Slag carries away the gangue, but it also decides how easily the furnace runs and how much metal is lost. Basicity is the first number to look at.
Slag basicity is a ratio of basic oxides to acidic oxides in the slag. The simplest form is CaO divided by SiO2; other forms add MgO to the basic side and Al2O3 to the acidic side. Plants use the form that suits their process and ore.
In many plants the target and the flux addition are set by senior operators from experience. That works until the ore changes or those operators are away. Writing the rule down and checking it against each heat is the first step; testing a new target on a model before a trial is the next.
Furnace Twin is a physics model of your furnace (mass and energy balance, slag chemistry, reduction kinetics, an electrical model and furnace zones) calibrated on your heat history and re-calibrated as new heats arrive. It estimates energy, grade and recovery every heat and flags drift with its likely cause, such as basicity, reductant or electrodes. A scenario engine compares reductant, basicity, temperature and feed changes side by side so only the best goes to a short trial on the real furnace. Anyone on shift can ask questions in plain language and get answers that cite records, model runs and literature, and shift handover can be captured by voice in Hindi or English. Every model version is evaluated and logged. Delivery runs baseline, calibrate, then operate, starting with one furnace.
A ratio of basic oxides to acidic oxides in slag, most simply CaO/SiO2, sometimes with MgO and Al2O3 included.
It changes slag melting behaviour, viscosity, metal recovery, electrical behaviour and refractory wear.
By changing flux additions in the charge, based on assays of the ore and reductant and the chemistry of tapped slag.
See it on your own data. Furnace Twin — Ask the furnace, see the proof. Book a 30-minute working session with an engineer.
