Waiting is costly — especially in steelmaking. Yet many steel mills still spend up to 15 minutes waiting for slag analysis results before they can take action. In today’s volatile production environment, shaped by recycling and the use of secondary raw materials, that delay directly affects efficiency, quality, and margins.
Slag is more than a by-product. Its composition influences refractory wear, steel cleanliness, and even furnace yield. Without up-to-date data, operators are forced to add safety margins, which means higher additive consumption, more downtime, and unnecessary costs. In short: slow analysis erodes efficiency.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) remains a reliable laboratory method, but it requires time-consuming preparation steps such as cooling, grinding, and pressing. The result: long analysis cycles and delayed process corrections — often too late for real-time adjustments.
Laser Optical Emission Spectroscopy, also known as LIBS, takes a different approach. A short laser pulse generates a plasma on the sample surface, and the emitted light reveals the slag’s composition.
The advantages are clear:
Speed: Results in less than a minute instead of 10–15 minutes
No prep work: Even granular or irregular samples can be measured directly
Process control: Real-time data enables immediate corrections
By collecting thousands of spectra per second, Laser-OES effectively averages out inhomogeneous samples — turning variability into robust, usable data.
Shorter analysis times open new possibilities for process control. Smaller, more frequent adjustments mean:
Lower additive and flux consumption
Less refractory wear
Fewer inclusions and higher quality steel
Reduced waiting times and downtime
Faster return on investment through higher throughput
For Laser-OES to achieve widespread adoption, the industry still needs standardized calibration methods and independent validation studies. Early results, however, show that the technology is competitive — especially for elements like silicon and magnesium.
Laser-OES won’t replace every laboratory method, but it fills an important gap. Whenever time, throughput, and light element analysis matter, it delivers real advantages. Instead of waiting for results, operators can act immediately — and in steelmaking, timing makes all the difference.