We all must know steel. We employ it with your everyday routine. But have you noticed how to produce it? As well as what will it take to produce it? Basically the steel is produced in the big factory and it’s also cooked in a giant stove called furnace. And the cooking itself takes so many ingredients inside.
The Blast Furnace and Electric Arc Furnace methods will be the two major techniques for producing iron and steel products. Scrap melting is the major process utilizing Electric Arc Furnaces. Recently, industry competition is now increasingly intense, elevating the necessity for a much more efficient melting process. Capacities from the transformers are receiving larger and electric furnaces are increasing larger worldwide. With this manufacturing environment, graphite materials which may have durability for larger-power operation are expected much more for your use as Graphite Electrode (GE).
GE are produced from carbon. Carbon is often a nonmetal element by having an atomic number of 6 along with the atomic symbol “C”. Carbon is the base of organic chemistry, closely in connection with organic matter and life activity. Manufacturing excellent graphite electrodes requires quality materials which are strictly selected.
Graphite features a higher heat transfer rating, potential to deal with higher temperatures, and has more strength against thermal shock than many other materials. Moreover, it excels in machinability in order to meet the needs for any broader range of dimensions. Thus, graphite could be the optimum material for scrap-melting electrodes.
GE are easily consumed at high temperatures as a result of reaction with oxygen to become CO, CO2. The oxidation of electrodes starts at 500oC and accelerates its speed at 800oC (inside furnace). Use of graphite electrodes by sublimation occurs at 3400o. The speed of sublimation is proportional for the increase of current density.
Meanwhile, usage of quality GE results in contributions to saving energy and environmental conservation. Electric arc furnaces, with the main objective of recycling steel scraps, market reuse of steel products.
Production organization of graphite electrodes could be divided as 10 stages as follows:
Raw material transporting
Kneading
Extruding
Baking
Pitch Impregnation
Re-Baking
Graphitization
Machining
Inspection
Shipment
The standard sizes for graphite electrodes come from diameter 10″ (inch) to 30″(inch) and from amount of 60″(inch) to 110″(inch). The weights are which range from 123 Kgs (10″ x 60″) to 2060 Kgs (30″ x 110″).
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