Ferromanganese nitride is a nitrogen-containing iron alloy, mainly used as a nitrogen alloying agent in steel smelting. The different nitrogen content will directly affect the application scenario and steel grade requirements.
Low nitrogen nitride ferromanganese (N≤5%)
Core demand scenarios:
1）Ordinary carbon steel and low alloy steel: such as Q235, Q345 and other construction steel, used to improve the strength and toughness of steel, but the nitrogen content is not high (too high nitrogen content can easily lead to “aging brittleness”).
2）Foundry industry: as an inoculant in gray cast iron and ductile iron, a small amount of nitrogen can promote graphitization and improve the performance of castings.
Demand characteristics:
- Cost-oriented: low nitrogen products are relatively low in price (low raw material and process costs), suitable for bulk steel production with low requirements for nitrogen alloying.
- Market size: 30%-40% of the total demand for nitride ferromanganese, mainly driven by traditional industries such as construction and machinery manufacturing.
Medium nitrogen content nitrided ferromanganese (5%<N≤8%)
Core demand scenarios:
1）High-strength structural steel: such as bridge steel and ship steel (AH32, DH36), nitrogen can improve yield strength through solid solution strengthening (such as every increase of 0.01% nitrogen, the strength increases by about 5-10MPa).
2）Weathering steel: such as Q355NH, nitrogen and alloying elements (Cr, Ni) synergistically enhance atmospheric corrosion resistance.
3）Spring steel: such as 60Si2Mn, nitrogen can refine grains and improve fatigue resistance.
Demand characteristics:
1）Performance balance: medium nitrogen content can not only meet strength requirements, but also avoid the risk of brittleness caused by high nitrogen, and is suitable for steel grades with requirements for comprehensive mechanical properties.
2）Market share: about 40%-50%, which is currently the most widely used type, mainly serving industries such as engineering machinery and automobile manufacturing.
High nitrogen content nitrided manganese iron (N>8%)
Core demand scenarios:
- Ultra-high strength steel:
Mold steel: such as cold work mold steel (Cr12MoV) and hot work mold steel (H13), high nitrogen can improve hardness and wear resistance (for every 1% increase in nitrogen content, the hardness HRC increases by 2-3).
Aerospace steel: such as steel connectors for high-strength aluminum alloys, which must meet both lightweight and fatigue resistance requirements.
- Austenitic stainless steel:
Nickel-free/low-nickel stainless steel (such as 200 series): High nitrogen replaces part of the nickel element, stabilizes the austenite structure, and reduces costs (nitrogen’s austenite forming ability is about 30 times that of nickel).
High-strength stainless steel (such as 17-4PH precipitation hardening stainless steel): Nitrogen can increase the yield strength to more than 1000MPa, which is used in nuclear power and chemical equipment.
Special alloys:
- High-temperature alloys: such as the Inconel series, nitrogen can enhance grain boundary strength and increase oxidation resistance temperature (such as nitrogen-containing high-temperature alloys at 700°C increase the endurance strength by 15%).
- Wear-resistant alloys: such as high-chromium cast iron, nitrogen and carbon form carbonitrides to enhance resistance to abrasive wear.
Demand characteristics:
- Technology driven: High-nitrogen products are difficult to produce (high-temperature and high-pressure nitriding is required), and the price is relatively high (about 1.5-2 times that of low-nitrogen products), mainly serving the high-end manufacturing field.
- Fast market growth: With the development of new energy, aerospace and other industries, the annual growth rate of high-nitrogen nitrided manganese iron demand has reached 10%-15%, accounting for 10%-20% of the total demand.