The volume stability caused by the hydration of f-CaO is one of the main obstacles to the comprehensive utilization of steel-making slag. In view of the f-CaO produced by incomplete dissolution of lime, it is necessary to strengthen the dissolution behavior of lime in the converter process. The reactivity of lime determines the dissolution efficiency and is closely related to its microstructure. The experimental results show that the reactivity and porosity of quick lime decrease and the average diameter of pore increases with an increase in temperature. The CaO crystals gradually grow up under the action of grain boundary migration. When the temperature increased from 1,350 to 1,600°C, the lime reactivity decreased from 237.60 to 40.60 mL, the porosity decreased from 30.55 to 15.91%, the average pore diameter increased from 159.10 to 1471.80 nm, and the average CaO particle size increased from 0.33 to 9.61 µm. The results indicate that reactivity is decreased because of the deformation and growth of CaO crystals and the decrease in porosity in reactive lime. This will cause an obstacle to the dissolution of lime and is not conducive to the control of f-CaO in slag.

To improve the utilization value of electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) containing zinc, the reduction behavior of non-agglomerate dust was investigated with carbon and ferrosilicon in an induction furnace. The experimental results show that when the temperature increases, the zinc evaporation rate increases. When the reducing agent is carbon, zinc evaporation mainly occurs in the range of 900–1100 °C. When the reducing agent is ferrosilicon, zinc begins to evaporate at 800 °C, but the zinc evaporation rate is 90.47% at 1200 °C and lower than 99.80% with carbon used as a reducing agent at 1200 °C. For the carbon reduction, the iron metallization rate increases with a rise in the temperature. When the reducing agent is ferrosilicon, with an increase in temperature, the metallization rate first increases, then decreases, and finally, increases, which is mainly due to the reaction between the metallic iron and ZnO. In addition, the residual zinc in the EAFD is mainly dispersed in the form of a spinel solution near the metallic phase.

In order to enable the steel companies to achieve carbon peaks and carbon neutrality, the f-CaO content in steel slag should be reduced. For this reason, this study investigates the interface reaction evolution of the quicklime and different slag in the 'iron' slagging route of the CaO-FetO-SiO 2 -MgO system at the converter steelmaking temperature. The microstructure of the reaction interface was observed by an electron microscope. The results showed that the interface reaction formed CaO-FeO solid solution, (Ca, Mg) olivine phase, and 2CaO•SiO 2 . The change in thickness of CaO-FeO and (Ca, Mg) olivine shows a clear trend with the change in slag components.Therefore, the dissolution mechanism of quicklime in the slag was discussed, and the liquid phase mass transfer coefficients in different slags were obtained. The results will provide a theoretical basis for the faster dissolution of lime in slag and reduction of f-CaO content in slag.

In 2022, China produced 1.018 billion tons of crude steel, with steel slag accounting for 10–15% of the output. The presence of 10–20% f‐CaO in steel slag causes volume instability, hindering comprehensive utilization. The generation of f‐CaO is closely associated with the dissolution of quicklime during the converter slag‐forming procedure. This study focuses on investigating the evolution of the lime–slag interface and the variations in lime dissolution rate under different slag conditions using the electron probe microanalyzer and ImageJ. The results reveal that the formation of the CaO–FeO solid solution, (Ca, Mg, Fe) olivine, and low‐melting point (Ca, Mg) olivine at 1400 °C. As the FeO content decreases, a dense and high‐melting‐point 2CaO·SiO2 layer is formed. A maximum thickness of the 2CaO·SiO2 layer is precipitated at a dissolution time of 180 s. Additionally, the average dissolution rate of lime in different slags shows an initial increase followed by a subsequent decrease. Among the slag studied, the highest average dissolution rate is in slag A3 at 2.24 × 10−6 m s−1, while the lowest rate is in slag A4 at 1.49 × 10−6 m s−1. The presence of the 2CaO·SiO2 layer hinders the mass transfer, thereby further inhibiting the reaction.