Erlend has done his PhD work in the SFI Metal Production research domain “Refining and Recycling” and Professor Gabriella Tranell has been the candidate’s supervisor. Professor Hugo Atle Jakobsen at Department of Chemical Engineering and Research Manager Jan Erik Øvrebø Olsen at SINTEF Industry have been the candidate’s co-supervisors.

The work in the thesis focuses on determining the paths and rates involved in slag formation and  Ca and Al mass transfer between slag and alloy during refining of silicon. The work covers both the theoretical frame work for slag formation, experimental studies on Ca and Al mass transfer as well as modelling based on industrial and laboratory data.

Throughout the project Erlend has worked on addressing important questions such as: 
•    How does a slag nucleate on an oxygen-rich gas bubble?
•    What is the interaction between Ca and Al during Si refining?
•    How can we use statistical analysis to determine if an alloy sample is contaminated by slag?

The Assessment Committee has been:
•    Professor Kazuki Morita, Department of Materials Engineering, University of Tokyo, Japan 
•    Professor Timo Fabritius, Process Metallurgy, Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu,  Finland
•    Professor Merete Tangstad, Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Erlend will now start working with Elkem Technology in Kristiansand, and we wish him good luck with his future endeavors!

You may find more information on Erlend’s research and findings in this Gemini article from June 2021.

Congratulations Dr. Lunnan Bjørnstad!