The Metamorphosis of Ferrosilicon

The Metamorphosis of Ferrosilicon

Some might wonder, how is this magical ferrosilicon produced? You might not believe it, but its "childhood" was actually made of stone and coal. Ferrosilicon is produced by smelting silica sand (mainly composed of silicon dioxide), coke, and steel scrap in an electric arc furnace at a temperature of 1800℃-300℃ higher than volcanic lava. Producing one ton of ferrosilicon consumes 8400-9000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, equivalent to the electricity consumption of an average household for 10 years.

I once witnessed the smelting process at a ferrosilicon plant in Shanxi: the enormous electric arc furnace resembled a steel giant, the blue arcs blindingly bright, and the heat waves emanating from the furnace mouth could be felt even 20 meters away. Workers, wearing thick heat-resistant suits, acted like "nutritionists" feeding the giant, precisely controlling the raw material ratios. I've heard that the requirements for raw materials are extremely stringent when producing high-purity ferrosilicon; impurities in the silica cannot exceed 0.5%, stricter than the standards for bottled mineral water.

This "forged" ferrosilicon comes in several "models" depending on its silicon content. The most common is "FeSi75" with 75% silicon content, which is like 75% alcohol-effective at deoxidizing without being too harsh. There is also high-silicon ferrosilicon with 90% silicon content, mainly used to produce other ferroalloys, making it the "elder brother" of the ferroalloy family.

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