Continuous focus on capacity growth and increase in productivity by the manufacturing sector has led to the generation of a huge quantity of solid waste as by-product and depletion of the natural resources including refractories. The present study focuses on a sustainable approach to develop a low-cost castable intended for low-temperature applications by utilizing steelmaking slags as the raw materials. Firstly, the ladle slag generated after the secondary steelmaking process was used in the range of 50–70% as a complete source of CaO to develop a calcium-aluminate cement. The slag was used as a 100% replacement of limestone and partial replacement of Al₂O₃ source in the cement. Thus, it was possible to eliminate the CO₂ emission associated with dissociation of limestone during the clinker making process. The castable was prepared using primary steelmaking slag as the aggregate and developed slag cement as the binder. CA and CA₂ were formed as the primary phases in the slag cement, with Gehlenite, C₁₂A₇, and ‘Q’ phases as the secondary phases. Slag cement with 60% slag content exhibited superior strength as compared to commercial calcium-aluminate cement of medium purity. Further, the 110 °C and 1000 °C crushing strengths were found to be better for slag cement-added castable than the commercial cement-added one. Thus, it was possible to develop a green castable by using by-products of the steelmaking process that would not only help in reducing the carbon footprint, but also reduce the manufacturing cost and address the environmental concerns.

中文翻译：

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使用炼钢炉渣的绿色浇铸料：耐火材料的可持续产品

制造业不断关注产能增长和生产率提高，导致产生了大量的副产品固体废物，并消耗了耐火材料等自然资源。本研究集中于一种可持续的方法，以炼钢炉渣为原料开发用于低温应用的低成本浇铸料。首先，二次炼钢过程后产生的钢包渣被用作CaO的完整来源，其含量为50-70％，从而开发出铝酸钙水泥。炉渣被用作水泥中100％的石灰石替代品和部分Al ₂ O ₃源替代品。因此，可以消除CO _2。熟料生产过程中与石灰石解离有关的排放。使用初级炼钢炉渣作为骨料，并使用矿渣水泥作为粘结剂来制备浇铸料。CA和CA ₂是矿渣水泥中的主要相，其中含有Gehlenite C ₁₂ A ₇和“ Q”阶段作为次要阶段。与中等纯度的商品铝酸钙水泥相比，矿渣水泥含量为60％时，水泥强度更高。此外，发现添加矿渣水泥的浇注料的110℃和1000℃的抗压强度比添加商品水泥的浇注料更好。因此，有可能通过使用炼钢工艺的副产品开发绿色浇铸料，这不仅有助于减少碳足迹，而且还可以降低制造成本并解决环境问题。