Electroslag re-melting (ESR) of H13 steel: recycling and environmental process research

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The Electroslag Remelting process (ESR) is a consumable electrode remelting process for producing high**value steel ingots used in aerospace, energy, mining and tooling applications. Passage of an Alternating**Current (AC) from the electrode to the crucible creates resistive heating in the slag that melts the electrode to**build up the ingot in the crucible. RS +CO ltd is setting up a value added steel mill in Port Colborne, Ontario,**and has identified the ESR process route to produce H13 Ingots after remelting used bars. The idea is to**produce as good or better quality than forged bars. So RS+CO can sell in as cast condition after soft annealing**and rough machining to required round sizes for extrusion die production. RS+CO to intends to recycle**used/scrap mandrel bars of pure H13 grade from seamless tube mills around the world, mainly from**USA/Canada and Europe. The tube mills usually reject mandrel bars due to diameter, spalls, cracks, etc. and**the used bars are solid and of consistent H13 grade pre forged steel. Therefore, they are the best raw material**for using as a direct electrode for re-melting in an ESR furnace. North American tube mills generate about**2000-3000 tons of used H13 mandrels every year and an ESR facility locally in Ontario to only re-melt the H13**used bars as a direct electrode to produce ESR purified H13 ingot is an excellent example of recycling and**value addition in Canada. This project will focus on a technical study of the ESR process to produce high**quality clean H13 steels and will investigate the issues related to slag design, slag recycling and emissions**reductions using tools like physical modeling and mathematical simulation. This project will ensure it**REUSES old H13 mandrell bars, RECYCLE the complex ESR basic slag to minimize waste/slag dumping, and**finally REDUCE emissions by using best available technologies and outperform current industrial standards.