An Assessment of the Metallic Iron Content from Metallurgical Wastes - Essential Factor for Sustainable Development in the Steelmaking Industry

The paper presents an assessment of the metallic iron content from metallurgical wastes (slag dump) and from the dust (resulted from steelmaking in the electric arc furnaces). The determination of total and metallic iron in the metallurgical wastes samples was achieved by spectroscopic methods. The device used was a spectrometer based on X-ray fluorescence. The metallic iron content from the analyzed metallurgical wastes samples varies according to: the composition and the quality of the raw materials (old scrap and metallic wastes) used in the steelmaking process, the auxiliary materials used in the steelmaking process (oxidants (iron ore), ferroalloys (FeNi, FeCr, FeSi, FeMn, FeMo, FeTi, FeV, FeAl)) and the type of steel produced. The results show that the metallurgical wastes from slag dump are a significant source of metallic iron. The recovery of the metallic iron (by magnetic separation), followed by its use as a raw material to the steelmaking, leads to a sustainable development in the steelmaking industry.