The Control and Operation of a Pilot-plant Dc Plasma Furnace

Résumé du livre

The single-electrode dc plasma-arc furnace can be used to replace the conventional submerged-arc furnace for the production of ferro-alloys. The major advantages of the plasma furnace are: the ability to process fine material directly, a high degree of flexibility in the choice of raw materials, improved efficiency of reduction, and the use of a smaller furnace with only one electrode to give the equivalent power level. However, for consistent stable metallurgical performance, the plasma furnace requires a high degree of control, the major aspects of which are: the feed rate of raw materials, the input of electrical power, and the setting of the ratio of the feed rate of the raw materials to the power input. This paper describes the manner in which this has been achieved in pilot-plant facilities at the 200 to 300 kW and 1.2 MW levels.