A thermodynamic model for predicting phosphate capacity of CaO-based slags during hot metal dephosphorisation pretreatment process

A thermodynamic model for predicting phosphate capacity of the CaO-based slags over a temperature range from 1750 to 1793 K (1477–1520°C) during dephosphorisation pretreatment of hot metal has been developed based on the ion and molecule coexistence theory (IMCT), i.e. the IMCT– model. The developed IMCT– model has been verified to be valid through comparing with the measured and the predicted ones by four reported models from the literature. Besides the total phosphate capacity , the respective phosphate capacity of nine dephosphorisation products as P₂O₅, 3FeO·P₂O₅, 4FeO·P₂O₅, 2CaO·P₂O₅, 3CaO·P₂O₅, 4CaO·P₂O₅, 2MgO·P₂O₅, 3MgO·P₂O₅ and 3MnO·P₂O₅ can also be accurately predicted by the developed IMCT– model. The formed 3CaO·P₂O₅ accounts for 99.20% of dephosphorisation products comparing with the generated 4CaO·P₂O₅ for 0.80%. The results also revealed that the effects of slag chemical composition including slag oxidisation ability, slag basicity and the comprehensive influence of iron oxides Fe _t O and basic oxide CaO on phosphate capacity were largely different with those on phosphorus partition between the CaO-based slags and hot metal. Although and are both distinct thermodynamic quantities and related to each others provided that the entire slag system is correctly defined, phosphorus partition has much guide meaning on dephosphorisation operation than phosphate capacity . The main interest of measuring phosphate capacity from laboratory experiments can be attributed to obtain phosphorus partition through relationship between and .