Recovery Processes of Small and Powdered Iron-Containing Waste, from the Steel Industry

Abstract

On a daily basis, within the steel industry, significant amounts of small and powdered waste are generated, which possess intrinsic value, determined by their content of useful elements (e.g., Fe, C). For this reason, there is a growing tendency to recover such waste, with the goal of reintroducing it into the technological processes where it originated, in the form of secondary raw materials. This paper presents a series of processes for the recovery of waste from the steel industry, developed and applied worldwide. The authors consider that, in Romania, the applicability of direct reduction processes for iron ores and/or small and powdered waste with high iron content, as presented in this paper, is limited. Through this paper, the authors aim to emphasize the importance and reliability of classical recovery processes for small and powdered waste with iron content (pelletizing, briquetting, agglomeration). To this end, they present a series of experimental studies as examples of good practices, aimed at reducing pollution caused by storing such waste in outdoor locations, either directly on the ground or in disused halls.