Abstract:

The iron and steel industry is the largest producer of semi-finished and finished products in the world. The result of such a huge production is the generation of significant amounts of production waste in the form of, among others, blast furnace slag, steel converter slag and electric furnace slag, blast furnace gas and converter gas, blast furnace dust and steelmaking dust, dust from dedusting the pouring and casting halls, scale and scale mud. Slags account for the largest part, followed by scale and dust. Metallurgical waste in the EU is classified as thermal and hazardous waste. An increasing amount of this waste is being recovered, but some of it is landfilled. The disposal of dusts arising from steel/steel production is one of the most important problems. Electric furnace dusts are one of the most troublesome products of metallurgical processes, they are difficult to store and transport, and they pose a serious ecological problem. The basic recommended method for the management of metallurgical dusts is their recycling, consisting of their reprocessing in metallurgical processes. Not all metallurgical process dusts can be sent for management due to the content of harmful elements or substances that prevent their management, e.g. oils or emulsions. These wastes are landfilled and landfill sites must take into account the possible harmful effects of the waste on the environment.

The article introduces the characteristics of properties, environmental impact of waste generated in metallurgical production and an analysis of the possibility of its neutralisation.