Working principle and heating method
Medium frequency electric furnace: The induced current generated by electromagnetic induction is used to generate heat inside the material. The heating is uniform and the heating speed is fast. The effect is better when the surface quality of the metal is required to be high.
Electric arc furnace: Heating metal through arc discharge between electrodes, forming high temperature, mainly heating the metal surface, and the heat transfer efficiency is low.
Applicable scope and materials
Medium frequency electric furnace: suitable for casting, forging, heat treatment and other fields. It has good heating effect on different metal materials such as aluminum, copper, iron and steel, especially for ferromagnetic materials. But for ores, it is only suitable for small-scale, refined mineral extraction and refining processes, including metal extraction, alloy production, etc. It can provide uniform and controllable heating, and has good adaptability to processes that require rapid and precise control of metal ore heating.
Electric arc furnace: It is mainly used for the smelting and steelmaking process of steel, stainless steel, alloy steel and other metals. It is more common for large-scale smelting and recycling of scrap steel. For ores, it is suitable for large-scale ore smelting, especially for the treatment of ores that are difficult to melt or contain high content of waste residue. It provides high temperature and efficient heating and is suitable for processing large quantities of ore.
Energy consumption and efficiency
Medium frequency electric furnace: high energy utilization rate, high heating efficiency, relatively little energy loss.
Electric arc furnace: Although electric arc furnaces require large amounts of electricity to maintain an arc discharge, they are often more economical to use in certain smelting processes, such as recycling scrap steel.
Operation and maintenance
Medium frequency electric furnace: simple operation, low maintenance cost, no need to frequently replace electrodes and other components.
Electric arc furnace: The operation is relatively complex, requiring regular replacement of wearing parts such as electrodes, and the maintenance cost is high.
Environmental considerations
Medium frequency electric furnace: Because the heating method is relatively clean, it produces less waste gas, waste residue and other pollution, and has less impact on the environment.
Electric arc furnace: The arc discharge process will produce a large amount of smoke, oxides and other pollutants, which seriously pollutes the environment. Modern steelmaking plants are usually equipped with exhaust gas treatment equipment to reduce pollution.