Paper ID: 109

th
Proceedings of the Waste Safe 2015 – 4 International Conference on
Solid Waste Management in the Developing Countries
15-17 February 2015, Khulna, Bangladesh

USE OF STEEL MAKING SLAG AS A SOIL CONDITIONER TO IMPROVE THE

SATBILITY OF SOIL FOR LAND DEVELOPMENTS

T. Rahaman¹* S. Hossain2 N. Uddin3

1
Postgraduate student, Dept. Of WRE, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2
Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), House # 496, Road # 32, New DOHS, Mohakhali, Dhaka-1206
3
Postgraduate student, Dept. Of WRD, IWFM, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh
*Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT

Disposal of different wastes produced from different Industries is a great problem for any country. These
materials pose environmental pollution in the nearby locality because many of them are non-
biodegradable. Especially in densely populated countries like Bangladesh, the sustainable use of waste is
very important. In this paper, we try to investigate the alternate uses of steelmaking slag as a soil
conditioner which produced from around 140 numbers of steel making plants in Bangladesh. [BRMA,
2014].Steelmaking slag’s contributes to natural resources saving, CO ² emissions reduction, energy
consumption reduction, formation of a society founded on the recycling practice and sustainability of the
steel industry. This paper presents an assessment on the wastes namely steelmaking slag resulting from
scrap metal processing at induction furnace, Ladle Refining Furnace (LRF) & Electric Arc furnaces. The
aim of this study is to demonstrate that there are various ways via which scrap metal processing wastes
can be reused or recycled in soil conditioning purpose instead of simply diverting them to the landfill.

Keywords: Steel Slag, Solid Waste Management Recycling process, CO2, Soil Stability.

INTRODUCTION
Slags are the main by-products generated during iron and crude steel production. Over the past decades,
the steel production has increased and, consequently, the higher volumes of by-products and residues
generated have driven to the reuse of these materials in an increasingly efficient way. It has been into
production ever since industrialization set in, but became a source of concern only after it was identified
as an industrial waste in early 90s. In recent years new technologies have been expanded, and some of
them are still under developing, in order to improve the recovery rates of slags. On this subject material
separation technologies and carbon sequestration could dramatically reduce CO² emissions from
steelmaking processes. Especially in densely populated countries like Bangladesh, the sustainable use of
slag contributes to natural resources saving, to CO2 emissions reduction, to energy consumption
reduction, to the formation of a society founded on the recycling practice and to the promotion of the steel
industry sustainability.

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Paper ID: 109

BANGLADESH STEEL INDUSTRY:

Bangladesh consumes 4 million tons of steel per annum and per capita steel consumption is 25
kilograms, where the steel mills have their capacity of 8 million ton per annum. More than 400 steel mills
of different categories and sizes currently present in this country [IDLC, 2013]. Among this around 250
number of mills are operating around the year in which around 140 nos. of mills used Scrap melting by
their induction furnace’s, ladle refining furnace’s and Electric Arc furnaces(EAF) [BRMA, 2014] .

Dynamics of the Steel Industry

Depending on the type of raw materials used, steel can be produced in two distinct manners.

Conventional Process: Steel Production from Iron Ore and

Alternate Process: Steel Production from Scrap Metals

The conventional process of steel manufacturing contributes approximately 65% of world steel
production. Under this method, steel production is accomplished in an integrated steel plant through three
basic steps. First, ensure that the blast iron furnace in which the iron ore is to be melted has all the
correct settings, such as proper temperature and proper containment measures. Secondly, the iron ore is
placed in the furnace and melted at about 1700°C. This melts the scrap, lowers the carbon content of the
molten iron and helps remove unwanted chemical elements; here pure oxygen is used instead of air.
Finally, the molten iron is processed through a variety of means to produce steel.

