~~ ~~,. q
WI Fluxes such as burnt lime . iron are and
recycled ladle slag are added before ,SI
blowing in the BOF . The am ount of iron ore
is adjusted depend on Si contents and
Figure 1. Steelmaking process for Ihe product ion of ULC steel. temperature of molten steel. The oxygen
blOWing was slopped when molten slag
O.... P SI80 discharging Oe-C T8Pl>lng SI8g c0811ng over tlowform the mouth occurred. Afterthe

u
1,1 blowing end . slag was discharged by
tilting the converter until molten iron is
obseNed . The second oxygen blowing was
done after slag discharging .
Figure 3 shows the relationship between
oxygen consumption and [P] after 1"
Figure 2. Operational procedure of the double slag practice . blowing . P content in molten iron is lower
as the amount of oxygen gas used in-
700 - - - - - --- .. - ..
creases. Observed basicity of slag depends

{
600

500
•
'r-. .: -• • _ • _ •
••
-.
•• . • - •
upon Si contents and burnt lime added .
Figure 4 and 5 show the changes of De-P
ratio and P contents after 1£1 blowing with
i _.
•
.- .. -.-._~
... --- ... observed basicity respectively . The P
content in molten steel is lowered when the
~ 3GQ
• observed basiCity of slag is increased as
t...
e;:
100 r-
• • expected.
,0<1 r- Figure 6 shows the changes of [P J at 2''£1

- 2000 2200 2400 2600 2100

O.YIl_n Con$umptlon(N7 ) during 1st blowl"g
3000 1200 34Q0
blowing end with total Fe in slag. The
phosphorus content after 2nd blowing
ranges from 0.006to 0.015% and that made
easy application of slag deoxidation prac-
Figure 3 . The relationship between oxygen consumption and tice after tapping from the BOF . On the
[P] after 1 " blowino . contrary, the phosphorus content rises over
0.0015%when total Fe content in slag is low
80 and that made slag deoxidation practice not
70 ....•....•..•.•• • ••.•. .. .••••. . .• .. ! ...................................... : possible especially for the steel grades
requiring P lower than 0.015% .
60 •......• . • . •.•.... . •.... . ..• .••• .. ... . ..• .!\............................. j
In addition to the application of double

.:::::::::::::::::::::~·:~~~·:::~~~~~:s~::::::::::~:::::::~::.::!
slag practice to reduce operational varia-
tions, optimum campaign lif e of the
...... .. . .. ................... .. .. .... ........ ........... ..... ....... .. .. converter has been set up considering cost
and operational variations especially during
20 ..... • .•.•..•..• ...•..•.• .........••.• y ·;:i·4·ti.;;,·>?' ~· 'i, ·5:1'7;':·j.j ~';g'i ":
the last stage of the converter campaign.
10 .. ........... . .. . . . ... . . . . . ... . .. . ............... R.~ .~.Q,g?.o.~ ............. : Figure 7 shows the changes of [0] at blow
end with the converter life and there is sharp
;).00
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50
increase [01 at blow end toward the end
Obs . S(C.o/ sI021
of the campaign life . It is caused by
Figure 4 . The changes of De- P ralio after 1" blowing improper m ixing characteristics of molten
w ith observed bas icity . steel when the ratio of height/diam eter of
steet bath is relative small that occurs during
the end of the campaign life . The campaign
life was controlled between 5500 and 6000
heats to minimize large variations of molten
steel at blow end .

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700 3. Slag deoxidation practice in the bubbling

GOO •••• 0•• ______ • _.._' - __- _: . _•• _. 0••• _____ "_______ • 0•• ••••• _0 _______ 0) station and RH
~500
~
... ..... ....... :: :+::: :!~..~·--:t:...;'.:.: ':::.~ ':. ~~<!: :::::: ~:: .....! In present trials , slag deoxidation was carried
~ • ...... ...... ................
..... .. ..... .. .... ..• .... .. ..... ........ • ; out at the bubb ling station and RH . The slag

