We have recently invested heavily in recycling refractory materials. In this newsletter, we will tell you about the product development of flushing lances that we have started in close cooperation with our customers in the steel industry, and the new recycling opportunity that this has created.

In the steel industry, lances are used to process molten steel. The lances blow gases suitable for the process into the steel in order to remove impurities and harmful gases that weaken the steel’s quality. Lances that are water-cooled or made from refractory materials are generally used.

We started the development work by studying the customer’s process and, among other things, the maximum temperatures, temperature variations and stresses caused by refractory wear. We then selected suitable casting compounds from our product portfolio. The customer predefined the dimensions of the frame and the exposed parts, after which we designed the frame section covered by refractory material, making use of our best knowledge and experience. The initial tests showed that we had succeeded in the design and material selection of the metal parts of the frame and had achieved the set targets very well.

After the first tests, we began to investigate recycling opportunities. We found that most of the metal frames of the used lances could be reused, as they had not been affected by the molten steel and the frames were completely straight. At the same time, our aim is to save as much as possible of the part cast with refractory material, which, in this case, is about 40%. The following test steps will show how well the lances can be recycled and what their lifecycle is.

If you are in need of similar development and recycling cooperation, feel free to contact us!