4. Conclusion

At the start of the 21st century, new technologies in measurement, automation, maintenance management, refractory repair, planning and mixed refining are improving the performance achieved by conversion steelworks:

• the metallurgical results are close to the limits defined by the physico-chemical tests;

• Productivity can reach impressive levels, for example nearly 1,000 tonnes per hour of production in a 2-converter steel mill with a 300-tonne capacity;

• the dispersion of results has been reduced, resulting in a decrease in the frequency of corrective actions at the converter and downgrading of castings;

• Pollution from various fumes has been considerably reduced by the systematic introduction, in developed countries at...