Recycling Evaluation of Mill Scale in Electric Arc Furnace

Abstract

A considerable amount of mill scale is generated from steelmaking plants annually. Although some industries use it as raw material however, since it contains iron in the form of FeO, Fe2O3, and Fe3O4, it can be considered as a valuable metallurgical raw material for iron and steelmaking industry as well. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility, efficiency, and consequences of the reduction of mill scale in the electric arc furnace. Accordingly, different portions of mill scale were charged into electric arc furnace (with two different charging methods) and the results were compared with reference heats. Results revealed that charging mill scale into electric arc furnace decreases oxygen and carbon powder consumptions while negatively influences on production time, energy and coke consumptions, and slag composition. Moreover, reduction rate evaluations based on tapping weight and oxygen consumption showed that almost %13 of mill scale is reduced in electric arc furnace.