Modelling of Physico-Chemical Phenomena between Gas inside a Bubble and Liquid Metal during Injection of Oxidant Gas

Gas liquid reactors are extensively used in many metallurgical processes involving the refining of liquid metals. In these processes, reactions leading to the oxidation of various solutes in liquid metal often compete with each other, which ultimately determine the liquid metal composition. In the present paper, a model has been proposed to simulate the evolution of solute contents in a metallic melt considering mass transfer of solutes in the melt in the vicinity of the bubble, equilibrium at the gas-metal interface and gas composition evolution in the bubble during its ascent through the melt. The composition of solutes at the metal-gas interface in principle can be altered by changing the injected gas composition. The model was applied to the case of oxygen injection through a lance into liquid steel-containing C and Cr, aiming sufficient decarburization without much oxidation of Cr to the slag. The Cr loss to the slag by oxidation is generally much more than that expected based on equilibrium thermodynamics applied to the bulk metal and gas. The actual Cr loss, as shown by the present model, is determined by the composition of solutes at the metal-gas interface rather than in the bulk. The effect of change of the partial pressure of oxygen in the bubble by replacing oxygen by carbon dioxide in the injected gas and the corresponding evolution of C and Cr contents in the melt was simulated. Some preliminary experiments were conducted to validate the model predictions. The frame work of the model is generic and can be extended to many gas-liquid metal reactors in liquid metal processing.
QC 20110131