A General Model for BOP Decarburization

Abstract

The decarburization in the BOP (Basic Oxygen Process) has been modeled. The model was formulated based on the industrial data relating the temperature and the carbon content of the bath. Several formulae for calculating the variation of carbon and oxygen contents in the liquid metal as well as carbon monoxide composition in the gas phase were derived as a function of blow time, oxygen blow rate, gas purity and melt weight; these derivations were done for low (<0.3%) as well as high (>0.3%) C levels. The model was applied to a typical BOP operation and the calculated results show good agreement between predicted values and the actual operating values. It is expected that this model can be used as a reference for analyzing various steelmaking processes.