Metallurgical process to replace pig iron in cast iron making (META)

Purpose and goal:

The foundry industry wants to create its own sustainable flow where the material is manufactured in the local area using residual material from the steel industry.The project´s idea is to use steel mill scale rest material in cast iron production in order to control the manganese content in the melt. The purpose of the project is to find optimal smelting process parameters and the best possible combination of raw materials (high Mn scrap and mill scale briquettes) to achieve the desired final cast iron chemistry with desired properties.

Expected results and effects:

Based on the results of this project, the casting industry will be able to directly produce the ferritic cast iron material needed. In the same time casting industry will minimize the imported pig iron. Both the use of mill scale material and utilization of the manganese-rich scrap leads to an optimized use of resources and an increased recycling of metallic materials.

Within the project, melting process parameters will be optimized to develop the new pig iron substitute on-site at the Swedish foundries Approach and implementation:

Preliminary pilot-scale tests in Swerim´s pilot induction furnace will be carried out and knowledge from these will then be transferred to large-scale industrial trials in 4 and 12 ton furnaces, respectively. The following deliveries are planned: *Optimum ratio between scrap mix and briquettes with mill scale and biochar.

*Optimizes melting process parameters. *Mapping of the economic and material conditions for an industrial implementation. *An assessment of the environmental impact of an industrial implementation.