*.
t;; 400

• deoxidation procedures of conventional method and

e
300 improved are summarized in Table1 . In the bubbling
&:
£200 .............................. .. ; '~'~ ~'. ~~~~ ~' ;;~ : ~~~. :~.;; :~~"-I
station , molten steel temperature was measured
when a teeming ladle arrived . The bubbling time
100 .. ........... .. ..... . .... R! .' .O.t2X2 . . ...••... . ..
and amount of coolant were determined considering
o L -____________ ~ __ ~ ______ ~ __ ~~

operational parameters such as arrival temperature,

1.2. 1 ..... 1.6 1 .8 Z ,O
Obs. BtC3iO ' SI02)
2..2 ~A 2 .$ 2 .8 ~.O
required RH arrival temperature and expected RH
starting time . While bubbling, burnt lime added
Figure 5. The changes of [P 1after ", blowing with during tapping reacts with slag carried over from
observed basicity. the BOF and forms homogeneous liquid slag. Even
though steel temperature is not high enough
bubbling, at least 30 seconds bubbling was done
o.o:zo ,...---·-- - --- - --;:=:====~I to homogenize BOF slag and burnt lime . Just after
I. Doubi<t slag
I0 Conventional bubbling finished, slag deoxldant was added to
0 .015 promote homogeneous slag deoxidation. Table2
shows the compositions of slag deoxidant.
~
~
c. 0.010 Table 1 . Comparison o( slag deoxidation me1hod
f • •• 0 Process Bubbling sl81 10n Anc r AH Irealmcnl
•• c
0.005 - . - - - --------------------------1 Convenllonal
- Burnllime 1000 ~g (eOF)
- Slag deoxidanl 0-'50 kO
- Slag deoxrdanl 400- 600 kg

- 0.000
14 16 18

Figure 6 . The changes of [P 1at blow end after 2nd

20 22
Total Fe In slag ('/0)
24 26 2B
Improved
- Burnl lime BOO kO IBOF)
- Slag dee,idan' 400 - 600 kg

Table 2 . Compositions or slag de oxidant (wt%)

- Slag daoxidan' 0-250 kg
- AI can chip: 0- 2 SO ka

size
blowing with total Fe in slag .
=5 5 - 30mm in dia.

700
After RH treatment, AI can chip and slag
de oxidant was added sim ultaneously to im prove
E 650
0.
slag deoxidation efficiency . The amount of AI can
0. chip and slag deoxidant was determined by the
ci 600 RH arrival conditions such as total Fe in slag . AI
>
0 can chip showed better slag deoxidation efficiency
550 com pared to that of AI pellets because it is light
and does not penetrate into molten steel.
Table 3 shows the comparisons of the index of
500
rejection ratio depend on slag deoxidation practice
a 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 and steel grades. Com paring steel grade A and B
The converter life those have the same Ti range. the rejection ratio
was reduced by 80% by the application of slag
Figure 7. The changes of [0] at blow end with the
deoxidation at the bubbling station and RH . Index
converter life . of rejection ratio is also affected by the steel
composition such as Ti .

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,
ss ,
.. ~ .'
.. .

Table 3. Comparison of the index of rejection ratio To investigate reoxidation of molten steel by
depend on different slag deoxidation and steel grades. ladle slag, a leemlng ladle after RH treatmen1 has
been waited for 50 minules and slag and metal
SI •• ll/rade A Sleel grade B 51.el grade C samples are taken. In this experimen1, total Fe
Ti largot (Range). (ppm) 160(100-200) 150(100-200) JOO(200-400) content of slag at RH arrival was3 .78% . AfterRH
GI Charged amount (Ton) 5.500 3.000 18.000 treatment. 200kg of slag deoxidantwas added.
A J Index of rejection rallo ('4) base 20% olbase 65% oIb.so There was no distinguishable change of soluble
Slag deoxidation aluminum content (Figure 10) and that means
No VAS Yas
(after bubbling III SAP) reoxidati on by slag is very little when T. Fe content
RH arrival T. Fe(%) 17 B B
is relatively low .
Slag deoxidation
(aRer RH Irealmont)
No Yes Ye.
- - ---_. . _.. __ ..

..
0 . 055
• Sol. AI 1
-. I
Figure 8 shows the changes of total Fe in slag
from RH to the end of casting . Approximately1 .6%
of total Fe was decreased by the addition of 100kg
?
!
0.050
.. .
--. ~ -
- . . --~ ...
:.:. ~
A T.AI
_.
•• .
~.
A•
I
deoxidant. Total Fe content increases during RH • •
• • • • • •• I
i:i
c
treatment. On the contrary, it decreases between :3 0.045
after slag deoxidation in RH and the end of casting ;;: RH final
especially when total Fe content is high after slag
deoxidation in RH . 0.040
1._._. .- I
0 10 20 30 40 50

