The need for a fluorspar replacement in secondary steelmaking operatio
ns has surfaced in recent years owing to accelerated environmental con
cerns and dwindling reserves. In the present work, the behaviour of th
ree candidate minerals, labradorite, potassium feldspar, and nepheline
syenite, has been examined to determine their relative suitability as
a fluxing agent to replace fluorspar in the CaO-MgO-SiO2 system. Both
rheological and static slag-dolomitic refractory experiments were und
ertaken; also, an investigation into the partitioning of silicon betwe
en the modified slag and metal phases was conducted. All candidates sh
owed similar rheological characteristics and increased refractory life
when compared with fluorspar, with the potassium feldspar being the l
east aggressive with respect to the refractory, Partitioning experimen
ts in which nepheline syenite replaced fluorspar suggested some moveme
nt of silicon from the slag to the metal phase; this may translate int
o savings in silicon based alloy additions. (C) 1997 The Institute of
Materials.