Microstructural and Chemical Characterization of Industrial Ferronickel Produced by the RKEF Process Using SEM–EDS Analysis
Abstract
Abstract Ferronickel (Fe–Ni) is a key ferroalloy used in stainless steel production, predominantly produced from lateritic ores via the rotary kiln–electric furnace (RKEF) process. In this study, the microstructural features and localized chemical composition of industrial ferronickel produced in Kosovo were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).The results reveal a heterogeneous metallic matrix with dendritic morphology, typical of rapid solidification under industrial conditions. SEM observations indicate the presence of non-metallic inclusions embedded within the Fe–Ni matrix. EDS analysis confirms that iron is the dominant element, while nickel is relatively homogeneously distributed, suggesting effective alloying during smelting. Localized oxygen- rich regions are associated with oxide inclusions, likely originating from incomplete slag–metal separation and residual oxides from the reduction process. The presence of carbon is attributed to carbothermic reduction in the rotary kiln stage. The results indicate that reduction reactions are advanced but not fully completed, which is consistent with industrial RKEF operation. By combining microstructural observations with industrial slag composition and process parameters, this study provides insight into the relationship between process conditions, inclusion formation, and alloy heterogeneity. The findings contribute to improved understanding of…
Read the paper
Related studies
- The Matrisome: In Silico Definition and In Vivo Characterization by Proteomics of Normal and Tumor Extracellular Matrices
- The Escherichia coli MG1655 in silico metabolic genotype: Its definition, characteristics, and capabilities
- In silico pharmacology for drug discovery: methods for virtual ligand screening and profiling
- In silico prediction of splice-altering single nucleotide variants in the human genome
- In silico clinical trials: how computer simulation will transform the biomedical industry
- In silico optimization of a guava antimicrobial peptide enables combinatorial exploration for peptide design
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.