6. Conclusions

The introduction of information technology in process management and control, enabling unrivalled precision and accuracy of results, makes secondary metallurgy difficult to bypass between converting or melting equipment and casting tools, which are themselves increasingly demanding.

Looking ahead, Carlsson drew attention to some of the research currently being carried out to improve the performance of primary metallurgy units: for example, in conversion steelworks, where the objective is rapid direct tapping (QDT process: Quick Direct Tapping); in electric furnaces, the areas being explored are energy consumption and control of reaction chemistry.

However, most of these processes now appear to be virtually irreplaceable, such as vacuum treatment for controlling hydrogen content, obtaining very low carbon and nitrogen content,...