Low-carbon ferromanganese (LC-FeMn) is an essential ingredient for making high-strength low-alloy steel and stainless steel. The conventional industrial-scale silicothermic method for the production of LC-FeMn comprises several energy intensive complex steps consuming about 2000 kWh/ton. We have attempted an improved silicothermic process, which is based on a single step smelting of optimized charge mix in the electric arc furnace. Thermochemical simulation of the smelting process by FactSage 6.4 showed significant effect of the charge mix basicity (B = CaO/SiO₂) on manganese, iron, silicon and phosphorous distribution between the metal and slag. The optimum basicity was found to be 1.5 at the charge mix ratio i.e., Mn ore/lime/SiMn of 1:1:0.6 in the smelting tests. Under optimum conditions, the energy consumption was about 690 kWh/ton. This approach has potential benefits for the ferromanganese industry in terms of simpler and energy efficient process.

低碳锰铁（LC-FeMn）是制造高强度低合金钢和不锈钢的必要成分。用于生产LC-FeMn的常规工业规模的硅热法包括几个耗能约2000kWh /吨的能量密集的复杂步骤。我们已经尝试了一种改进的硅热法，该方法基于在电弧炉中一步一步熔炼最佳装料的过程。FactSage 6.4对熔炼过程的热化学模拟显示了装料碱度的显着影响（B  = CaO / SiO ₂）在锰，铁，硅和磷之间分布金属和炉渣。在熔炼试验中，发现最佳的碱度在装料比（即锰矿/石灰/ SiMn为1：1：0.6）下为1.5。在最佳条件下，能耗约为690千瓦时/吨。就更简单，更节能的工艺而言，这种方法对锰铁行业具有潜在的好处。