What Metals are Smelted Using Submerged Arc Furnaces

author: Alice

2025-08-20

Submerged arc furnaces, also known as electric arc furnaces or resistance furnaces, are specialized furnaces used for reduction smelting in the metallurgical industry. They are primarily used to produce ferroalloys such as ferrosilicon, ferromanganese, and ferrochrome, as well as chemical raw materials such as calcium carbide.

SAF smelting furnace transformers offer continuous and stable loads, low impedance voltage, a large number of voltage regulation stages with small step differences, and strong overload capacity. They can be regulated with or without excitation. Generally, the first few stages provide constant capacity output, while the last few stages provide constant current output.

Operating Principle of Submerged Electric Furnaces

Raw materials, such as ore, flux, and a carbonaceous reducing agent, are fed into the furnace from the top. When current passes through graphite electrodes immersed in the materials, a strong arc is generated. The heat from this arc melts the ore, thus achieving smelting.

SAF smelting furnace is crucial in industrial production and are key equipment for obtaining a variety of important metals and chemical raw materials.

Structural Features of Submerged Arc Furnace

Submerged electric furnaces are industrial furnaces that consume significant amounts of electricity. It primarily consists of a furnace shell, a furnace cover, a furnace lining, a short screen, a water cooling system, a fume exhaust system, a dust removal system, an electrode shell, an electrode pressing and lifting system, a loading and unloading system, a gripper, a burn-through device, a hydraulic system, a SAF transformer, and various electrical equipment.

What Metals are Smelted Using Submerged Arc Furnaces?

This type of smelting furnace has a wide range of uses in the metallurgical industry, primarily for the smelting and production of the following metals and alloys:

Ferroalloy products for alloy steels such as ferrosilicon and silicomanganese
Other iron alloys such as ferromanganese, ferrochrome, and aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloys
Ferroalloy additives for steel production (such as high-carbon iron and cast iron blocks)
The initial production of calcium carbide (acetylene) and related chemical raw materials
Recycling and reuse of some rare or special metals
Extraction of precious metals in recycling or metals from electronic waste (under specific process conditions)

The specific applications of submerged arc furnaces vary depending on the furnace type, charge ratio, and process parameters. If you have specific metal or process conditions (such as required products, furnace type, capacity, raw material composition, etc.), you can contact us and Sanrui Electric Furnace can provide you with a more targeted list and process points.

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