Cast iron production

Most ferrous scrap is recycled in steelmaking processes by melting the scrap in either a basic oxygen or an electric arc furnace. However, a significant market exists for cast-iron products, which are also made by melting ferrous scrap. In 1991, world production of cast irons was estimated at nearly 3.9 X 10 t at over 14,000 iron foundries (15). 

The second largest market is that of profiles, particularly for the building industry. UPVC has become well established for guttering, waste piping and conduits, where economies arise not just in basic product costs but also in transportation and installation costs. Unlike with cast iron products, corrosion and maintenance is less of a problem, although UPVC products are more liable... 

The rotary furnace has been used in non-ferrous melting for many years. In this application traditional oil-air burners can provide the relatively low melting temperatures. The development of oxygen-air burners has enabled the introduction of cast iron production, using a higher relative amount of steel scrap and applying graphite for carburisation. 

C (Mond process). The silver-white metal is ccp. The metal is not tarnished by air but is attacked by acids (except cone. HNO3). It is resistant to Fj. It is used extensively in alloys, particularly in steels and cast iron and as a coinage metal. Used in glass (green) in catalysts (particularly for hydrogenation). Western world production 1981 662 000 tonnes. 

One production line of a paper mill consists according the size and the quality of the produced paper sometimes from more than 50 steam drums to dry and flatten the produced paper. These drums (cylinders with flat bottoms, see figure 1) will be used with a steam pressure up to 500 kPa (5 bar) and additionally with a rotation speed up 1200 m.min the material is mainly grey cast iron (with lamellar graphite). The diameters can reach up to 2.2 m and the cylindrical lengths up to 10 m. For the specific flattening drums the cyhndrical diameters can be up to 5 m and more. 

A fatal accident and some other disasters, which were caused by small cracks, lead to a more strict consideration of the security of these steam drums. Parallel to these the economical pressure, due to the globalisation of the today s industry, lead to the increase of the pressure and the rotation speed of the paper production machines for a higher output of the production, which means, that all safety aspects from the design and the material will be exploited totally. On the other hand cast iron is also not a ductile and comfortable material, like the most steels for the pressure equipment. 

Approximately 200 large enterprises are operating in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, pipe and rolling industry. These include the world largest complexes for the production of cast iron, steel, rolled stock and pipes in Dniepropetrovsk, Zaporozhje, Donetsk, Makeevka, Mariupol and other cities. 

Concentrated sulphuric acid is an oxidising agent, particularly when hot, but the oxidising power of sulphuric acid decreases rapidly with dilution. The hot concentrated acid will oxidise non-metals, for example carbon, sulphur and phosphorous to give, respectively, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and phosphoric(V) acid. It also oxidises many metals to give their sulphates cast iron, however, is not affected. The mechanisms of these reactions are complex and the acid gives a number of reduction products. 

Alloys with other useful properties can be obtained by using yttrium as an additive. The metal can be used as a deoxidizer for vanadium and other nonferrous metals. The metal has a low cross section for nuclear capture. 90Y, one of the isotopes of yttrium, exists in equilibrium with its parent 90Sr, a product of nuclear explosions. Yttrium has been considered for use as a nodulizer for producing nodular cast iron, in which the graphite forms compact nodules instead of the usual flakes. Such iron has increased ductility. 

An important appHcation of MMCs in the automotive area is in diesel piston crowns (53). This appHcation involves incorporation of short fibers of alumina or alumina—siHca in the crown of the piston. The conventional diesel engine piston has an Al—Si casting alloy with a crown made of a nickel cast iron. The replacement of the nickel cast iron by aluminum matrix composite results in a lighter, more abrasion resistant, and cheaper product. Another appHcation in the automotive sector involves the use of carbon fiber and alumina particles in an aluminum matrix for use as cylinder liners in the Prelude model of Honda Motor Co. 

The food industry uses stainless steel tubing or piping extensively for moving food products conventional steel, cast iron, copper, plastic, glass (qv), aluminum, and other alloys are used for utilities. 

Technical molybdic oxide can be reduced by reaction of ferrosiUcon in a thermite-type reaction. The resulting product contains about 60% molybdenum and 40% iron. Foundries generally use ferromolybdenum for adding molybdenum to cast iron and steel, and steel mills may prefer ferromolybdenum to technical molybdic oxide for some types of steels. 

Distillation. This is the point at which refining begins and was the first method by which petroleum was refined. Originally, distillation (qv) involved a batch operation in which the stiU was a cast-iron vessel mounted on brickwork over a fire and the volatile materials were passed through a pipe or gooseneck which led from the top of the stiU to a condenser. The latter was a coil of pipe, or a "worm" (hence the expression worm end products), immersed in a tank of miming water. 

Ferrophosphoms is produced as a by-product in the electrothermal manufacture of elemental phosphoms, in which iron is present as an impurity in the phosphate rock raw material. The commercial product contains ca 23—29% P and is composed primarily of Fe2P [1310-43-6] and Fe P [12023-53-9] along with impurities such as Cr and V. Ferrophosphoms is used in metallurgical processes for the addition of phosphoms content. Low concentrations (up to - 0.1%) of phosphoms in wrought and cast iron and steel not only increases the strength, hardness, and wear resistance but also improves the flow properties. In large stmctural members and plates, it is desirable to use a type of steel that does not need to be quenched or tempered, and thus does not exhibit weld-hardening. This property is afforded by the incorporation of a small quantity of phosphoms in steel. Ferrophosphoms from western U.S. phosphoms production is used as a raw material for the recovery of vanadium (see Vanadiumand vanadiumalloys). 

Ferrous foundries consist of two types steel foundries in which electric furnaces (EAF and induction) are used, and iron foundries in which hot-blast cupolas and/or electric furnaces are used. Electric furnaces use virtually 100% scrap charges. Cupolas are shaft furnaces which use preheated air, coke, fluxes, and metallic charges. Scrap is over 90% of the metallic charge. Cupolas accounted for about 64% of total iron foundry scrap consumption in 1994 and electric furnaces accounted for about 34%. The balance was consumed by other furnaces, such as air furnaces. Iron foundry products have a high carbon content and the scrap charge usually contains a high percentage of cast iron or is used in combination with pig iron. 

Until 1960—1970, in countries where natural gas was not available, large amounts of coal were carbonized for the production of town gas, as well as a grade of coke which, although unsuitable for metallurgical use, was satisfactory as a domestic fuel in closed stoves. The early cast-iron and siUca horizontal retorts used at gasworks were replaced by continuous vertical retorts. These operated at flue temperatures of 1000—1100°C. The volatile products were rapidly swept from the retort by the introduction of steam at 10—20% by weight of the coal carbonized. 

A standard 99.85 collapsible tubes, unalloyed (block) tin products, ejectrotinning, tin-alloyed cast iron, high grade solders... 

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