Abstract:
Molten ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) slag is chilled on a chill plate comprising a number of steel slabs disposed side by side. The slag is poured onto the chill plate and allowed to solidify without the application of any water. Solid slag is removed from the chill plate by mechanical means and is eventually reused to make synthetic slag after further cooling, crushing and screening.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the cooling of ladle slag so that it may be recycled into synthetic slag. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Ladle slag or LMF slag has been recovered from the steel industry and reused as a slag conditioner for some period of time. Typically, in steel mills, the process for recovering ladle slag is as follows: the ladle slag is created in an LMF or ladle metallurgy furnace by scraping off old furnace slag, and adding fresh slag components to build a cleaner synthetic slag. In some shops, the old slag is treated with aluminum or other deoxidizers to create the same effect. The ladle slag functions to act as a refining aid for the steel in the ladle. Once this refining process is complete, the ladle is moved to a continuous caster. The ladle, at this stage, is opened from the bottom and the steel is drained from the ladle into a tundish and into a continuous caster. As the steel exits from the bottom of the ladle into the tundish, the ladle slag floats on top of the steel in the ladle. The ladle will reach a point when it is nearly empty and some slag may start showing up in the steel. At this point, or some time before this point, the slag gate is closed to shut off the flow of steel into the tundish. The ladle is then removed and the spent ladle slag, along with any remaining steel, is dumped into a slag pot, where it cools. This process is repeated again and again, with steel and slag being layered on top of one another into slag pots. Typically, a slag pot will hold from 3 to 5 taps of spent ladle slag and steel. 
     Normally, these slag pots are allowed to cool and are tipped over and quenched with water. The reason this product is generally quenched with water is that many spent ladle slags are unstable and exhibit “falling slag” characteristics. The characteristic of a falling slag is that the slag undergoes a phase change at some stage in the cooling process and turns from a solid into a powder. The effect of this is that some portion of the ladle slag falls to a very fine dry powdery dust which becomes an environmental nuisance, and creates difficulty in the rehandling and reuse of ladle slag handled in this conventional manner. For this reason, the slag pots are almost always quenched with water such that any falling slag produced will be wet and will not create an environmental (dusting) problem. Once the slag pot content is quenched and cooled, it is then crushed, the metal is removed for reuse and what is left is typically the spent ladle slag. Prior art in the reuse and reclamation of this ladle slag requires that the slag be crushed and dried and screened for reuse. Because the slag has been soaked with water, it hydrates, creating water of hydration in the slag. Ladle slag that is recovered by this technique is difficult to reuse for three reasons: 
     1. the slag is hydrated through its contact with moisture and contains undesirable amounts of crystalline moisture and free moisture; 
     2. the slag contains more fine particles than is desired due to the falling nature of the slag which creates powder; 
     3. the quenching produces a very wet product which requires energy and cost to dry the free moisture from the product. 
     An object of the invention is to provide a method of recovering ladle slag in which the above-referenced problems are at least partially addressed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the invention, ladle slag is cooled relatively quickly so that it solidifies by pouring the ladle slag directly onto a substantially planar chill plate. The chill plate has a sufficient surface area and thermal mass to provide the residence time required to solidify the slag without the application of any cooling water onto the slag at any stage before it is returned for reuse as a component of a synthetic slag. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In order that the invention may be better understood, a preferred embodiment is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a chill plate for use in a method according to the invention, and 
     FIG. 2 is a flow chart outlining the steps of a method according to the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In a continuous casting process, a ladle containing molten steel and ladle slag typically fills a 315 MT capacity ladle that is moved by crane from a ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) station to the caster. The steel from the ladle is drained from a slide gate valve in the bottom of the ladle into a tundish until most of the steel is gone. At this time, the steel flow from the ladle is cut off, leaving about 3-4 tons of molten ladle slag and from ½-2 tons of molten steel in the bottom of the ladle. 
