PRELIMINARY FINDINGS ON IRON/STEEL SLAG

Video on slag formation and product uses:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_icE5rMEBo&ab_channel=NationalSlagAssociation
Sources: https://www.slg.jp/e/index.htm ↓
Granulated slag for civil engineering works is lighter in weight than natural sand (11 – 16
kN/m3 wet unit weight), has a high angle of shearing resistance (35℃ or more), and has the
hydraulic property that it hardens over time. It also has the same, or better, water
permeability of high-quality sand. Because of its properties, steelmaking slag can be handled
as granular material in the same way as natural road base course material. It has better soil
mechanics than natural base course material, including a higher bulk density and larger
angle of internal friction. However because it contains lime, its properties also include
expansion and high alkali dissolution.
Because granulated blast furnace slag is lighter in weight than natural materials, it is
used as a material in some sand mats. Steelmaking slag also forms shapes with many edges
and rough surfaces, giving it characteristics that are similar to natural crushed stone or sand.The
particle density is 3.3 - 3.6 g/cm3, which is higher than natural stone materials, and the material
is heavy, with a unit mass of 21 - 23 kN/m3 when moist or 14 - 16 kN/m3 in water. The size
of steelmaking slag particles is in the range of 37.5 - 0.075 mm, and the angle of shearing
resistance is 40 or more even when only lightly compacted. The cohesion is approximately 50
- 100 kN/m2. Water that is eluted from steelmaking slag satisfies the criteria of the Law on
the Prevention of Marine Pollution and Maritime Disaster. Although the pH of the water
from slag is ordinarily high, it has been verified that when applied to marine uses the
dilution and buffering effect of seawater components result in almost no pH increase in the
surrounding water.
Granulated slag for civil engineering works is used in a broad range of applications, including
coastal protection backfill, earth covering for correcting soft ground, road subgrade, and
embankments. The physical and mechanical characteristics of sand-like granulated slag include
being lighter than natural sand, with a larger angle of shearing resistance. In addition, it has a
hydraulic property that causes it to hydrate and solidify over time, yielding a high
resistance to liquefaction in the event of an earthquake. When granulated slag is used as a
coastal protection backfill material, its light weight and high angle of shearing resistance can
be used to good effect, greatly reducing the active earth pressure on the front sheet piles and
allowing the sheet pile cross-section to be reduced. Once fully solidified, it will not liquefy in
an earthquake, making additional liquefaction countermeasures unnecessary. When granulated
slag is used as an earth covering for correcting soft ground, its light weight reduces the danger
of lateral soil flow as well as the amount of consolidation settlement. Because it is also
resistant to the effects of water, it provides superior trafficability. Subgrades made of
granulated slag are lightweight and suitable for soft ground. They do not undergo large
deformation under traffic loads and provide sufficient bearing capacity. As a road structure, the
hydraulic property gives this subgrade advantages including no loss of strength caused by
penetrating water even under repeated traffic loads. In addition to cost performance and
workability, it offers excellent durability.When granulated slag is used in embankments,
because of its light weight and large angle of shearing resistance, it can provide advantages
in design when embankments are constructed on soft ground.

Lighter weights and lower costs for backfill materials: Tobishima Minami district quay at the
Port of Nagoya
Approximately 1.1 million tons of granulated blast furnace slag was used in the quay
restoration work at the Port of Kobe after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995. At
the time, the foundation beneath the caisson structures of the Rokko Island District quay at the
Port of Kobe had been damaged and largely displaced. During recovery work, because it was
necessary to reduce the load applied to existing structures as much as possible, backfill of
granulated blast furnace slag over a width of approximately 19 meters was used in order to
reduce the earth pressure.
Subsidence countermeasure for ultra-soft ground: Kitakyushu Air Terminal
During 2000 - 2002, approximately 1.5 million tons of granulated blast furnace slag were used
in soft ground improvement work at Kitakyushu Air Terminal. Kitakyushu Air Terminal was
constructed approximately 3 km off the Suo-Nada coast. Because dredged soil removed during
channel maintenance at ports such as the Port of Kitakyushu and Port of Kanda was used for
land reclamation during this construction, steps were needed to prevent subsidence of the
ultra-soft ground. Dredged soil in its natural state requires a considerably long time before it
compacts to form firm earth. In order to more rapidly create firm earth from ultra-soft
soil, sand mats were used during the airport construction, and the paper drain method was used
for ground improvement. Because it is lighter in weight than natural materials, granulated blast
furnace slag is known to reduce the amount of subsidence of reclaimed land, and was used as
part of the sand mat materials. The construction involved laying 60 cm of granulated blast
furnace slag (approximately 550,000 m3) on a 90-cm layer of marine sand in the Shin-Moji
No. 1 coast project area, and 90 cm of granulated blast furnace slag (approximately 650,000
m3) on a 90-cm layer of marine sand in the No. 2 project area.

