New tech for making steel gets patent

Noted metallurgist Rambhau Tupkary recently received a patent that will revolutionise the process of steel-making. A retired professor and head of metallurgical engineering at the Viswesaraya National Institute of Technology, Tupkary got the patent for a technology that removes steel from slag, which is a byproduct of making steel.

“Normally, to produce steel, you do it by melting molten iron or scrap; you add limestone and other stuff, and what you get is slag, a byproduct. However, a lot of steel also gets into the slag. Since the last 70 years most steel plants have been using a magnetic process to recover steel from the slag after it is cooled. However, the steel recovered is not completely pure, as under the magnetic process several magnetic oxides also get mixed with the recovered steel,” he said.

As per Tupkary, using his technology, steel is separated from the slag before it is cooled. The benefits of this technology is likely to have a big impact on the steel industry. The loss of steel in slag is around 1-2% steel. When one million ton of steel is produced, around 20% slag is produced. Tupkary says steel companies would be able to save 5-15 crore per million ton of steel production by using this technology.