Production of Lamellar Cast Iron EN-GJL-150 From Local Manganese-Rich Pig Iron by Modification of the Melting Process

Abstract

Abstract In the present study, a modified duplex melting process was set up so as to be able to produce an EN-GJL-150 gray cast iron from a local manganese-rich pig iron. A descriptive statistics showed an average Mn and Si content in raw material such that: Mn % = 2.457±0.133 and Si % = 0.682±0.088. The demanganization process was run and monitored in a cascade of two industrial-scale furnaces: a rotary kiln and an electric arc furnace. The performed experiments indicated that: 1) the manganese content decreased from 2.45 % to 0.94 %, 2) the manganese oxidation obeys the first order kinetic model, 3) Brinell and Rockwell hardness’s decreased by 38.83% and 27.81% respectively, and 4) the produced cast iron has a pearlitic microstructure with a small fraction of ferrite (1 to 5%) in the matrix and traces of cementite. All results showed that the produced castings comply with the standards in force for EN-GJL-150 cast irons, similar to gray cast iron ASTM A48 Class 20.