Abstract
In the process of converting pig iron into steel, some co-products are generated—among which, basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag is highlighted due to the great amount generated (about 126 kg of BOF slag per ton of steel grade). Great efforts have been made throughout the years toward finding an application to minimize the environmental impact and to increase sustainability while generating added value. Finding BOF slag valorization is difficult due to its heterogeneity, strength, and overall swallowing, which prevents its use in civil engineering projects. This work is focused on trying to resolve the heterogeneity issue. If many different types of steel are manufactured, then different types of slag could also be generated, and for each type of BOF slag, there is an adequate valorization option. Not all of the slag can be valorized, but it can be a tool for reducing the amount that must go to landfill and to minimize the environmental impact. An analysis by means of data mining techniques allows a classification of BOF slag to be obtained, and each one of these types has a better adjustment to certain valorization alternatives. In the plant used as an example of the application of these studies, eight different slag clusters were obtained, which were then linked to their different potential applications with the aim of increasing the amount valorized.
Highlights
There has been a progressive increase in environmental awareness over the last few years.Industrial processes require the valorization of useless co-product materials for their sustainability, preventing new useless co-products from being consumed and diminishing the need for new landfills
LD steel mill slag (Figure 2) is produced via the process of transforming pig iron obtained from the blast furnace [13] when the impurities are removed by oxidation
In the LD process for transforming pig iron from the blast furnace into steel, refinement is performed by injecting pressurized oxygen into the bath, which contains both raw materials and additions [14], in order to produce slag
Summary
There has been a progressive increase in environmental awareness over the last few years.Industrial processes require the valorization of useless co-product materials for their sustainability, preventing new useless co-products from being consumed and diminishing the need for new landfills. Slag, which is produced in several stages of the process, represents the greatest amount of the useless co-product materials [1,2,3,4] Slag from installations such as the blast furnace is successfully valorized [5,6], but other slag does not have this valorization rate. Linz–Donawitz (LD) steel-making is the most common process, whereby oxygen is blown through carbon-rich molten pig iron and changes it into low-carbon steel. It is a basic process in which fluxes of burnt lime or dolomite are added to promote the removal of impurities and protect the lining of the converter. 126 kg of basic oxygen furnace (BOF)
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