Experimental investigation of glass content of blast furnace slag by dry granulation

Abstract

Dry granulation, as a new process of molten blast furnace slag (BFS) treatment, is an attractive alternative to water quenching. The performance of BFS obtained from dry granulation must be assessed. The glass content, which is a significant factor to evaluate the performance of BFS as a replacement material for Portland cement, was investigated using the X-ray diffraction method. The results indicated that the glass content of BFS decreased as the slag droplet velocity was increased and decreased with an increase in the diameter of the slag particles. For a 2.04 m/s velocity and 0.80 mm diameter of slag particles, the value of the glass content is 94%, which is higher than the 91% content obtained from water quenching. To obtain much higher glass content, it is better to cool the molten BFS from a higher initial temperature. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 34: 485–491, 2015