Silicon and manganese transfer in dynamic conditions of carbon-saturated liquid iron drops falling through slag layer

Transfer of silicon and manganese as an iron drop falls through a slag layer has been investigated by an experimental study. Carbon-saturated liquid iron drops containing different amounts of silicon were allowed to fall for 1 sec through CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-MnO slag at 1 773 K. The rate of mass transfer of silicon to the iron drop from the slag was found to be two to three orders of magnitude faster than that previously reported in static equilibration laboratory studies. The rate of manganese transfer was dependent on the silicon transfer: when the silicon transfer is fast, the manganese transfer is also fast and vice versa. The iron drops broke up while falling through the slag. The results of the present study indicate that for reactions involving solute transfer across liquid-liquid interfaces, significant changes in reaction rate and mechanism occur in dynamic contact conditions. Several possible reasons for these changes are discussed. It was tentatively concluded that the emulsification of the interface plays the major role in enhancing the transfer rates.