MANUFACTURE OF STEEL

Sinter Plant

Iron ore fines are not suitable for use in the Bast Furnace. Hence, the ironore fines
are agglomerated into larger porus lumps, which is suitable for use in the Blast
Furnace. A green mix of carefully proportioned ironore fines, fluxes and coke
breeze is prepared in granular form in Mixers. Heat generated through combustion
within the mass itself produces large lumps of hot Sinter. This Sinter is cooled,
sized and stored for use in the blast furnace.

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Ironore fines are recycled to make sinter, to help produce hot metal of predictable

and standard quality in the Blast Furnace.

Coke Plant

Naturally found coal contains Fixed carbon(FC), Volatile matter (VM), Ash,
Moisture and other impurities. Its poor crushing strength and the volatile matter
content makes it unsuitable for use in Blast Furnace. Hence, naturally found coal is
converted into coke in the coke oven for use in Blast Furnaces.

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Heating coal in the absence of air carbonising it to form a hard porous mass,
devoid of volatile matter produces coke. Coal after carbonisation, which gives
blast furnace quality coke is called metallurgical coal. Coal is graded as prime,
medium and blendable, based on its coking properties. Blending of different
grades of coal is necessary in order to conserve metallurgical coal, yet ensure
uniform coking properties. The coke plant blends coal from different sources,
converts coal to coke and cuts to the correct size for use in the blast furnace.

Blast Furnace

The Blast Furnace is a ceramic refactory lined tall reactor, used for the production
of liquid iron called Hot Metal. Iron oxide, present in the iron bearing raw
materials, is reduced inside the reactor by coke and carbon monoxide.

Coke is used for combustion to attain the high temperatures required for reduction.
Coke on combustion generates carbon monoxide, which acts as the reducing agent
and converts the iron oxides into molten iron. Fluxes are used to make low melting
slag and control the quality of Hot Metal. Hot Metal and Slag are collected in the
hearth and tapped periodically. Blast Furnaces are used for producing Hot Metal.

LD1

Hot Liquid Iron is converted to Steel in the Steel Melting Shops. Hot Metal from
the Blast Furnace is stored in Mixers in LD1 shop. The Hot Metal is converted to
Steel in the LD converters by removing its carbon, silicon, sulphur and
phosphorous contents by oxygen blowing.

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The liquid steel from the converter is converted to billets using Continuous
Casting machine. A small portion of steel is teemed into ingots through Bogie
Bottom Poring process using cast iron moulds. The liquid steel is treated in on line
purging, Ladle Refining Furnace or Argon Rinsing station before continuous
casting. Special grades of steel, which are cast as ingots, are processed in On-line
purging, followed by the Vacuum Arc degassing & Refining unit.

Hot metal is converted to Steel and cast into Billets.

LD2

Primary refining of steel is done in the Ladle Furnace(LF) and RH Degasser(RH)

to make cleaner steel of different value added grades.

LD 2 makes superior & cleaner grades of steel required to process Flat products of
world-class standards.

Hot strip mill

In the furnaces of the hot-rolling mill, the slabs produced in the continuous casting
line are heated to a temperature of approximately 1,250°C, before being rolled into
hot-rolled wide strip. The finished material leaves the train at a maximum speed of
20 m/s.

Cold strip mill

The hot strip is rolled down to the thickness required by the customer on the cold
strip mill.

NOTE:

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From the LD plants, different types and form of steel is produce in the Wire Mill,
Merchant Mill, Slab Caster, Cold Strip Mill and Hot Strip Mill, according to the
requirement of the clients.

Types of steel
Steels are a large family of metals. All of them are alloys in which iron is mixed
with carbon and other elements. Steels are described as mild, medium- or high-
carbon steels according to the percentage of carbon they contain, although this is
never greater than about 1.5%.

Type of steel Percentage of carbon

Mild steel Up to 0.25%
Medium carbon steel 0.25% to 0.45%
High carbon steel 0.45% to 1.50%