New tech for making steel gets patent

Noted metallurgist Rambhau Tupkary just lately obtained a patent that may revolutionise the method of steel-making. A retired professor and head of metallurgical engineering on the Viswesaraya National Institute of Technology, Tupkary acquired the patent for a know-how 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 mentioned.

As per Tupkary, utilizing his know-how, steel is separated from the slag earlier than it’s cooled. The advantages of this know-how is prone to have a big effect on the steel business. The lack of steel in slag is round 1-2% steel. When a million ton of steel is produced, round 20% slag is produced. Tupkary says steel corporations would have the ability to save 5-15 crore per million ton of steel manufacturing through the use of this know-how.