Presidential Address: Metallurgical slags: A drive to circularity and search for new research agenda
Poor phase separation and fine dissemination of the desired components within congruous slag phases are key challenges limiting the recoverability of values from slags by conventional beneficiation methods. Slag microstructure conditioning is a pragmatic approach to increasing the value-in-use of di...
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| Published in | Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Vol. 124; no. 9; pp. 491 - 505 |
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| Main Author | |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
29.10.2024
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| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Poor phase separation and fine dissemination of the desired components within congruous slag phases are key challenges limiting the recoverability of values from slags by conventional beneficiation methods. Slag microstructure conditioning is a pragmatic approach to increasing the value-in-use of discard slags, especially when integrated with the broader smelter infrastructure. Although not yet tested on oxide slag systems, this paper explores the potential application of magnetohydrodynamic principles to the crystallization behaviour of bulk slags. Integrating the slag microstructure conditioning infrastructure to the existing smelter infrastructure is key to unlocking the economic value of slags because it is most economic to condition the properties of molten slag directly after tapping. A new business model that integrates smelting units to transversal economic activities, such as cement production and suppliers of construction aggregates, can significantly increase the circularity of metallurgical slags. |
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| ISSN: | 2225-6253 2411-9717 |
| DOI: | 10.17159/2411-9717/2024/2024 |