Metallurgy is Metallurgy industries, enterprises and their location

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

History of mankind has more than one thousand years. Throughout the entire period of the existence of our race, there has been a steady technological progress, an important role in which was played by the ability of a person to handle metal, create and mine it. Therefore, it is quite logical that metallurgy is something without which it is impossible to imagine our life, the normal performance of work duties, and much more.

Definition

First of all, it is worth understanding how scientifically, from a technical point of view, they call the modern sphere of production.

So, metallurgy is a branch of science, technology, which covers the process of obtaining various metals from ore or other materials, as well as all processes related to the transformation of the chemical composition, properties and structure of alloys.

Structure

Today, metallurgy is the most powerful industry. In addition, she is a broad concept that includes:

• Direct production of metals.
• Processing of metal products as inhot or cold.
• Welding.
• Apply various metal coatings.
• Section of science - materials science. This direction in the theoretical study of physical and chemical processes focuses on the knowledge of the behavior of metals, alloys and intermetallic compounds.

Varieties

There are two main branches of metallurgy all over the world - ferrous and non-ferrous. This gradation has developed historically.

Ferrous metallurgy is the processing of iron and all alloys in which it is present. Also, this industry involves the extraction from the bowels of the earth and the subsequent enrichment of ferrous metal ores, steel and iron foundry production, billet rolling, production of ferroalloys.

Non-ferrous metallurgy includes work with ore of any metal except iron. By the way, non-ferrous metals are conditionally divided into two large groups:

- Heavy (nickel, tin, lead, copper).

- Lightweight (titanium, magnesium, aluminum).

Scientific Solutions

Undoubtedly, metallurgy is an activity that requires the introduction of innovative technologies. In this regard, many countries of our planet are actively conducting research, the purpose of which is to study and put into practice a wide variety of microorganisms that would help to solve, for example, such a topical issue as wastewater treatment, which is a mandatory component of metallurgical production. In addition, processes such as biological oxidation, precipitation, sorption andothers.

Process Separation

Metallurgical plants can be roughly classified into two main groups:

- pyrometallurgy, where processes take place at very high temperatures (melting, firing);

- hydrometallurgy, which is the extraction of metals from ores using water and other aqueous solutions using chemical reagents.

The principle of choosing a site for the construction of a metallurgical plant

In order to understand on the basis of what conclusions a decision is made to build an enterprise in a particular place, it is worth considering the main factors for the location of metallurgy.

In particular, if the question concerns the location of a non-ferrous metallurgy plant, then criteria such as:

• Availability of energy resources. The production associated with the processing of light non-ferrous metals requires an enormous amount of electrical energy. Therefore, such enterprises are being built as close as possible to hydroelectric power plants.
• Required amount of raw materials. Of course, the closer the ore deposits are, the better, respectively.
• Environmental factor. Unfortunately, the countries of the post-Soviet space cannot be classified in the category where metallurgy enterprises are environmentally friendly.

Thus, the location of metallurgy is the most difficult issue, the solution of which should be given the closest attention, taking into account all kinds of requirements and nuances.

To form the most detailed picture indescribing the processing of metals, it is important to point out the key areas of this production.

Ferrous metallurgy enterprises include several so-called redistributions. Among them: sintering, steelmaking, rolling. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

Domain production

It is at this stage that iron is released directly from the ore. This happens in a blast furnace and at temperatures above 1000 degrees Celsius. This is how iron is smelted. Its properties will directly depend on the course of the melting process. By adjusting the smelting of the ore, one can ultimately obtain one of two types of pig iron: pig iron (used later for the production of steel) and foundry (iron billets are cast from it).

Steel production

Combining iron with carbon and, if necessary, with various alloying elements, the result is steel. There are enough methods for its smelting. Let's especially note the oxygen-converter and electrosmelting, which are the most modern and highly productive.

Converter melting is characterized by its transience and the resulting steel with the required chemical composition. The process is based on blowing liquid metal with oxygen through a lance, as a result of which the pig iron is oxidized and transformed into steel.

