ON THE PRESENT POSITION OF ELECTRIC STEEL MELTING. 265 



information. Comparing the Heroult furnaces only, as an example, 

 we have seen that in June 1910 there were twenty-nine of these fur- 

 naces with a capacity of 80 tons in work and 50 tons in course of 

 erection, 130 tons in all, whilst about June 1911 there are forty-three 

 furnaces, with a total capacity of about 242 tons. 



The output of electric steel in Germany, the United States, and 

 Austria-Hungary in 1910 amounted to almost 112,000 tons, which is an 

 increase of 63,000 tons over the figures for 1909. These are the 

 only countries for which the exact output of electric steel is published, 

 but there is no doubt that the figures for Sweden, France, Belgium, 

 and Italy, will also show large gains. The increase will probably be 

 more than maintained in 1911, as more than thirty new furnaces of 

 various types should be started during the year, and many which only 

 started towards the end of 1910 will put in a full year's work in 

 1911. England will also for the first time appear as a regular pro- 

 ducer. Before the beginning of the present year the Heroult 

 furnace at Edgar Allen's in Sheffield was the only arc one in steady 

 operation. In January three Heroult furnaces were commenced in 

 England, at Vickers and Thos. Firth and Sons in Sheffield, and at 

 Lake and Elliott's in Braintree, Essex. A Gronwall furnace, for 

 demonstration and manufacturing purposes, also started at about the 

 same time in Sheffield, and the output of England for 1911 should 

 amount to about 13,000 tons. A 15-ton Heroult furnace is to be erected 

 at Skinningrove shortly and is expected to turn out 200 tons per day. 

 About the same period Kjellin induction furnaces have been working 

 satisfactorily at Vickers and Jessop's in Sheffield and an experimental 

 furnace at the University of Sheffield. 



Great progress will be made in Germany with electric furnaces 

 during the next year, when Heroult furnaces of 25 and 22 tons capacity 

 are to be constructed. At present the largest size are the two 15-ton 

 Heroult furnaces at S. Chicago and Worcester, belonging to the United 

 States Steel Corporation, who have recently acquired the Heroult patents 

 for America and will probably erect several more furnaces shortly. 



The electric furnace can be used either for melting scrap directly or 

 in combination with some other form of furnace, in which case it 

 simply acts as a refiner. The majority of the recent furnaces have 

 been employed in this way, in conjunction either with Bessemer or 

 open-hearth furnaces. The latter are usually of the basic tilting type, 

 part of the charge being removed to the electric furnace after the pig is 

 melted and the bulk of the phosphorus removed, leaving some phos- 

 phorus and the oxygen and sulphur to be eliminated by the electric 

 furnace. In this case the time required for the electric furnace is from 

 one hour to two hours according to the degree of refining required and 

 the original condition of the steel when removed from the basic furnace. 

 The power used varies from 100 to 300 kw. hours per ton. When cold 

 scrap is melted the time required is about six hours and the power 

 consumption said to be from 650 to 750 kw. hours, but really, all in, 

 i. 'ore probably 800 to 1,000 per ton. Of the forty-four Heroult fur- 

 naces in operation or construction twenty-one are to melt scrap, twenty 

 to take molten steel from the basic open-hearth, one from a Talbot 

 furnace, and two from converters, 



