The key difference between ferro manganese and silico manganese is that ferro manganese is a type of manganese alloy containing manganese and iron along with some amount of carbon, whereas silico manganese contains silicon and manganese along with some amount of carbon.
Ferro manganese and silico manganese are two types of alloys of manganese that we can name as metallic ferro alloys.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Ferro Manganese
3. What is Silico Manganese
4. Ferro Manganese vs Silico Manganese in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Ferro Manganese vs Silico Manganese
What is Ferro Manganese?
Ferro manganese is a type of alloy known as a ferroalloy having a high content of manganese.
There are three major types of ferro manganese as follows:
- Standard ferromanganese
- Medium-carbon ferromanganese
- Low-carbon ferromanganese
Figure 01: Refined Ferromanganese
Ferro Manganese is produced by heating a mixture of two oxides: manganese dioxide or MnO2 and ferric oxide or Fe2O3, along with carbon (either coal or coke). This production is carried out in a blast furnace or in an electric arc furnace system (it is named a submerged arc furnace).
Figure 02: Global Manganese Production Evolution Over Time
During this production process, the reactants undergo a carbothermal reduction inside the furnace, which produces ferromanganese as the end result. This material is mainly useful as a deoxidizer for steel.
What is Silico Manganese?
Silico manganese is a type of metallic ferro alloy containing both silicon and manganese. A combination of silicon and manganese is useful in producing a number of specific steel alloys. These components can enhance the natural properties of steel, increasing its strength and function, and improving the aesthetic appeal.
When preparing silico manganese, we can change the ratio of silicon to manganese in order to get the desired properties. For example, standard silicon manganese steel alloy contains 14-16% silicon and about 68% manganese. Moreover, it includes some carbon, which is a requirement for steel to react with this alloy material.
Adding silicon manganese to steel can help in removing chemicals such as phosphorous from steel to give a purer and cleaner steel alloy. Therefore, we can get a better-quality product with fewer impurities. However, this steel production takes a long time and high cost of production, so it leads to higher prices as well.
What is the Difference Between Ferro Manganese and Silico Manganese?
Ferro manganese and silico manganese are two types of alloys of manganese that we can name as metallic ferro alloys. The key difference between ferro manganese and silico manganese is that ferro manganese is a type of manganese alloy containing manganese and iron along with some amount of carbon, whereas silico manganese contains silicon and manganese along with some amount of carbon. Moreover, ferro manganese contains about 80% manganese while silico manganese contains about 68% manganese. While ferro manganese is useful as a deoxidizer for steel, silico manganese is useful to get a pure steel alloy.
The following table summarizes the difference between ferro manganese and silico manganese.
Summary – Ferro Manganese vs Silico Manganese
Ferro manganese and silico manganese are two types of alloys of manganese that we can name metallic ferro alloys. The key difference between ferro manganese and silico manganese is that ferro manganese is a type of manganese alloy containing manganese and iron along with some amount of carbon whereas silico manganese contains silicon and manganese along with some amount of carbon.
Reference:
1. Turner, B. “What Is Silicon Manganese?” Info Bloom.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Ferromanganèse affiné” By Borvan53 – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Ferromanganese production evolution” By Borvan53 – From United States Geological Survey data (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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