DOI: 10.52150/2522-9117-2026-40-023
I. O. Manachyn1,*, Ph. D. (Tech.), Associate Professor, Senior Researcher, ORCID 0000-0001-9795-6751
V. P. Petrusha1, Junior Researcher, ORCID 0000-0002-1031-3241
O. L. Rudenko1, Ph. D. (Tech.), Senior Research, ORCID 0000-0001-6068-9901
V. V. Chuhui1, Leading Engineer
S. O. Pochytaiev1, 1st Category Engineer
D. V. Yeskov2, Ph. D. Student, ORCID 0009-0001-3286-9291
1 Iron and steel institute of Z.I. Nekrasov of National academy of science of Ukraine
2 Dnipro State Technical University
* Corresponding author: imanachyn@gmail.com
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EFFICIENCY OF PIG IRON LADLE DESULFURIZATION PROCESSES USING GRANULAR MAGNESIUM
Abstract. Off-furnace desulfurization of hot metal has become a necessary and reliable link between blast furnace and steelmaking operations in the production of high-quality metal products. The efficiency of sulfur removal from hot metal determines the overall quality of the desulfurization process, ensuring thorough and effective sulfur elimination from the melt. Magnesium, due to its unique interaction properties with molten iron, has become the most widely used reagent in off-furnace desulfurization practices. A comprehensive and well-rounded approach to evaluating and selecting the appropriate desulfurization technology is justified. The paper presents actual data on co-injection technologies using lime and magnesium (CaO + Mg), as well as mono-injection of granular magnesium based on a Ukrainian injection technology implemented at various metallurgical plants. It is shown that one of the key parameters is reagent consumption, which determines all major characteristics of the process. A comparative analysis of various technological indicators for different magnesium injection methods into molten iron has been conducted. The lowest specific reagent consumption is observed with mono-injection of magnesium, which results in the lowest costs during industrial implementation. Industrial data show that mono-injection of granular magnesium is characterized by: the lowest reagent consumption – on average 0.42–0.55 kg per ton of hot metal, the shortest desulfurization duration – on average 5.5–7.7 minutes, ultra-deep desulfurization levels – down to 0.0003–0.001% sulfur, desulfurization efficiency – up to 99%, high sulfur removal rate – averaging 12–14.4% per minute, high reagent utilization rate – averaging 75–92%. It is concluded that mono-injection of granular magnesium is the most promising and cost-effective off-furnace desulfurization process, outperforming other desulfurization technologies across multiple performance indicators.
Key words: ladle desulfurization of pig iron, powdered lime, granular magnesium, reagent consumption, desulfurization efficiency.
For citation: Manachyn, I. O., Petrusha, V. P., Rudenko, O. L., Chuhui, V. V., Pochytaiev, S.O. & Yeskov, D. V. (2026). Сomparative analysis of the efficiency of pig iron ladle desulfurization processes using granular magnesium. Fundamental and applied problems of ferrous metallurgy, 40, 364-374. https://doi.org/10.52150/2522-9117-2026-40-023
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Рукопис надійшов до редакції / Received 18.01.2026
Рекомендовано до друку / Accepted 28.05.2026
Опубліковано / Published 30.05.2026
