Characteristics of Glass Beads from Molten Slag Produced by Rotary Cup Atomizer

Abstract

Steelmaking is well known to be one of the highest energy-consuming industries, where high temperature molten slag is discharged without any heat recovery. This paper describes the hot experiments where a Rotary Cup Atomizer (RCA) is used to produce dry glassy slag without water impingement. In this, the properties for granulated slag were chiefly investigated. Molten slag was first poured onto the center of the rotating cup at various rotating speeds. Slag granulation was then observed using a video camera, and finally, the particles were collected for physical and chemical analyses. The results of XRD and DSC analyses demonstrate that all slag drops obtained by the RCA method are undoubtedly glassy. The particle size of the granulated slag is strongly controlled by both the diameter of the cup and the speed of rotation. The relationship between the particle size and the two parameters is expressed as Dp = 16.86/rω. Smaller particles that produced at a higher rotating speed seem to be more transparent or glassy and have compression strength twice higher in comparison with water granulated slag. The data obtained will provide valuable information not only for producing glassy slag, but also for exchanging energy between gas and molten slag efficiently.