Slags of chromium cast iron production from Alapaevsky plant (composition and geoecology)

Abstract

Relevance. The Ural region has been the metallurgical center of Russia for more than 300 years, and a huge amount of waste slag has accumulated here. The study of the material composition of the slag is an urgent task. Many slags are potential ores that can be further processed. 98 "Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedenii. Gornyi zhurnal". No. 5. 2020 ISSN 0536-1028 Research aims to study of the mineral composition of slag from the Alapaevsky metallurgical plant, obtained in the production of chromium cast iron. Research methodology. The chemical composition of minerals was established using a JSM-6390LV Scanning Electron Microscope from Jeol with the INCA Energy 450 X-Max 80 energy-dispersive attachment from Oxford Instruments (IGG UB RAS, Ekaterinburg). For the analysis polished petrographic thin sections cut from pieces of slag were used. Originality. Slags material composition was studied from the point of view of classical mineralogy and with the use of modern mandatory nomenclature of the International Mineralogical Association. Findings. The mineralogy of the Alapaevsky plant chromium cast iron production slags has been studied for the first time. It has been established that they are composed of a periclase-larnite aggregate with a significant content of gehlenite, magnesiochromite and the Ti-analogue of schulamitite, as well as the constant presence of wustite, spinel, sulfides and cast iron. These slags are the waste products of low-alloy heat-resistant chromium cast iron and pose a geo-ecological threat to the environment. Practical relevance. These slags can be recycled, as they contain easily distinguishable magnetic chromium cast iron and wustite. Almost half of the rock consists of periclase, which is a refractory raw material, and spinel can be used as an abrasive material