Ladle Refining Furnace

Ladle furnaces act as a buffer between the melting and casting processes to raise productivity, casting yield, and steel quality.

In modern Ladle Metallurgy all refining and tuning operations apart from desulphurization and decarburization are carried out in the ladle furnace. During tapping the oxidized furnace slag is retained in the furnace and a new reactive basic slag is added either during tapping or in the Ladle Furnace. The temperature loss during tapping and for all subsequent treatment steps like, alloying and stirring will be compensated in the Ladle Furnace.

Refining process is controlled by STS Digital Electrodes regulation system

For homogenization of temperature and composition the melt has to be mixed continuously by means of inert gas stirring through a porous bottom plug. To allow easier operational practices STS has also developed an automatic Argon/nitrogen coupling system that can be also easily adapted in existing plants.