THERMODYNAMIC ASSESSMENT OF ELECTRICAL ACTIVATION OF TOP OXYGEN BLOWING

The current state of the steelmaking industry shows that the oxygen-converter method of obtaining a liquid metal semi-product remains the only economically profitable method. However, the very method for maintaining competitiveness in the market requires constant improvement of production efficiency and cost reduction. Traditional ways of influencing the steel melting bath to improve exchange processes have a number of limitations and have already exhausted their possibilities in most cases. Therefore, it is important to develop new ways of activating the steelmaking exchange processes, for example, activating the oxygen gas stream with an electric discharge before it is immersed in the metal melt. In the work, a thermodynamic analysis of the effect of high-voltage activation of the oxygen flow on the course of the carbon oxidation reaction by the gaseous component to CO was carried out. This component is decisive for the time of the oxygen convertering process under top-blowing conditions. The Gibbs free energy was chosen as the determining parameter that makes it possible to assess the possibility of free flow of chemical reactions in the direction of product formation. Gibbs free energy was calculated for the conditions of redox reactions taking into account the electrode potentials of the components. It was established that the high-voltage activation of oxygen at the exit from the nozzle creates such a number of active particles — ions that at a distance of 40 calibers of the diameter of the nozzle, their additional amount contributes to a significant increase in the electrode potential of oxygen by 1.1 times. This increases the emf of the “carbon-oxygen” system and is reflected in an increase in the negativity of the Gibbs free energy compared to the classic blowing option in 3.6 times. The obtained results indicate the possibility of reducing the time of blowing the metal melt to achieve the required carbon content earlier due to a more active reaction with an increased number of oxygen ions.