Ferronickel is an alloy additive used in the steelmaking process. Like ferroniobium and ferromolybdenum, it is a niche alloy product. Ferro nickel is mainly composed of nickel and iron. Depending on the nickel content, it can be divided into low Ferronickel, medium Ferro nickel, and high Ferro nickel. The high nickel content is used for high-temperature resistant alloys, such as engines, turbine blades, and other high-temperature parts. Low nickel is used for ordinary stainless steel.
Ferro Nickel physical form
Block shape: size 10~100mm
Granular: particle size 1~10mm
Powder: used for powder metallurgy or special additives.
Packaging: tons of bags (1~1.5 tons/bag), iron drums or customized packaging
Specifications and chemical content of ferronickel
| Grade | C | Si | S | P |
| FeNi10%-20% | 0.1%-0.5% | 0.5%-3% | ≤0.04% | ≤0.05% |
| FeNi20%-40% | 0.05%-0.2% | 0.2%-2% | ≤0.03% | ≤0.04% |
| FeNi50%-60% | 0.03%-0.08% | 0.1%-1% | ≤0.02% | ≤0.03% |
According to the different nickel content, it can be divided into:
Ordinary ferronickel
FeNi10-20: Nickel content 10%~20%, high impurities (C, S, P, etc.), used for low-end stainless steel.
FeNi25-35: Nickel content 25%~35%, suitable for general stainless steel (such as 304 stainless steel).
FeNi40-50: Nickel content 40%~50%, high purity, used for high-end corrosion-resistant alloys or high-temperature alloys.
High purity ferronickel
Nickel content ≥75%, extremely low impurities (such as C ≤0.03%, S ≤0.02%), used in special fields such as nuclear power and aerospace.
The production methods of Ferronickel
Electric carbothermal method
Production process：After the nickel ore is dehydrated and agglomerated, it is mixed with coke and flux into a submerged electric furnace in a certain proportion. In the electric furnace, electric energy is used to generate high temperature, so that coke is used as a reducing agent to react with the nickel and iron oxides in the nickel ore to form a nickel-iron alloy, which is then refined through processes such as C reduction, Si, P, and S refining to obtain the finished nickel-iron.
Blast furnace method
Production process: The nickel ore is first pre-processed by dehydration, sintering, and agglomeration, and then added to the blast furnace together with coke and flux. In the blast furnace, coke combustion provides heat and reducing atmosphere to reduce the nickel and iron oxides in the nickel ore. The resulting crude nickel iron is discharged from the bottom of the blast furnace, and then refined to reduce Si, C, P, S and other impurities to obtain the final product.
Rotary kiln direct reduction method
Production process: After the nickel ore is dried and crushed, it is mixed with coke and flux to make pellets, and then enters the rotary kiln for a series of reactions such as preheating, dehydration, and reduction to generate a solid molten slag-iron mixture. It then undergoes multi-stage slag-iron separation processes such as water quenching, grinding, jigging, and strong magnetic separation to obtain fine-grained nickel-iron. Finally, the finished nickel-iron is obtained through electric furnace remelting, refining and desulfurization.
Silicon thermal method
Production process: After drying and crushing the nickel ore, carry out high-temperature dehydration and calcining into blocks, then add flux and melt it in a submerged electric furnace to obtain NiO melt, then pour it into the reaction bag, add 45% ferrosilicon to the reaction bag for a back-packing reaction to generate crude ferronickel, and finally refine it through P reduction and Si reduction to obtain ferronickel products.
Application areas of ferronickel
- Stainless steel production. Ordinary ferronickel products are generally used in the production of stainless steel and do not have high requirements for nickel content. Ferronickel with a nickel content of 20%-35% is usually selected to mainly produce 304/316 stainless steel.
- High-temperature alloys: Ferro nickel can also be used to manufacture high-temperature parts. It is usually used in the manufacturing of parts in the aerospace industry. Products with high-content ferronickel (nickel content ≥60%) and low impurities are generally required.
- Battery materials (such as nickel-metal hydride batteries): Nickel-iron is used in the battery industry. Generally, when manufacturing batteries, high-purity nickel-iron powder is required as additives and auxiliary materials for battery production.