Effect of CeAlO₃ refractories on the cleanliness of rare earth treated steel

The enhancement of steel properties through rare earth treatment has attracted lots of attentions. The active chemical properties of rare earth elements exacerbate the reoxidation of liquid steel by steel-refractories interaction, leading to degradation of steel cleanliness. In this study, the interaction between CeAlO3 refractories and Ce-treated steel was explored, and compared with the traditional Al2O3 refractories. The results show that a severely decrease in Ce content in the steel is accompanied by a significantly increase in Al content after contacted with Al2O3 refractories. While the loss of Ce content in the steel after interaction with CeAlO3 refractories is relatively less. Compared with Al2O3 refractories, a dense and continuous Ce2O2S interface layer could be formed at the steel/refractories interface in the test of CeAlO3 refractories. It can play a role as the metallurgical isolation layer, which effectively hinders the further interaction between refractories and steel, and reduces the reoxidation of steel.