Recycling of electric arc furnace dust into red ceramic

The incorporation of an electric arc furnace dust, a typical waste from steel-making plant, into clayey ceramics used for civil construction was investigated. Ceramic body compositions were prepared with incorporations of up to 20 wt% of the waste into two types of clays, one from Argentina and another from Brazil. The plasticity of the compositions was evaluated by the Atterberg method. Specimens were prepared by uniaxial press-molding and then fired in a laboratory furnace at 850 °C. The technological properties related to water absorption and diametral compression were determined. The results showed that it is technologically feasible to recycle the evaluated steel-making waste into red ceramics, fabricated from both types of clay.