What Is The Main Function Of Ferrosilicon?

What is the main function of ferrosilicon?

Ferrosilicon is made from coke, steel scraps, quartz (or silica) as raw materials and smelted in an electric furnace. Silicon and oxygen are easily combined into silica, so ferrosilicon is often used as a deoxidizer in steelmaking.

At the same time, because SiO2 releases a lot of heat when it is generated, it can increase the temperature of molten steel during deoxidation and reduce the energy consumption of steelmaking. As an alloying element additive, ferrosilicon is widely used in low-alloy structural steel, bonded steel, spring steel, bearing steel, heat-resistant steel and electrical silicon steel. It is often used to manufacture single crystal silicon or prepare non-ferrous metal alloys.

Ferrosilicon is an essential deoxidizer in the steelmaking industry. In steelmaking, ferrosilicon is used as precipitation deoxidizer and diffusion deoxidation. Ferrosilicon is also used as an alloying agent in steelmaking. Adding a certain amount of silicon to steel can significantly improve the strength, hardness and elasticity of the steel, increase the magnetic permeability of the steel, and reduce the hysteresis loss of transformer steel.

General steel contains 0.15%-0.35% silicon, structural steel contains 0.40%-1.75% silicon, tool steel contains 0.30%-1.80% silicon, spring steel contains 0.40%-2.80% silicon, and stainless acid-resistant steel contains Silicon 3.40% ~ 4.00%, heat-resistant steel contains silicon 1.00% ~ 3.00%, silicon steel contains silicon 2% ~ 3% or higher.

High-silicon ferrosilicon or siliceous alloys are used in the ferroalloy industry as reducing agents for the production of low-carbon ferroalloys. Ferrosilicon can be used as an inoculant for ductile iron when added to cast iron, and can prevent the formation of carbides, promote the precipitation and spheroidization of graphite, and improve the performance of cast iron.

Chemical Composition

Physical Properties