     The ladle is then lifted by crane and is moved into position to pour onto a chill plate, generally designated in FIG. 1 by reference numeral  20  for quick cooling. This corresponds to step  40  in FIG.  2 . The chill plate  20  in this case comprises five steel slabs  22  sized 3.5 ft×16 ft×5 inches thick disposed side by side in abutting relationship to form a substantially planar steel floor with dimensions 17.5 ft×16 ft×5 inches thick. Around the sides of this 17.5 ft×16 ft floor, crushed dry ladle slag  24  is heaped in a row about 12 inches high to build a dam  26  to hold molten slag  28  from running over the perimetric edge of the chill plate  20 . The ladle is positioned to pour onto the center of the chill plate  20 . The ladle is tilted and molten slag  28  is poured slowly from the ladle onto the chill plate  20 . Since slag is lower in density than steel, it floats on top of the steel and pours out of the ladle first. This pouring is continued until steel starts to pour from the ladle. The arrival of steel during the pour is determined visually by noting a color difference between the molten metal and slag and by watching for “sparking” that occurs as molten steel is entrained in the ambient air. Pouring is stopped when steel is detected by righting the ladle. 
     As the molten slag hits the chill plate  20 , it flows to form a molten puddle about 1-5 inches thick, depending on the viscosity of the slag and the levelness of the chill plate  20 . The molten slag  28  is allowed to cool for 10-30 minutes until it solidifies. Once in a solid form, the ladle slag is scraped away from the slabs by mechanical means. This corresponds to step  42  in FIG.  2 . One method of scraping is to use a small front-end loader and to tilt the lower edge of the loader bucket against the chill plate  20 . By driving the loader forward, the lower edge of the bucket breaks up the slag which is forced into the loader bucket as the loader moves forward. One disadvantage of using a loader is that the loader needs eventually to drive up on the chill plate  20 , which becomes hot with repeated use. This can lead to tire damage on the hot steel slabs  22  if the loader is equipped with rubber tires. 
     An alternate and preferred technique is to scrape the slag away from the chill plate  20  with a hydraulic excavator equipped with a scraping bucket. In this embodiment, the excavator is parked off the chill plate  20  and the bucket is extended to the end of the plate and is lowered and pulled back towards the excavator, scraping the slag into the bucket and dragging it back towards the excavator. 
     Scraping is done parallel to the steel slabs. Once an area of the floor has been scraped clean, the excavator is moved and the process is repeated until the whole chill plate  20  is clean. On an average pour, about 2 tons of solidified slag ends up on the chill plate  20 . The amount of slag poured onto the chill plate  20  is variable between ½ and 3 tons and is influenced by the amount of molten steel left in the ladle. Removal of the slag from the chill plates by mechanical means usually takes about 10-20 minutes. 
     Sometimes steel from the ladle also pours onto the chill plates and solidifies in a solid sheet. This steel is removed from the plates by the same mechanical means that is used to remove the slag. The steel is typically easy to separate as it tends to harden into one or two large thin pieces. The metal is put off in a separate collection for remelting into steel. 
     The steel slabs  22  can vary in size depending upon the amount of ladle slag that is being chilled. It is necessary that the steel slab have a thickness of at least 2″ to allow for significant thermal mass to effect cooling with repeated applications. As these slabs  22  are continually heated, they tend to warp as the top surface expands more than the lower surface, causing the slabs to bow over time, making removal of slag more difficult as the surface is no longer flat. The thinner the slabs  22 , the more they are inclined to warp. For this reason, it is preferred that the slabs  22  be thicker, preferably four to twelve inches thick. As the slabs  22  bow, they can be straightened by turning them over, whereby subsequent use will cause them to straighten and then bow in the opposite direction. 
     Once the slag has been scraped from the plate, it is collected in solid form. This corresponds to step  44  in FIG.  2 . Later, after cooling to room temperature (step  46 ), this slag is crushed and sized (step  48 ) and is ready for reuse and recycling into synthetic slag compositions  50 , where it may be mixed with fluxes  52 . 
     The advantage of the invention over the old practice is the following: 
     1. the quick cooling of the slag results in increased stability, thus eliminating much of the falling slag characteristics; 
     2. since the slag has not been in contact with water, it does not need to be dried, and it carries no crystalline water, thus being much more desirable for reuse in steelmaking applications; 
     3. because the slag has been quenched and quick-cooled, it has different physical properties and, when crushed, creates a much more stable aggregate, allowing for a product with more desirable sizing. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that several variations may be made to the above-described embodiment of the invention within the scope of the appended claims. While a chill plate comprising a number of steel slabs is preferred because such slabs are readily available and inexpensive, a chill plate may comprise any suitable thermal mass and could, for example, comprise hollow, water-cooled metal jackets or slabs made of graphite. 
     The chill plate could also be fabricated with a peripheral lip to contain slag when it is molten, instead of using crushed solid slag to create a barrier.