All of us have to know steel. We employ it in your everyday life. But have you noticed how to produce it? As well as what will it decide to use produce it? Fundamentally the steel is produced in the big factory and it’s also cooked in the giant stove called furnace. Along with the cooking itself takes countless ingredients within it.

The Blast Furnace and Electric Arc Furnace methods will be the two major processes for producing iron and steel products. Scrap melting will be the major process utilizing Electric Arc Furnaces. Recently, industry competition is becoming increasingly intense, elevating the necessity for a much more efficient melting process. Capacities in the transformers are getting larger and electric furnaces are growing larger worldwide. In this manufacturing environment, graphite materials which may have durability for larger-power operation are essential much more for your use as Graphite Electrode (GE).

GE are made from carbon. Carbon is a nonmetal element by having an atomic variety of 6 and also the atomic symbol “C”. Carbon could be the base of organic chemistry, closely linked to organic matter and life activity. Manufacturing excellent graphite electrodes requires quality materials which might be strictly selected.

Graphite features a higher heat transfer rating, resistance to higher temperatures, and has more strength against thermal shock than other materials. Moreover, it excels in machinability to meet certain requirements to get a broader range of dimensions. Thus, graphite is the optimum material for scrap-melting electrodes.

GE can be consumed at high temperatures due to reaction with oxygen to become CO, CO2. The oxidation of electrodes starts at 500oC and accelerates its speed at 800oC (inside furnace). Consumption of graphite electrodes by sublimation occurs at 3400o. The pace of sublimation is proportional on the increase of current density.

Meanwhile, use of quality GE brings about contributions to saving energy and environmental conservation. Electric arc furnaces, with the main purpose of recycling steel scraps, market reuse of steel products.

Production organization of graphite electrodes could be divided as 10 stages the next:

Raw material transporting
Kneading
Extruding
Baking
Pitch Impregnation
Re-Baking
Graphitization
Machining
Inspection
Shipment
The common sizes for graphite electrodes come from diameter 10″ (inch) to 30″(inch) and from amount of 60″(inch) to 110″(inch). The weights are starting from 123 Kgs (10″ x 60″) to 2060 Kgs (30″ x 110″).

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