Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
2a22f30e-3c5e-4bf6-a0ba-05c8c66697cc
Materials
Associated ID
9edf9231-629f-4dc1-a82d-30ccc872032a
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
This process refers to the production activity of producing 1 kg of ferronickel by the submerged arc furnace. Ferronickel is an alloy with nickel and iron as its main components. This product is crude ferronickel alloy containing Ni 10%, mainly used in steelmaking and cast iron, improving the bending strength, hardness, and toughness of steel by adjusting the crystal structure, and especially serving as a core furnace charge to replace pure nickel in stainless steel smelting. The dataset includes raw and auxiliary materials such as laterite nickel ore and limestone, and inputs of energy and energy media such as electricity, coke, diesel, and water; the outputs include the product ferronickel, the wastes slag and dust-collection ash (which can be recovered to cement plants), as well as emissions to water bodies and the atmosphere. The data inventory is formed by merging data from multiple sources, and the data representativeness is optimized using industry standards such as the 3140 Ferroalloy Industry Coefficient Handbook.
Activity Description
The crude nickel-iron alloy is smelted using the rotary kiln (RK)-submerged arc furnace (EF) process. Wet laterite nickel ore first passes through a drying kiln to partially remove free water, then undergoes pre-reduction in a rotary kiln to further remove remaining free water and crystal water. The material discharged from the rotary kiln enters the submerged arc furnace, where it is smelted to produce crude nickel-iron alloy. The production process includes: 1) charge pretreatment, 2) rotary kiln roasting and pre-reduction, 3) hot material transportation, 4) submerged arc furnace smelting, 5) casting and molding, and 6) slag treatment.
Process Description
Ferronickel is an alloy with nickel and iron as its main components. This product is a crude nickel-iron alloy, containing 10% Ni and carbon, silicon, phosphorus and other elements. Nickel-iron alloy is mainly used in the fields of steelmaking and cast iron. It improves the bending strength, hardness and toughness of steel by adjusting the crystal structure. It is especially used as the core charge to replace pure nickel in stainless steel smelting.
Time period
2021
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The crude nickel-iron alloy is smelted using the rotary kiln (RK)-submerged arc furnace (EF) process. The wet laterite nickel ore passes through the drying kiln to initially remove part of the free water in the ore; it then undergoes pre-reduction in the rotary kiln to further remove the remaining free water and crystal water in the ore; the material from the rotary kiln enters the submerged arc furnace, and is smelted in the submerged arc furnace to produce a crude nickel-iron alloy with a nickel content of about 10%.