Mining University (Leoben, Austria):

E. Cheremisina, Dr. Min., e-mail: elizaveta.cheremisina@k1-met.com
J. Schenk, Dr., Prof., Head of the Chair of Ferrous Metallurgy

Chromium plays the important role in melting of many steel grades. Usually it is brought in the steel making furnace with scrap or ore, thereby it occurs later in steel making slags. It is especially critical for high-quality steels. The authors conducted the investigations and researched stability of chromium oxides and formation of Cr (VI) in more details, using thermodynamical data. Thermodynamical calculations for corresponding slag systems were conducted using FactSage 7.1 program, while different chromium oxides were analyzed for presence of hexavalent chromium. Oxygen partial pressure, corresponding to the balance between FeO – Fe_met system and air was taken into account for each boundary case. It should be mentioned that presence of Al₂O₃, MgO and MnO ensures stable chromium bonding, not depending on the values of oxygen partial pressure chosen
for calculations.