An Experimental Study on the Reduction Behavior of Dust Generated from Electric Arc Furnace

Abstract

To improve the utilization value of electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) containing zinc, the reduction behavior of non-agglomerate dust was investigated with carbon and ferrosilicon in an induction furnace. The experimental results show that when the temperature increases, the zinc evaporation rate increases. When the reducing agent is carbon, zinc evaporation mainly occurs in the range of 900–1100 °C. When the reducing agent is ferrosilicon, zinc begins to evaporate at 800 °C, but the zinc evaporation rate is 90.47% at 1200 °C and lower than 99.80% with carbon used as a reducing agent at 1200 °C. For the carbon reduction, the iron metallization rate increases with a rise in the temperature. When the reducing agent is ferrosilicon, with an increase in temperature, the metallization rate first increases, then decreases, and finally, increases, which is mainly due to the reaction between the metallic iron and ZnO. In addition, the residual zinc in the EAFD is mainly dispersed in the form of a spinel solution near the metallic phase.