Abstract
This article presents the results of experimental studies on the production of chromium–nickel ferroalloy from the nickel ore of the Batamshinskoye deposit by the metallothermic method. Boron-containing ferrosilicochromium was used as a complex reducing agent and alloying material, and lime was applied as a fluxing component to control the composition and basicity of the slag. Laboratory smeltings were carried out in a Tammann furnace and an induction furnace at a temperature of 1630–1650 °C, producing slags with different basicities—0.4, 0.5, and 0.6. It was established that the use of boron-containing ferrosilicochromium provides the effective reduction of nickel, chromium, and iron oxides with the formation of a complex ferroalloy containing Fe, Cr, Ni, Si, and B. It is shown that an increase in slag basicity contributes to a decrease in its viscosity, a reduction in the content of chromium oxides in the slag, and an improvement in the conditions for the separation of the metal and slag phases. The crystallization temperatures of the slags, which decrease from 1410 to 1335 °C with an increase in basicity from 0.4 to 0.6, were determined by the method of semi-logarithmic processing of viscosity polytherms. The slag basicity range of 0.5–0.6 is recognized as optimal for the process.