Slag Foaming Fundamentals - A Critical Assessment

Slag foaming is part of steelmaking process and could bring several benefits: it helps to save energy, improves productivity, enhances the refractory service life, decreases noise pollution and protects the bath from nitrogen incorporation. Unfortunately, slag foaming is a highly dynamic process that is difficult to control. There are factors that limit the quality of the foam generated on the slag, such as: basicity, FeO content, surface tension, viscosity, carbon and oxygen injection. This paper aims to discuss the main factor that induces foaming, mathematical models proposed by different authors and the use of isothermal solubility diagram (ISD) to predict the foam quality.

炉渣泡沫化是炼钢工艺的组成环节，可带来多重积极效益：能够节约能源、提升生产效率、延长耐火材料服役寿命、降低噪声污染，并可防止熔池混入氮气。但炉渣泡沫化属于高度动态的复杂过程，难以实现精准调控。诸多因素会限制炉渣所生成泡沫的质量，例如碱度、氧化亚铁（FeO）含量、表面张力、黏度、碳含量与氧喷吹参数。本研究旨在探讨诱发炉渣泡沫化的核心影响因素、不同学者提出的相关数学模型，以及利用等温溶解度图（isothermal solubility diagram, ISD）预测泡沫质量的方法。