Steel scrap is a recyclable iron-containing resource, and its melting behaviour in an iron–carbon bath has been highlighted in recent years. To reach carbon neutrality, understanding the melting behaviour of steel scrap and utilising more steel scrap are feasible solutions to achieve this goal. This paper aims to summarise previous research on the melting behaviour of steel scrap in an iron–carbon bath, which includes investigating the scrap melting mechanism and the factors that affect scrap melting through thermal simulation, cold model investigation, and numerical simulation. The melting of steel scrap primarily involves the formation and remelting of a solidified layer, as well as the carburisation and rapid melting of the steel scrap. Furthermore, the effect of thermodynamics, kinetics, bath and scrap composition, scrap types and structures on scrap melting is outlined. These findings could provide a theoretical guidance for improving scrap utilisation in steelmaking process.
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