Owing to majority of sintering fuel gas pollutants comes from the coke, modified charcoal replaced coke for iron ore sintering to achieve the emissions reduction of the pollutants in this study. By modifying biomass fuel with CaO and urea, the specific surface area, pore volume and pore diameter were reduced to 12.942 m² g⁻¹, 1.326e-02 cc g⁻¹ and 18.865 nm. The experimental results of sintering cup showed that the vertical sintering speed increased, the burning through point advanced, the sinter drum index decreased gradually, and the sintering yield increased initially and then decreased with the increasing of modified charcoal content. The optimum proportion of modified charcoal instead of coke powder was determined to be 40%. Meanwhile, application of the 40% modified charcoal to sintering resulted in a decrease of 45.85% for SO₂ and a decrease of 54.26% for NO_x emissions.

Multi-source ferrous metallurgical dust and sludge are significant components of iron-containing solid waste in the iron and steel industry. It is crucial for the sustainable operation of steel enterprises to recycle iron from ferrous metallurgical dust and sludge (FMDS) for use in steel smelting. However, besides Fe, FMDS also contains valuable elements such as Zn, Pb, K, and Na, among others. While these valuable elements hold high recovery value, they impede the direct reuse of FMDS by iron and steel enterprises. This paper introduces the compositional characteristics of multi-source ferrous metallurgical dust and sludge, analyzes the main recycling technologies associated with FMDS at the present stage of development, and discusses the characteristics of different technologies. In view of this, a new idea of the “cooperative treatment of multi-source ferrous metallurgical dust and sludge—full quantitative recovery of valuable elements” is put forward. This new idea integrates a variety of treatment processes to directly recycle FMDS within the steel plant, enhancing the adequacy of dust and sludge recovery and reducing the risk of environmental pollution. This paper provides a reference for achieving the full quantification and utilization of high-value-added FMDS in steel plants.

Steel metallurgical dust, characterized by a substantial output, minute particle size, and intricate composition, poses a considerable risk of environmental contamination while simultaneously embodying an exceptionally high potential for recycling. To achieve its resource utilization, chemical analysis, particle size analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Mössbauer spectroscopy, and water leaching methods were employed to investigate the chemical compositions, particle size distributions, phase compositions, and microscopic morphologies of blast furnace bag dust, sintering dust, converter fine dust, and electric arc furnace dust from steel plants. The results indicate that the four types of dust have extremely fine particle sizes, with the main distribution range of particle size being less than 100 μm. The main constituent element is Fe (19–56%), and it also contains Zn (1.4–33.5%), Pb, K, C, and other valuable elements. Alkali metals in blast furnace bag dust and sintering machine head dust existed mainly in the form of chloride. The zinc phases in sintering machine head dust and converter fine dust were ZnFe₂O₄, and the zinc phases in blast furnace bag dust were ZnCl₂ and ZnFe₂O₄. Zinc in electric furnace dust was composed of ZnO and ZnFe₂O₄, accounting for 70.31% and 23.12%, respectively. There are significant differences in the types and contents of valuable elements among various dusts, making it difficult to achieve full-scale recovery through a single process. In view of this, a process of “in-plant recycling of harmless dusts—collaborative treatment of harmful dusts” has been proposed. Based on the characteristics of metallurgical dusts, multiple processes are used for collaborative treatment (using hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical methods), which can not only directly recover iron resources from dusts within the plant, but also avoid the waste of valuable elements such as Zn, Pb, K, Na, etc. It is hoped that the above work can provide a reference for steel enterprises to achieve full-scale and high value-added treatment of metallurgical dusts.

The study mainly aims at the potential of Argon Oxygen Decarburization Slag (AODS) as a supplementary cementitious material and explores the mechanisms of stabilization/solidification (S/S) of chromium in cement-based composite pastes. The basic cementitious parameters, such as water requirement, setting time, soundness, hydration characteristics, and strength indexes of composite binders, were examined through standard methods. The results showed that the most beneficial mineral phase in AODS for cementitious behavior was beta dicalcium silicate (β-C₂S). The utilization of a higher AODS dosage in composite binders increased the water requirement and the setting time, while it decreased the hydration heat and the strength indexes. Although the AODS possessed limited cementitious properties, it conformed the Grade II steel slag powder qualified for concrete and cement. Sequential leaching tests were conducted targeting the leachability of chromium in the pastes with different AODS dosage and curing time. Results showed that with the lower AODS dosage and the longer curing time, the S/S efficiency for chromium leaching from the composite paste was better. Utilization of AODS as a cement substitute not only can recycle this solid waste and decrease the emission of CO₂ concerning cement production, but also helps to effectively reduce the chromium leaching risk.

The crystallization of molten blast furnace (BF) slag can increase its viscosity and reduce its liquidity; it can also affect the quality of slag fibers following their manufacture. The crystallization behavior of BF slag is influenced by its chemical composition. In this study, four synthetic BF slags with various MgO contents, ranging from 6 to 12%, were investigated. FactSage simulations were performed to predict the types of crystallized phases as well as their mass fractions that are developed within the synthetic BF slags during the cooling process. To verify the validity of FactSage simulation, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope–backscattered electron imaging, where the equipment was coupled to an energy-dispersive spectrometer, were performed to explore the mineralogical compositions and morphologies of the synthetic BF slags. Experiments using the hot thermocouple technique were performed to identify the initial crystallization temperatures of the synthetic BF slags. The results indicate that the observed phases of the synthetic BF slags were primarily composed of akermanite (2CaO · MgO · 2SiO₂) and gehlenite (2CaO · Al₂O₃ · SiO₂), which could form a solid solution, melilite, and control the initial crystallization temperature. The initial crystallization temperature increased as the MgO content of the slag increased. A low initial crystallization temperature was achieved in the cases of the synthetic BF slag samples with MgO contents of 6–8%; these slags were considered suitable for the manufacture of slag fiber.