Comparative Life Cycle Impact Assessment between the Productions of Zinc from Conventional Concentrates versus Waelz Oxides Obtained from Slags

Muica, Voicu-Teodor; Ozunu, Alexandru; Török, Zoltán

doi:10.3390/su13020580

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…The most popular technology for zinc recycling and iron dust from electric arc furnaces is the Waelz process. Dust from electric arc furnaces is placed in a rotary furnace loaded with coke [8][9][10]. Coke and CO (from partial oxidation of carbon) reduce zinc oxide to metallic zinc [8,[11][12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possibilities of using materials from steel dust recycling in the production of alloy steels

Małecki

Gargul

Warzecha

et al. 2022

METAL 2022 Conference Proeedings

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Steels dusts from electrostatic processes, which are currently a problem in the ecological sense, is a rich but problematic carrier of many elements such as Fe, Zn, Mn, Cr. The existing recycling technologies, unfortunately, do not allow for their full recovery. The authors of the work decided to investigate the possibility of reducing the amount of waste to be deposited to the necessary minimum in the process of steel dust recycling.The paper presents the possibilities of using a metallic alloy, which was one of the products obtained as a result of the processing of steel dust in a resistance-arc furnace. The main objective of the dust processing research was the management and selective recovery. The products of the process were zinc oxide, slag and iron alloy. Iron recovery from dust was determined at the level of 98 %. The resulting iron alloy contained alloying elements such as manganese, chromium, and silicon in amounts enabling it to be used in the steel production process. The material can be used for the production of, for example, cast steel resistant to erosive and tribological wear.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possibilities of using materials from steel dust recycling in the production of alloy steels

Małecki

Gargul

Warzecha

et al. 2022

METAL 2022 Conference Proeedings

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show abstract

“…Currently, the most popular technology for recycling dust from electric arc furnaces containing zinc and iron is the Waelz Process, where dust from EAFs is placed in a rotary kiln with a load of coke [8][9][10]. This method treats 75% of the steel dust generated in EAF globally [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Performance Method of Recovery of Metals from EAF Dust—Processing without Solid Waste

et al. 2021

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A highly effective method of the processing of steelmaking dust in an arc-resistant furnace has been presented. The aim of the research was to investigate the possibility of processing steelmaking dust in terms of waste minimization and selective recovery of valuable components. For this purpose, an electric arc resistance furnace was used. Granulated steelmaking dust with reducer (coal dust) was the input material. The products of the process are zinc oxide, iron alloy and slag, with properties meeting high ecological requirements. The technology does not generate solid waste. Zinc recovery is over 99% and iron recovery over 98%. The content of heavy metals (Zn + Pb + Cu) in glassy slag is below 0.2%, which ensures very low leachability.

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Attribution of Global Warming Potential impacts in a multifunctional metals industry system using different system expansion and allocation methodologies

Fernandez,

Grund,

Phillips

et al. 2024

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose In order to reach a more circular economy, materials previously classified as waste can be upgraded and turned into valuable co-products, with associated environmental benefits. The generation of co-products raises many questions around the multifunctionality issue from a life cycle perspective. This article explores the attribution of Global Warming Potential (GWP) impacts for an ironmaking process, HIsarna, which additionally produces two co-products: zinc-rich process dust and slag, suitable for the zinc and cement sectors, respectively. Methods A wide range of LCA allocation methodologies are applied to attribute impacts between the main product, hot metal, and the two co-products. These include system expansion, physical allocation, economic allocation and zero burden allocation. Each method attributes a different GWP to each co-product. Additionally, different perspectives are explored to consider the most suitable methods according to the co-product user and the co-product producer. For instance, it might be in the co-product user’s interest that the co-product GWP was minimised, and lower than other material inputs performing a similar function. Conversely, the co-product producer may be incentivised to lower its primary product’s GWP by attributing the greatest possible burden to the co-products. Results and discussion The GWP impacts for zinc-rich process dust range from 0 to 3.71 kg CO2 eq. per kg. At the higher end, the GWP of zinc-rich dust would be higher than that of primary zinc concentrate. A similarly wide range is applicable for slag, 0 to 1.27 kg CO2 eq. per kg. This impacts the final GWP applied to HIsarna hot metal, which has an initial GWP of 1.72 kg CO2 eq. per kg but could decrease to 1.17 kg CO2 eq. per kg depending on the allocation methods employed. This would be a substantial reduction of over 30%, larger than many decarbonisation options that are predicted to provide. This scenario would also heavily burden the co-products and could be in conflict with interests of a co-product user seeking to utilise low emissions feedstocks as part of a decarbonisation strategy. Conclusions The reduction in GWP impact attributed to hot metal with the different approaches highlights the relevance of harmonizing the allocation methods used for co-products. The appropriateness of each of the approaches for attributing GWP impacts has been explored, offering insights as to how the benefits of such systems could be assessed and attributed in the future as circularity strategies and valuable co-products become more prevalent.

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Comparative Life Cycle Impact Assessment between the Productions of Zinc from Conventional Concentrates versus Waelz Oxides Obtained from Slags

Cited by 5 publications

References 22 publications

Possibilities of using materials from steel dust recycling in the production of alloy steels

Possibilities of using materials from steel dust recycling in the production of alloy steels

High-Performance Method of Recovery of Metals from EAF Dust—Processing without Solid Waste

Attribution of Global Warming Potential impacts in a multifunctional metals industry system using different system expansion and allocation methodologies

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