The alternate process contributes approximately 35% of world steel production. Plants used in the
alternate process are known as mini steel plants. Steelmaking from scrap metals involves melting the
scrap metals, removing any impurities through either a Direct Reduced Iron/Sponge Iron and casting it
into the desired shapes. Typically, the alternative process involves the use of Electric Arc Furnaces
(EAF). The EAFs melt scrap metal in the presence of electric energy and oxygen. The process does not
require the three steps refinement as needed to produce steel from ore. Another alternative & cheap
process is using Induction Furnace following Ladle refining furnace (LRF).On a smaller scale, this
particular manner of steel production has proven to be more economical and cost- reducing. In
Bangladesh, most steel factories are producing steel by following the alternate process due to
unavailability of quality coke and iron ore

SLAG PRODUCTION SOURCES IN BANGLADESH:

The main by-products resulting by steelmaking are slag’s (that represent 90% of the total by-products),
dusts and sludge’s. On the average about 200 kg of byproducts per ton of steel result from the steel
production through electric arc furnace, while about 400 kg of by-products per ton of steel production
through BF/BOF (World Steel Association, n.d.).In which release rate is nearly about 20% to 40 %, but In
Bangladesh release rate of slag is around 6% to 8 % of total melting process of furnaces.

STEEL MAKING SLAG IN BANGLADESH:

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis:

As already stated, we will concern ourselves with the steel making slag in Bangladesh by our Steel
making mills.
Quantitative Analysis (Calculations for slag estimation):
In Bangladesh around 140 number steel mill use steel melting process in the furnaces. During melting in
furnaces, slag removal rate is around [6%-8%] which means, If Bangladesh has a consumption of 4
million Ton of Steel, then half of mill produce their product by melting process at induction furnace
followed by ladle refining furnace & EAF which is around 2 million ton. During this melting process slag
are removed in different roots of production of steel.

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If furnaces melt around 2 million ton of scrap metal, then the Slag removal rate will be in a range of
= 6% of 20,00000MT= 1, 20,000 MT/Y to
= 8% of 20,00000MT= 1, 60,000 MT/Y
But in the real situation, slag production rate is relatively more due to lack of refining process.

So, 1, 20,000-1, 60,000 MT of steelmaking slag is presently produced in Bangladesh Per annum.
Future forecasting
Total production capacities of all steel mills are around 8 million ton per annum, [IDLC, 2013]. If they
increase their production slag removal also increased by 2, 40,000 MT to 3, 20,000 MT per annum, if we
consider removal rate 6 % to 8 % of total melting.

Quantitative Analysis:
Slags are generated in all stages of steel production and the following are the different routes can be
identified as-
SLAG

From Primary Root From Secondary Root

 Blast Furnace (BF) slag  Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) slag

 Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) slag  Secondary Steelmaking Slag
 Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) slag

Secondary Steelmaking Slag

(Bangladesh)

Fig 1: Steel making slag route in Bangladesh

The slag formation is the result of a complex

series of physical and chemical reactions
between the non-metallic charge (lime,
dolomite, and fluxes), the energy sources
(coke, oxygen, etc.) and refractory bricks.
Because of the high temperatures (about
1500°C) during their generation, slags do not
contain any organic substances. The slag’s
protected the metal bath from oxygen and
maintains temperature through a kind of lid
formation. Due to the fact that slags are lighter
than the liquid metal, they float and may be
easily removed.
Slag is generated in a parallel route of the
main processes of hot metal production in iron-
making and steelmaking and therefore the slag
generation process is considered as a part of
the whole steel production process (EC,
2001).In Bangladesh we received secondary
steelmaking slag during melting process. Fig 2: Schematic representation of the electric-arc furnace
Steelmaking and ladle refining process during slag removal
[Source: Metallurgy Fundamentals 3rd edition, 2005]

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Melting Process

Primary Root Secondary Root

 Blast Furnace (BF)

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Induction Furnace
 Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF)
(Molted material contain a
 Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)
large amount of SiO2, MgO)

Basic Slag
(Chemical Component)
CaO, SiO2 Ladle Refining Furnace (LRF)
MgO, FeO
Al2O3, Fe2O3
P2O5

Fig 3: Basic slag removal from different melting route

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

Table 1: Typical Steel slag Chemical Composition.

