Ferrochrome
(FeCr) is a corrosion-resistant alloy of chrome and iron which contains
between 50% and 65% chrome and a finishing material containing about
50-70% chromium alloyed with iron – though this depends on the ore used
by the producer. Most of the world's ferrochrome is produced in South
Africa, Kazakhstan and India, which have large domestic Chromium Ore
resources. Increasing amounts are coming from Russia and China.
Like
many ferroalloys, ferrochrome is utilised in stainless steel
manufacturing – around 80% of the world’s ferrochrome is used in this
way - as stainless steel depends on chrome for its appearance and its
resistance to corrosion. The average chrome content in stainless steel
is approximately 18%.
Ferrochrome is also used to add chromium to carbon steel.
The vast majority of Ferrochrome produced is charge chrome from Southern Africa. It
is produced from a chrome-containing ore with a low chrome content. High Carbon
Ferrochrome is more commonly used in specialist applications such as
engineering steels. Here, a high Cr to Fe ratio and minimum
levels of other elements such as Sulphur, Phosphorus and Titanium are
all important. The production of finished metals takes place in small
electric arc furnaces.
Ferrochrome is often classified by the
amount of carbon and chrome it contains. With high carbon being the
second largest segment followed by the smaller sectors of low carbon
and intermediate carbon material.