Influence of Sulfur Content and Temperature on the Carbon Boil and CO Generation in Fe–C–S Drops

Abstract

Carbon boil in liquid iron has been studied as a function of some key parameters such as sulfur content (0.005–0.4%) and temperature (1370–1450°C) in a horizontal tube furnace. The metal–gas reactions and their time dependence, that is their dynamic nature, were observed in-situ at the temperature of interest. Experiments of Fe–C–S drops were also conducted in a vertical super-kanthal tube furnace to permit rapid quenching of metal drops and their subsequent analysis. The starting time of carbon boil phenomenon was determined using a CCD camera coupled with a time/date generator connected to a video recorder. The initiation time of carbon boil was in the range ∼5 and ∼20 sec under the conditions in this study. Mechanism for carbon boil has been proposed.