Constituent Composition (%)

CaO 40-52
SiO2 10-19
FeO 10-40
(70-80% FeO, 20-30% Fe₂O₃)
MnO 5-8
MgO 5-10
Al2O3 1-3
P2O5 0.5-1
S <0.1
Metallic Fe 0.5-10
[Source: US Dept. of Transportation]

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PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:

Processed steel slag is strong, hard, durable,

dense and roughly cubical particles which
make it especially suitable for use in road
construction. Not all steel slag is expansive,
but water quenching is the first step in
weathering of steel slag which may be
essential to provide a stable, non-expansive
construction material. In the cooling process,
some of the lime in the slag may be “hard
burnt”. The lime has a hard outer shell or
surface which masks an unsound soft inner
core of un-hydrated lime. This lime must be
saturated by water for the particle to be
stable.
Fig 4: Ground granulated slag.
SLAG DISPOSAL: [Source: Advances in Civil Engineering Volume
2011 (2011), Article ID 463638, 13 pages]

The usual practice of managing these solid

wastes is to dump them in open space and
excavated land which creates environmental
pollution in the form of dusts. It also forms a
plateau-like structure due to continuous dum-
ping over the years. In Bangladesh most of
the steel making plants doesn’t reuse their by
product. They dump these solid wastes only
for landfill purpose. Due to land scarcity,
land-fill will no longer be the major methods
for solid waste management. On the part of
heavy industry, solid waste-management is
also indispensable from the viewpoint of
both the social responsibility of business
corporations which will influence their
survival in global markets.
Fig 5: Slag disposal at open spaces. [Source: Internet]

ALTERNATIVE USE’S OF SLAG FOR LAND DEVELOPMENT:

Steelmaking slag’s as a silicon source for plant:

Silicon (Si) is the most abundant element in the earth’s crust. Along with some other elements that are not
considered essential, under particular agro-climatic conditions, it can increase the crop yields by
promoting some physiological processes. A number of field and greenhouse studies have demonstrated
that the use Si soil amendments increases crop production and quality. The application of Si fertilizer has
beneficial effects on both rice and sugarcane which can be alternatively usable as a soil conditioner in
Bangladesh. Although the mechanism of response of sugarcane to Si fertilization is not yet well
understood, some studies have shown that the yield increase of the sugarcane may be associated with
different factors, such as Al, Mn and Fe toxicity alleviation, increased P availability, reduced lodging,
improved leaf and stalk erectness, freeze resistance and improvement in plant water economy.
Furthermore the Si accumulation protects plants from certain diseases, such as a resistance to biotic and
abiotic stresses (Savant et al., 1999). The use of Si in the plants can help the plants against pathogen
attacks (Motz & Geiseler, 2001).

