Non-linear kinetic analysis of decarburization and deoxidization of liquid iron by Ar-CO-CO₂ gas mixtures

Decarburization and deoxidization of liquid iron in Ar-CO-CO₂ gas mixtures were investigated at 1843 K using a cold crucible. The carbon or oxygen concentration decreased against their chemical potential gradients in the initial stage of the reactions. The concentration changes in the whole process were successfully reproduced by nonlinear equations based upon the two independent reactions in which the nonlinear reaction CO(g) = C+O was included. It has been shown that the decarburization of liquid iron in Ar-CO-CO₂ under reduced pressure can be also reasonably described by the nonlinear kinetic equations.