Electric arc furnace

**History and Development of Electric Arc Furnaces:**
– Electric arc used for melting iron in the 19th century.
– First operational electric arc furnace by James Burgess Readman in 1888.
– Commercial development by Paul Héroult in 1907.
– Expansion post-World War II, with Nucor entering the market in 1969.

**Construction and Operation of Electric Arc Furnaces:**
– Components: refractory-lined vessel, graphite electrodes, shell, hearth, roof.
– Electrodes powered by three-phase electrical supply.
– Automatic positioning system for electrodes.
– Tilting platform for tapping and pouring molten steel.
– Operation: temperature around 3,000°C, electrode wear, regulating system, tapping process.

**Efficiency and Energy Consumption in Electric Arc Furnaces:**
– Modern furnaces use oxygen-fuel burners for efficiency.
– Energy consumption: around 400 kWh per short ton for steel production.
– Energy requirements for melting scrap steel and operation of EAFs.
– Importance of abundant and reliable electricity for economic viability.
– Global steel production energy consumption comparison.

**Slag Formation, Tapping, and Ladle Treatment in Electric Arc Furnaces:**
– Slag composition, role in reducing erosion, and enhancing efficiency.
– Tapping process: monitoring temperature and chemistry, alloy additions.
– Ladle treatment: pouring slag, adding fluxes, leaving hot heel.
– Maintenance of heat for the next charge with liquid steel and slag.
– Importance of proper operations for steel quality and efficiency.

**Advantages, Issues, and Variants of Electric Arc Furnaces:**
– Advantages: 100% scrap metal feedstock, flexibility, lower emissions.
– Environmental effects, capital costs, and hazardous waste management.
– Technical challenges in power systems and side-effects like flicker.
– Variants: DC arc furnaces, ladle furnaces, and other applications.
– Cooling methods, plasma arc furnaces, vacuum arc remelting, and related processes.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_arc_furnace