Slashdot Mirror
Microwave Steelmaking
Makarand writes "Researchers at the Michigan Technological University are working on a
low-cost
steelmaking process which uses microwaves to heat iron ore instead of conventional heating.
Their steelmaking facility was made of magnetrons from six household microwaves wired together and an electric arc furnace. When fed iron oxide and coal, the microwave energy could reduce the iron ore to iron within minutes and the electric
arc furnace smelted the iron and coal into steel. The steel industry is taking a closer
look at this new process which could cut steel production costs by upto 50%."
First they find the cure for cancer is the common cold, and now they can put metal in a microwave!! Maybe next they'll find the cause of belly button lint.
" The steel industry is taking a closer look at this new process which could cut steel production costs by upto 50%"
I'm glad somebody finally hit that research button. I can't make any more villagers.
"Derp de derp."
If you bursh up on your thermodynamics you will notice that simple fuels (say coal) cannot reach 50% efficency). Iron melts close to the flame tempature of some fuels. Run the calculations of efficency, and 50% looks really good.
Of course real industry uses electric a lot. However resisance (ohms law), while in theory 100% efficent has downsides. The heating elements are fragil, and that is assuming you can find one that doesn't melt at less than the tempature of liquid iron. Typically carbon arc furances are used, which means you replace carbon rods once in a while.
Induction heating is common in industry. I'm not sure where, or for what purposes, but I know it is used. I don't know how it compares to this process.
This story is yet another example of what makes the USA great.
The inventor, Jiann-Yang (Jim) Hwang, came from Taiwan to the U.S. to pursue his graduate studies. (Here's his resume.) He graduates from Purdue with a Ph.D., and 20 years later, he's a professor of materials science at Michigan Technological University, and is adding to the collective innovating efforts of our nation.
Personally, I'm all for smart, hard-working people immigrating to the U.S. and staying here. All those temp workers in the technical industry who have come over here from India? All those people from Ecuador who are willing to work like dogs in the restaurant industry? All those people from Eastern Europe who are filled with the entrepreneurial sprit? Don't give them visas, make them citizens!
Since this technique is a lot more efficient than using conventional methods, how feasible would it be to make a portable steelmaking machine? Say.. that was small enough to be lifted by rocket to another planet.
The idea being, of course, that you feed rock and electricity in one end of a smallish box and get steel out the other. Would this be useful for making a base on the moon or mars? Huh?
I seem to recall that you have to blow hot air or oxygen through the melt to burn out excess carbon to convert the pig iron to steel. Maybe he hasn't gotten that far developing the process.
If indeed he has found a way to go from ore straight to steel, this is a pretty valuable process. There just isn't enough information to tell.
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
This may be a big timesaver, but, unfortunately, this process gives the steel a rubbery texture, and the middle always comes out frozen.