APPLICATION OF OPTICAL BASICITY PARAMETER TO FOAMING OF SLAGS

Abstract

Metallurgical slags play an important role in the melting and refining of metals. Efforts are being made, by many researchers, to understand the factors influencing the properties of slags. Optical basicity is a chemical parameter which has been applied to glasses and slags, and, is a more comprehensive representation of slag composition than conventional basicity. Foaming is an important phenomenon in steelmaking, but limited information is available on the effect of slag composition on foaming. Optical basicity values, for different slags, were calculated from the chemical composition – following the approach of Duffy and co-workers. The calculated values were then applied to follow the trends in foaming, bath smelting and ladle slags. The results demonstrate the potential use of optical basicity in this area, but the trends could be investigated further with respect to structure and the ionic concentrations.