Electric Arc Furnace Processes

Abstract

The electric arc furnace processing of oxide ceramics is a well-established and widely-used industrial technology. Raw materials are readily melted together by joule and radiant heating to form substantially large liquid volumes. These are refined if necessary with carbon and additions of metal scavenging agents such as iron, and the product is then poured into molds for solidification. The castings can be used directly as fused cast refractories or, more commonly, are crushed down to fine sizes for use in a wide variety of applications.