Electric steelmaking is the most efficient method. It is thanks to the use of arc furnaces that the highest quality alloyed steel grades can be smelted. In such units, heatingthe metal loaded into them occurs very quickly, while it is possible to add the required amount of alloying elements. In addition, the steel obtained by this method has a low content of non-metallic inclusions, sulfur and phosphorus.

Doping

This process consists in changing the composition of steel by introducing calculated concentrations of auxiliary elements into it to subsequently impart certain properties to it. Among the most commonly used alloying components are: manganese, titanium, cob alt, tungsten, aluminum.

Rental

Many metallurgical plants have a group of rolling shops. They produce both semi-finished products and fully finished products. The essence of the process lies in the passage of metal in the gap between the rolls of the rolling mill rotating in opposite directions. Moreover, the key point is that the distance between the rolls should be less than the thickness of the passed workpiece. Due to this, the metal is drawn into the lumen, moves and eventually deforms to the specified parameters.

After each pass, the gap between the rolls is made smaller. An important point - often the metal is not ductile enough in a cold state. And therefore, for processing, it is preheated to the required temperature.

Consumption of secondary raw materials

In modern conditions, the market for the consumption of recycled materials, both ferrous and non-ferrous metals, is steadily developing. This is largely due to the fact that ore resources, to a hugeUnfortunately, they are not renewable. Each year of their production significantly reduces reserves. Taking into account the fact that the demand for metal products in mechanical engineering, construction, aircraft building, shipbuilding and other sectors of the national economy is steadily growing, it seems quite reasonable to develop the processing of parts and products that have already exhausted their resource.

It is safe to say that the development of metallurgy is to some extent explained by the positive dynamics of the industry segment - the use of secondary raw materials. At the same time, both large and small companies are involved in the processing of scrap metal.

World trends in the development of metallurgy

In recent years, there has been a clear increase in the output of rolled metal products, steel and cast iron. This is largely due to the real expansion of China, which has become one of the leading planetary players in the steel production market.

At the same time, various factors of metallurgy allowed the Celestial Empire to win back almost 60% of the entire world market. The rest of the top ten manufacturers were: Japan (8%), India and the United States of America (6%), Russia and South Korea (5%), Germany (3%), Turkey, Taiwan, Brazil (2%).

If we look at 2015 separately, there is a tendency to reduce the activity of metal products manufacturers. Moreover, the largest decline was noted in Ukraine, where the result was recorded, which is 29.8% lower than last year.

New technologies in metallurgy

Like any other industry, metallurgyis simply unthinkable without the development and implementation of innovative developments.

Thus, employees of the Nizhny Novgorod State University have developed and started to put into practice new nanostructured wear-resistant hard alloys based on tungsten carbide. The main direction of application of innovation is the production of modern metalworking tools.

In addition, a grate drum with a special ball nozzle was modernized in Russia in order to create a new technology for processing liquid slag. This event was carried out on the basis of the state order of the Ministry of Education and Science. Such a move fully justified itself, as its results ultimately exceeded all expectations.

The largest steel companies in the world

International rankings state that the top metal producers on the planet are:

• Arcelor Mittal is a company headquartered in Luxembourg. Its share is 10% of the total world steel production. In Russia, the company owns the Berezovskaya, Pervomaiskaya, Anzherskaya mines, as well as the Severstal Group.
• Hebei Iron & Steel is a giant from China. It is wholly owned by the state. In addition to production, the company is engaged in the extraction of raw materials, its transportation and research and development. The company's factories use exclusively new developments and the most modern technological lines, which allowed the Chinese to learn how to produce ultra-thin steel plates and ultra-thincold rolled sheet.
• Nippon Steel represents Japan. The management of the company, which began its work in 1957, is seeking to merge with another enterprise called Sumitomo Metal Industries. According to experts, such a merger will allow the Japanese to quickly reach the first place in the world, overtaking all their competitors.