Spray cooling furnace electrodes with a cooling liquid that contains surfactants

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11979968-B2
Application number	US-201917255272-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 15, 2019
Priority date	Oct 15, 2018
Publication date	May 7, 2024
Grant date	May 7, 2024

Abstract

A method for cooling furnace electrodes using a cooling liquid containing surfactants. This method can be applied to electrodes used in electric arc furnaces and ladle metallurgy furnaces. The method can involve spraying the cooling liquid onto the electrode, thereby lowering the temperature of the electrode and reducing electrode consumption.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for cooling a furnace electrode, comprising:
mixing a surfactant with water to form a cooling liquid so that the surfactant is present in the cooling liquid in an amount in a range of from 10 mg/l to 5,000 mg/l, and the surface tension of the cooling liquid is in a range of from 54.9 mN/m to 69.5 mN/m at room temperature, and
spraying at least a surface of the furnace electrode disposed adjacent a furnace with the cooling liquid to cool the furnace electrode.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant comprises nonylphenol or a nonylphenoxy group.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the surfactant further comprises an oxirane polymer.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the surfactant comprises nonylphenol.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface tension of the cooling liquid is in a range of from 58.5 mN/m to 65.8 mN/m at room temperature.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is present in the cooling liquid in an amount in a range of from 50 mg/l to 1,000 mg/l.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is present in the cooling liquid in an amount in a range of from 100 mg/l to 700 mg/l.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is present in the cooling liquid in an amount in a range of from 300 mg/l to 600 mg/l.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the furnace electrode is an electric arc furnace electrode or a ladle metallurgy furnace electrode.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein a sufficient amount of the cooling liquid is applied to the surface of the furnace electrode so that the oxidative electrode consumption is reduced as compared to a like method in which water having no surfactant cools the furnace electrode.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the oxidative electrode consumption is reduced by 1.5 to 30 percent as compared to the like method.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface of the furnace electrode is heated to a temperature of at least 700° C.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface of the furnace electrode is heated to a temperature of at least 1200° C.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cooling liquid forms a film on the surface of the furnace electrode.

Assignees

• Chemtreat Inc

Inventors

• Strasser Joseph S
• Tanski Jeffrey R

Classifications

• H05B7/12 Primary

  Arrangements for cooling, sealing or protecting electrodes · CPC title

• C21B13/12

  in electric furnaces · CPC title

• C21C5/52

  Manufacture of steel in electric furnaces {(C21C5/005 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• F27B14/06

  heated electrically, e.g. induction crucible furnaces with or without any other source of heat (F27B14/04 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F27B14/08

  Details specially adapted for crucible or pot furnaces · CPC title