:l TillIe Ancr RH Trcallncnl (milll

Figure 10. The changes 01 AI in mollen sleel accord-

ing to time after RH Ireatmenl

- ~1: ~L
~ 6
Figure 11 shows the changes of total Fe in slag
according to time after RH treatment. Total Fe
: r-.-_--------------------1----~~.-_,._---1 content in slag maintained constant 20 minutes after
RH treatment and T. Fe increased during initial
stage that is caused by the slag entrapment that
AH arrival Alter RH Alter SiBil Ladle slag aller
resides in the vacuum vessel .
treatment deoxidation casting

Figure 8 . The changes of lolal Fe in slag from AH to 5.0 r-----------------------------------,

the end 01 casting

Figure 9 shows the changes of Al z0 3 in slag

4.0
~ I
from RH to the end of casting and there Is a tendency ~30
~ .
at AIP3 content increase. It implies that there is
reoxidation of slag and increase of AI 2 0 J content ~
4)

r-: 2.0 I
when total Fe content in slag is higher than a certain T.Fe RH arrival 3.76%
limit. 1.0

50 0.0 '--------'------"'-------'-------'-------'----'
45 o 10 20 30 40 50
40 ~ ",. Time After RH treatment (min)
~ 35 Figure 11 . The changes 01 T . Fe in slag according 10

~ 30 time afler RH treatment

25

20

15
After RH iraalrnenl After slag deoxidation Ladle slag allo r
casting
Figure g . The changes 0 r AI 20 J in slag from RH to the
end of casting

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4. Effects of alloys on steel Quality
Ti is widely used element for the ULC steels .
Table 4 shows total Fe contents measured in
different Ti sponges. Brand A Ti sponge consist
of sintered type and sponge and showed much
higher total Fe content than that of Brand B. Usually
Ti is added during the last stage of RH treatment.
therefore . its quality will affect on quality of molten
steel . Figure 12 shows the changes nozzle
clogging index by the use of different Ti sponge
brand . The nozzle clogging index with Ti sponge
brand A resulted in higher clogging index com pare
to that of brand B as expected. The rejection ratio
due to inclusion originated defects with Brand A
was higher than that of Brand B and it agreed
whit the trend of nozzle clogging index. To
minimize quality problem that caused by alloys,
the quality of alloys should be supervised properly.
Table 4 . Total Fe content in Ti sponges
station . slag deoxidation was done considering
lower total Fe in slag and optimum free oxygen
contents in molten steel to prevent oxygen
blowing in RH due to insufficient free oxygen
for decarburization . For slag deoxidation after
RH . slag deoxidant and aluminum can chip was
used to reduce total Fe content in slag
Fe alloys or additives such as Ti also affects
on the quality of ULC steels . In the case of
Ti . particular brand of Ti showed higher nozzle
clogging and resulted in high rejection ratio
from a rolling mill and that is caused by higher
oxygen content in Ti sponge .
6. References
1) K. Yoshida, I. Yamazaki . Y. Tozaki , N. Aoki ,J .
Yoshiyam a and K. Arai : Tetsu-to-Haaane. 76
(1990),1817 .

Brand Total Fe. ppm 2) Y. Ogawa. M. Yano. M. MatsuoandY . Dems>te:

Sintered type : 390
Ti Sponge (Brand A)
Sponge : 450
TI Sponge (Brand 8) 100
CAMP-ISIJ,6(1993),1074 .
3) H. Suito and R. Inoue: Trans . Iron Steellnst .
Jpn. , 24 (1984) , 40.

... 4) T. B. WinklerandJ. Chipman:Trans . AIME, 167

(1946),111 .

5) H. SUito, R. Inoue and M. Takada : Trans . Iron

Steel/nst. Jpn ., 21 (1981) , 250 .

Figure 12. The chanoes nozzlecioogino index by the

useof dilferentTi sponge brand.

5. Conclusions

Double slag practice in the BOF has been

developed to meet the requirement of high
quality of ULC steels and its practice was
optim ized considering P content at blow end
for proper slag deoxidation and productivity,
• In addition to the application of double slag
practice to reduce operational variations.
optim um campaign life of the converter (5500 to
6000 heats) has been set up considering cost
and operational variations.
• Slag deoxidation practice at both bubbling station
and RH has been optim ized to minimize
reoxidation caused by ladle slag. In bubbling

SEAlSl QUilrterty Journal 2008 Vol 37 No.1