In ductile iron foundries, liquid iron must be desulfurized before specialized inoculation treatments can be employed to give the iron it's ductile properties. This desulfurization is frequently performed by feeding granular forms of calcium carbide onto the surface of the liquid iron, which is contained in specially designed mixing units.

Because purity and particle size are the key parameters for optimum effectiveness in this application, particle sizing is carefully selected to provide maximum particle surface contact with the liquid iron without incurring excessive dust losses through atmospheric convection above the metal surface.

Carbide Industries manufactures three standard sized products for ductile iron desulfurization, generally within the range of 8 to 80 US-mesh (2.5 to .2mm). In addition, two patented specialty products are available to meet specific customer requirements. These specialized products are formulated to help eliminate the retention of unreacted carbide in the resulting desulfurization slags and also to minimize slag odor.