A Solution to Dust Emissions from AOD and LMF Slag Handling Atomization

Abstract

Dust emissions are a nuisance and environmental concern resulting from the conventional handling and disposal of argon oxygen decarburisation (AOD) and ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) slags. AOD and LMF slags are typically dumped and slow cooled in open yards. As this slag material cools, phase changes in the slag cause volume expansion which in turn converts these slags into powdery substances easily swept up by the wind and deposited in surrounding areas. For the same reasons, metal recovery from the slag pot “buttons” intermixed with the slag is a dusty affair. These environmental impacts are easily observed from space via satellite images as white marks on steel making grounds that practice conventional slag handling. Historically, large property lines and distant neighbours have minimized societal impact. However, today towns and industrial parks have grown around steel works, while steel work intensity has increased. Thus the amount of dust and those effected have grown, and with it societal and environmental pressures to find solutions. Air atomization has been widely practiced in steel works for EAF and BOF slag stabilization. In the current article, it is reported that the same technology can be used to stabilize AOD and LMF slags.