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Fig 6: Production of potassium silicate fertilizer from steelmaking slag (Takahashi, 2002)
The use of silica (SiO2) as a fertilizer increases the rice resistance to diseases and vermin. For this
purpose the slag produced in the hot metal desiliconization process, which contains mainly silica, has
been taken into consideration in order to develop a potassium silicate fertilizer. This is an example of a
new steelmaking process developed by NKK (Nippon Kokan Kabushiki Kaisha) and referred as ZSP
(Zero Slag Process), focused on the reduction of the amount of generated slag and also to the
stabilization of the composition of slag generated through hot metal pre-treatment (Takahashi, 2002). This
fertilizer, developed by adding potassium to the desiliconization slag, dissolves with difficulty in the water
and slowly dissolves in the weak citric acid released by plant roots. The potassium contained into this
fertilizer is slowly released and is effectively adsorbed by plant. The process consists in the
desiliconisation process of the hot metal and subsequently the potassium carbonate (K2CO3) is
continuously added into the ladle containing the hot metal (Fig. 6). Then the uniformly melted slag, which
is recovered from the hot metal ladle, is solidified by cooling and crushed into a granular form. This
fertilizer has been demonstrated to be as effective as other commercial potassium silicate fertilizers and
combined potassium chloride-calcium silicate fertilizers when it was applied to some vegetables, in
particular to rice. Its marketing started in December 2001 in Japan. As described above, since the silicon
fertilization has been turned out to be beneficial for plant growth, such as rice and sugar cane, the
identification the most promising and potential available Si sources to plant has been studied. In
particular, in a greenhouse experiment several Si sources have been evaluated in order to test their
ability to supply Si to rice crops. Among different Si-rich materials, metallurgical slags have been
evaluated, because the high temperatures used in iron making and steelmaking processes release Si
from crystalline form to reactive and as consequence more soluble forms, with the result to supply it to
plants (Pereira et al., 2004). In the comparative study differences between silicon sources in relation to Si
uptake have been observed. Furthermore steel slag’s (LD, AOD, electric, and stainless steel furnaces)
have shown higher Si availability than BF slag, and differences depending on the type of steel produced
and on the type of furnace used to produce steel. Phosphate slag’s provided the highest Si uptake. On
the other hand, recent studies have shown that Si concentration is negatively related to As content in

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straw and polished rice, that is Si in the soil available for plant reduces the uptake of As (Bodgan &
Schenk, 2009).

The use of steelmaking slag’s as fertilizers and as liming agents:

Until the eighties steel was produced via the Thomas-Bessemer process, through the open hearth
furnaces. The resulting slag containing phosphate has been used as fertilizer for about 70 years. The
current steelmaking process is based on the Basic Oxygen Steelmaking process, where a basic slag is
produced in the Linz-Donawitz converter. The LD slag contains about 1-3 wt% of P2O5, which is too low
to be used as phosphate fertilizer, but, at the same time, it is too high to be used in the BF or recycled in
the sinter plants. Nevertheless the LD slag contains high levels of lime (CaO) and MgO that make it a
potential liming agent, may improve soil pH and can be used as plant nutrients. Particularly free lime,
which is one the main slag constituents, can partially dissolve by reacting with water to produce calcium
hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, as shown in Eq. (1):
CaO + H2O →Ca(OH)2 (1)
The calcium hydroxide dissolves into Ca2+and OH-, resulting in a pH increase. All these factors
characterizing this material, can allow to recycle an industrial residue and to improve the fertility of acid
soils.

PRACTICE OF USING RECYCLING SLAG AROUND THE WORLD:

A research project that was funded by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) program (Kühn et
al., 2006), led to relevant results about the liming and fertilizing effects of fine grained iron and steel
slag’s, such as BF slag, LD slag or ladle slag, compared to other liming materials, such as burnt lime or
carbonate limestone, in field trials investigations as well as in greenhouse pot experiments. The research
aimed to investigate the fertilizing effects on both the soil and the plants. These investigations have been
carried out in arable land (Germany, Austria and Spain), in green land meadows (Germany and Spain),
and in forestry (Spain). Furthermore the behavior of trace elements, such as Ca, Mg, P, Cr, V, Zn and Pb,
in soils and plants has been investigated, in particular, the behavior of heavy metals, especially of Cr and
V, their mobility and their bonds in the soil. The use of alkaline slag for amending acid soil and improving
plant growth has been analyzed in a study carried out in Iran (Ali & Shahram, 2007). After the application
of increasing amount of slag, the soil pH proportionally increases. Moreover, at pH values between 7.4
and 8.5, the Fe availability decreases, while at higher pH values it increases; on the other hand, the P
and Mn availability proportionally increases. The greenhouse studies have shown that the slag application
(1% and 2% (w/w)) in tea garden soil and (0.5, 1 and 2%) in rice field soil leads to the increase of plant
yield and the P and Mn uptake; an increase of Fe and K uptake has been detected in rice field, a
decrease of K uptake in tea garden has been observed, while Fe uptake has not been changed.

