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Without sulfur
Without 1 mass % sulfur
In 2016, the main focus continued to be on the reduction
mechanisms in Mn and Si production. In
SiMn reduction
the effect of foaming and sulphur content on the reduc-
tion mechanism was found. In the Si process, one Si fur-
nace was excavated and it was established how diverse
the FeSi and Si furnace-interior may be. Samples with
sulphur had metals inside the end-slag, as shown in
the Figure. PhD candidate Pyunghwa Kim got the award
for the best poster, “Behavior of Assmang and Comilog
Ore in the SiMn Process” at the 10th International
Conference on Molten 2016 Slags, Fluxes and Salts
Reduction in Seattle (USA).
In the small scale,
the formation of
α
-SiC
from
β
-SiC
was found to occur above 2200 °C. It was also shown
how Si was already produced at about 1700 °C in the
siliconcarbide structure. PhD candidate Sethulakshmy
tells more about her research at page 33.
In other areas it was shown that more than 50 % amor-
phous SiO
2
can be present when quartz transforms to
cristobalite, how Mn-briquettes deteriorates with time,
and how the phase structure in TiO
2
slags vary with cool-
ing rate.
In RD2, a total of six students and one associated stu-
dent finished their MSc theses. They have all continued
working for this industry, as four of them continued with
their PhD in the SFI or SFI related projects, and three
of them started to work for the industry partners. There
were two international exchange students in 2016; one
master student from Japan working with SiMn reduc-
tion, and one PhD student from Brazil working with
charcoal in the Si production. In 2016, a number of PhD
students started their projects. In addition to one PhD
student funded by the SFI, two new PhD students were
funded by NTNU and two funded by SINTEF and Elkem
as industrial PhD’s. In addition to internal reports, four
publications were presented at two conferences.
Primary Metal Production (RD2)
by Professor Merete Tangstad
16
Highlights of 2016 from the Research Domains