Management practices to conduct ladle treatment processes in the steel industry. a systematic literature review

In an increasingly competitive context, the European steel industry has to introduce innovative solutions and focus on high-quality production. A key part of the steelmaking process able to increase the product quality is the secondary metallurgy undertaken in Ladle Furnaces (LFs), i.e. a refractory lined vessel, where steel reheating, alloying, and inclusion removal are performed. To increase the efficiency of this equipment, twin LF stations have been recently introduced. This technology also permits enhancing the quality performance, and reducing energy consumption, adverse environmental impacts, and risks for workers. Management practices can facilitate the achievement of such objectives, representing a low-cost lever for enhancing production systems. For these reasons, we carried out a systematic review in the scientific literature about the management practices that enable an effective conduction of ladle treatment processes in a twin LF and in a traditional LF configuration. Twenty practices are identified and analysed based on a set of factors properly defined for this study. The results show that there is only one practice specific for the twin LF management: this is based on the Case-Based Reasoning method to predict the end temperature of molten steel for improving both energy efficiency and quality level. Regarding a traditional LF, the majority of existing practices are focused on the attainment of product quality benefits and on proposals of models to monitor process parameters, optimise energy consumption, and obtain high-quality products. These results may stimulate companies in the implementation of management practices to effectively conduct ladle treatment processes.