The same results have been achieved after the application of basic slag in acid sulphate soils in an
incubation study. The investigation aimed at assessing the ability of basic slag to neutralize acid and its
effectiveness on the solubility of basic cations in the soils, in order to achieve a sustainable use of acid
sulphate soils in coastal areas of Bangladesh (Shamim et al., 2008). A wide range of processes can lead
to the addition of acid cations and the removal of basic ones in the soils. The acid water, penetrating into
the ground, through the leaching process, tends to increase the acidification of the soil, except if bases
are compensated by different sources, such as atmospheric deposition. When acid cations are in soil
solution, they tend to replace basic cations. This can also affect the metals and metalloids mobility in the
groundwater, with the result that this can be a threat to groundwater and the health of aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems. Incubation experiments showed that basic slag increases soil pH, mainly due to its
neutralizing effect that releases basic elements in the acid sulphate solution use of slag with basic
properties into a Cu-contaminated soil has led to relevant results in soil composition (Negim et al., 2010).

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Because of its Ca and P content, the basic slag, on one hand, is a fertilizer, as it improves the physico-
chemical properties of the soil and by increasing plant growth; on the other hand, it is a liming material, as
it increases the precipitation and sorption of metals such as Cu. Nevertheless it is important to carry out
further investigations focused on the heavy metals behavior on the soil in order to better understand the
effects of long-term use of steelmaking slags in agriculture

PRESENT STATE & FUTURE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY:

There is no comprehensive industry statistics on slag produced versus slag utilized in Bangladesh. Most
of the cases landfill is the main solution for all these steel industries. However, looking at avoided material
landfill disposal is only one aspect of “waste.” Another aspect is the waste that occurs when slag is not
granulated, that of wasted energy (stored as chemical potential energy in granulated slag).slag granules
store some of the energy expended in the furnace as chemical potential, released during hydration. In this
era where energy and greenhouse gas production are critical environmental, national security, human
health, and public policy issues, the concept of “disposal” and “waste” must be expanded beyond merely
landfill disposal. Reuse of this slag in different form could spur higher rates of granulation, ultimately
avoiding the disposal of energy and avoided greenhouse gas production. This sector can be profitable for
both industrial & resource recycling through future research work in Bangladesh. Proper research facility,
funding and R&D activity can be a good practice for our steel industries.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We express our deepest pleasure to Col.Towficur Rahman (Rtd), Senior General Manager-M&S,
Ratanpur Steel Re-rolling Mills Ltd. (RSRM) for guiding us to complete this paper. We also very much
thankful to Md.Saiful Islam, Manager-Production, RSRM for giving inputs & feedback.

CONSCLUSION:

The aim of presented work was investigation of possibilities for recycling of steel making slag as
land development .The main finding are as follow:

1. Around 250 numbers of mills are operating around the year in which around 140 nos. of mills use
their induction furnaces for Scrap melting purpose which give us steel slag [BRMA, 2014].
2. Slag removal rate is based on the removal rate at a range of 20%-40% [(World Steel Association,
n.d.] of total production of steel product, but in the real situation, slag production rate in
Bangladesh is between 6% to 8%
3. Nearly 1,20,000 MT to 1,60,000 MT of steelmaking slag is presently produced in Bangladesh Per
annum . If they increase their production slag removal also increased by 240000 MT to 320000
MT per annum, if we consider removal rate 6 % to 8%
4. A number of field and greenhouse studies have demonstrated that the use Si soil amendments
increases crop production and quality. It also improves the fertility of acid soils.
5. Reuse of this slag in different form could spur higher rates of granulation, ultimately avoiding the
disposal of energy and avoided greenhouse gas production.

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