Ferrochrome or ferrochromium (FeCr) is a type of

ferroalloy Ferroalloy refers to various alloys of iron with a high proportion of one or more other elements such as manganese (Mn), aluminium (Al), or silicon (Si). They are used in the production of steels and alloys. The alloys impart distinctive qualitie ...

, that is, an alloy of

chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...

and

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

, generally containing 50 to 70% chromium by weight. Ferrochrome is produced by electric arc carbothermic reduction of

chromite Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of Iron, FeChromium, Cr2Oxygen, O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The ...

. Most of the global output is produced in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, which have large domestic chromite resources. Increasing amounts are coming from Russia and China. Production of steel, especially that of

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

with chromium content of 10 to 20%, is the largest consumer and the main application of ferrochrome.

Usage

Over 80% of the world's ferrochrome is utilised in the production of stainless steel. In 2006, 28,000,000 tons of stainless steel were produced. Stainless steel depends on chromium for its appearance and resistance to corrosion. Average chrome content in stainless steel is approx. 18%. It is also used to add chromium to

carbon steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...

. FeCr from South Africa, known as "charge chrome" and produced from a Cr containing ore with a low carbon content, is most commonly used in stainless steel production. Alternatively, high carbon FeCr produced from high-grade ore found in Kazakhstan (among other places) is more commonly used in specialist applications such as engineering steels where a high Cr/Fe ratio and minimum levels of other elements (

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

etc.) are important and production of finished metals takes place in small electric arc furnaces compared to large scale blast furnaces. In the past, Ferrochrome alloys were used in the formulation of Type III Compact Cassettes.

Production

Ferrochrome production is essentially a

carbothermic reduction Carbothermic reactions involve the reduction of substances, often metal oxides (O2-), using carbon (C) as the reducing agent. The reduction is usually conducted in the electric arc furnace or reverberatory furnace, depending on the metal ore. Thes ...

operation taking place at high temperatures. Chromite (an oxide of Cr and Fe) is reduced by coal and coke to form the iron-chromium alloy. The heat for this reaction can come from several forms, but typically from the

electric arc An electric arc (or arc discharge) is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma ( ...

formed between the tips of electrodes in the bottom of the furnace and the furnace hearth. This arc creates temperatures of about . In the process of smelting, huge amounts of electricity are consumed, making production very expensive in countries where power costs are high. Tapping of the material from the furnace takes place intermittently. When enough smelted ferrochrome has accumulated in the furnace hearth, the tap hole is drilled open and a stream of molten metal and slag rushes down a trough into a chill or ladle. Ferrochrome solidifies in large

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or ...

s which are crushed for sale or further processed. Ferrochrome is generally classified by the amount of carbon and chrome it contains. The vast majority of FeCr produced is "charge chrome" from South Africa, with high carbon being the second largest segment followed by the smaller sectors of low carbon and intermediate carbon material.

Trading

In March 2021, the

Shanghai Futures Exchange The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE; ) is a futures exchange in Shanghai, China formed from the amalgamation of the national level futures exchanges of China, the Shanghai Metal Exchange, Shanghai Foodstuffs Commodity Exchange, and the Shanghai Com ...

decided that it would list ferrochrome

futures Futures may mean: Finance *Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract *Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded *''Modern Trader'', formerly Futures, an American finance magazine Music * ''Futures' ...

at some unknown date. At the time, ferrochrome spot 6–8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China was trading at $1,336–1,382. In January 2021 the spot price had been 25% lower.

References

{{Reflist Chromium alloys Ferroalloys