Electric Furnaces

Abstract

THE importance of electro-metallurgy at the present time was made evident at the joint meeting of the Institution, of Electrical Engineers and the Iron and Steel Institute on May 8, when six papers were read on electric furnaces. The descriptions given by the various authors related almost exclusively to furnaces suitable for the iron and steel industry, of which there are at present 117 at work in this country, as compared with 287 in the United States and 43 in Canada. . The nominal output of the British. furnaces was given by Mr. R. G. Mercer as 31,250 tons per month, but, owing to various causes, the actual production was only about 65 per cent, of this amount. It will be seen from1 these figures that electric steel is now a well-established commercial product, and with the advent of cheaper electric power large developments may be witnessed.