The History of Electric Arc Furnace

Electric arc was used to melt iron in the 19th century. In 1810, the man named Humphry Davy carried out an experimental demonstration; in 1815, Pepys investigated welding; in 1853, Pinchon tried to create an electrothermic furnace; and in 1878, William Siemens patented for electric furnaces of the arc type.

Paul Héroult, coming from France, developed the first electric arc furnace and established a commercial plant in United States in 1907. The first electric arc furnace was installed in   Sanderson Brothers steel Co. founded in Syracuse, New York. Now, the furnace is on display at Station Square, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

"Electric steel" was just a specialty product used as machine tools and spring steel initially.  Arc furnaces are used to make calcium carbide for carbide lamps, too. Sassano electric furnace, an arc type furnace that rotates to mix the bath. Girod furnace is the same as the Héroult furnace.

Compared the wide usage of EAFs in World War II for the production of alloy steels, the expansion of electric steelmaking was late. The low capital cost for mini-mill allowed mills to be quickly established in war-ravaged Europe, and also allowed the successful completion with the big United States steelmakers, for example, Bethlehem Steel and U.S. Steel.