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Granulation and Heat Recovery from Metallurgical Slags

  • Thematic Section: Slag Valorisation
  • Published:
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Abstract

Metallurgical slags are produced at a massive rate of over 750 Mt/year, and carry a thermal energy equivalent to 40 Mt/year of coal. The potential mineral and thermal energy values of slags are in the order of $22 b and $3–6 b per year. Such attractive figures, together with tightening legislation on disposal of slag and the carbon footprint associated with the loss of mineral and energy values of slags have created a significant thrust in the past decade to develop sustainable approaches for full utilization of slag and its waste heat. As a result of extensive R&D in this area, the slag-processing technologies are slowly converging around dry granulation combined with heat recovery. In this paper, the slag granulation and heat recovery options are reviewed and given a critical evaluation, aiming to provide a basis for future directions in slag handling.

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Notes

  1. Although the RASA flowsheet may have one extra stage, this extra stage ensures superior water quality in circulation when all other factors are considered.

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Funding

Funding was provided by Canadian Network for Research and Innovation in Machining Technology, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Grant No. RGPIN-2017-06419).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Mansoor Barati

  2. Meta-logical Solution Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia

    Sharif Jahanshahi

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  1. Mansoor Barati
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  2. Sharif Jahanshahi
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Correspondence to Mansoor Barati.

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Barati, M., Jahanshahi, S. Granulation and Heat Recovery from Metallurgical Slags. J. Sustain. Metall. 6, 191–206 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40831-019-00256-4

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