Uses in Steel Production
Lime is used in iron and steel production as a binding, reaction and cleaning agent. Limestone and quicklime are used in ore sintering plants, pig iron desulphurisation, converters, electric furnaces, steel ladles, conditioning stands and ladle furnaces. Lime is used to bind impurities and to remove unwanted substances from the pig iron.
The purity, reactivity and fraction size of the quicklime play a crucial role in minimising process and refractory costs per tonne of steel.
In addition to process stabilisation and slag conditioning, dolomitic lime (InterCal Croatia) is also used to maintain refractory linings and increase their durability. When used correctly, this can increase the intervals between inspections whilst significantly reducing refractory costs.
Uses in Steel Production
Approximately one third of all the quicklime produced worldwide is supplied to the iron and steel industry. Our lime is used for slag formation and desulphurisation in iron and steel production. During the production of pig iron from iron ore, lime removes unwanted substances from the pig iron. During the next step, the production of crude steel, lime is used in the LD process (Linz-Donawitz process), which binds unwanted by-products of the burnt pig iron in the slag.
During further refining in the steelworks, lime is added to the crude steel, along with ferrosilicon [FeSi] or aluminium [Al], to form the top slag in the steel ladle. Various alloying elements are added in the same production step.
