The VOD plant is mainly used for the production of stainless steel. The plant is basically designed as a tank degassing plant which is additionally equipped with an oxygen blowing lance and other related equipment. Due to the reduced CO partial pressure under vacuum conditions, decarburisation of high-alloyed steel grades to very low carbon contents is possible
Metallurgical and operational tasks:
- Vacuum operation possible with varying initial carbon contents
- High flexibility to use lower cost high carbon alloying materials
- Low chromium oxidation losses
- High rate of chromium recovery by slag metallurgy
- Chemical heating of liquid steel
- Low final dissolved gas contents
- Improved steel cleanliness with
- Achievement of exact compositional values within narrow tolerances
