Ferroalloys - Alloys of Iron

Ferroalloys, alloys of iron, are used to add one or more chemical elements into molten metal, usually during steelmaking. They impart distinctive qualities to steel and cast iron or serve important functions during production. Manganese is essential to the production of virtually all steels and is important to the production of cast iron. Manganese neutralizes the harmful effect of sulfur and is an important alloying element. silicon’s primary alloying use is to deoxidize steel, but it is also an alloying element in cast iron. Boron, chromium, cobalt, columbium (niobium), copper, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorus, the rare-earth elements, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, and zirconium are among the other elements contributing to the character of the various alloy steels and cast irons (Brown and Murphy, 985, p. 265). The leading fve ferroalloy-producing countries in 2004, in decreasing order of production, were China, south africa, Ukraine, russia, and Kazakhstan, with russia moving ahead of Kazakhstan compared with 2003. The ferroalloy industry is closely associated with the iron and steel industry, the leading consumer of its products. World production of bulk ferroalloys—chromium, manganese, and silicon—was estimated to be 23.0 million metric tons (Mt) in 2004, a 4% increase compared with the revised fgure for 2003. U.s. bulk ferroalloy reported consumption in 2004 was 0.9 Mt of manganese and silicon ferroalloys and 0.3 Mt of contained chromium in ferrochromium.