The Ternium Siderar steel plant in San Nicolas, Argentina, experienced a period of single
blast furnace operation in 2006, first due to one furnace’s unavailability, and later due
to the other’s relining. In order to exploit the excess steelmaking capacity, processes
were adjusted to reduce the amount of hot metal needed for the production of a ton of
steel. The principal changes in the process are described in this paper: an increase in
the manganese content of hot metal to avoid manganese addition in the converter; heating
of scrap; coke additions; increase in pig iron; use of large quantities of SiC or FeSi
during the blow; temperature decrease at the end of the blow. All of this permitted an
increase in slab production compared with the standard process.