Nickel pig iron发表评论(0)编辑词条

Nickel pig iron (NPI) is a low grade ferronickel invented in China as a cheaper alternative to pure nickel for the production of stainless steel. The production process of nickel pig iron utilizes laterite nickel ores instead of pure nickel sold on the world market. The alternative was developed as a response to high price of pure nickel. The estimated cost of a ton of nickel pig iron ranges between 16.500 and 18.000 USD in 2012, and this cheaper substitute for pure nickel influences the price of nickel on the world market by lowering the demand in certain applications, the most important being the production of steel, representing about two thirds of nickel use.

Nickel pig iron is composed of low-grade nickel ore, coking coal, and a mixture of gravel and sand as an aggregate. This mixture is heated in either a blast furnace or an electric arc furnace depending on the desired grade. Impurities are then removed via smelting and sintering processes and the resulting nickel pig iron contains four to 13 percent pure nickel. According to Canadian Sudbury nickel pig iron equals "dirty nickel", because the production process is not environmentally friendly, the carbon dioxide emissions being particularly high. China has imported most of the nickel containing ore from Indonesia and the Philippines, but Indonesia has imposed a 20 percent tax on nickel ore exports and this tax is forecasted to rise before a complete export ban in 2014. China imported 53 percent of the nickel ore from Indonesia in 2011.