Sources:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329635287_The_Effect_of_Adding_Steel_Slag_an
d_Lime_on_The_Engineering_Properties_of_a_Sandy_Soil ↓
The Effect of Adding Steel Slag and Lime on The Engineering Properties of a Sandy Soil
An extensive laboratory testing program was carried out to investigate the effect of addition
of the steel slag and lime on the compaction characteristics of a sandy soil. The obtained
results from both additives and were compared the following conclusions are made.
The replacement of steel slag to sandy soil has a marked effect on the behavior of compaction
of stabilized soil. The maximum dry unit weight increased gradually at the beginning
of replacement of steel slag and the maximum dry unit weight increased by about 4.655%
when the steel slag content increased from 5% to 25%. Increasing the steel slag content more
than 25% (GGBS>25%) decreased the maximum dry unit weight, where steel slag content
equal to 30% the maximum dry unit weight of treated soil decreased significantly by about
9.57% than that at 25%. The optimum water content varied with steel slag content. the
optimum water content fluctuated with the increase of steel content. The comparison between
the effect of both replacement shows that steel slag is more effective than lime on the
improvement of the max dry unit of the soil, while the effect of the both replacement on the
OMC is almost the same at different used percentages. In addition of that steel slag has
advantage of its low cost and easy availability in large quantities

Sources:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329635287_The_Effect_of_Adding_Steel_Slag_an
d_Lime_on_The_Engineering_Properties_of_a_Sandy_Soil ↓
Critical review of applications of iron and steel slags for carbon sequestration and
environmental remediation
One of the major concerns faced by the iron and steel industry, other than the abundant
emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, is the huge quantity of slag that is generated
during the manufacturing of iron and steel. A comprehensive understanding of the iron and
steel slag properties has diverted them away from stockpiling or landfilling to useful
engineering applications. The similarity of these slags to natural minerals used in geologic
carbon dioxide sequestration has made them sustainable alternative for industrial-scale carbon
capture and storage. Further, they possess properties that are conducive for remediation of
soil and groundwater contaminated with heavy metals and other toxic chemicals. This
paper reviews the iron and steel slag characteristics suitable for engineering applications,
describes several engineering application examples, and discusses challenges and
opportunities to develop practical applications using iron and steel slags. This paper also
discusses the on-going research which explores the use of steel slag along with the biochar-
amended soil to develop a biogeochemical landfill cover to sequester fugitive gas emissions
such as CH4, CO2 and H2S from MSW landfills and attain zero-emissions landfill.

Sources: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1018363916300307↓
Effect of by-product steel slag on the engineering properties of clay soils
Clay soils, mainly if they contain swelling minerals such as smectite or illite, may cause severe
damage to structures, especially when these soils are subjected to wetting and drying
conditions. High expansion and reduction in shear strength and foundation bearing capacity
will take place due to the increase in water content of these soils. The engineering properties
of these kinds of soils can be improved by using additives and chemical stabilizers. In this
work, by-product steel slag was used to improve the engineering properties of clay soils.
Lab and field experimental programs were developed to investigate the effect of adding
different percentages of steel slag on plasticity, swelling, compressibility, shear strength,
compaction, and California bearing ratio (CBR) of the treated materials. The results of
tests on the clay soil showed that as steel slag content increased, the soil dry density,
plasticity, swelling potential, and cohesion intercept decreased and the angle of internal
friction increased. For the CBR, the results of the tests showed an increase in the CBR value
with the increase in slag content.
Sources: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jsmcwm/23/0/23_237/_article↓
Solidification Behavior of Steel Slag in Seawater
Seagrass beds and tidal flats are facing massive destruction and so it is highly desirable to
restore and conserve them. Steel slags from steelmaking processes are some of the promising
alternative materials for marine sands useful for restoration. The release of calcium and
alkalis caused by the hydrolysis and elution of calcium oxide from the slags constituted the
main reaction arising from aging processes in the marine environment, and it promotes the
separation of magnesium hydrate and calcium carbonate and the solidification by
pozzolanic reaction. The significant pH increase and solidification would have negative
impact on biological activities. However, the mechanism of solidification and the effect of
contact ratio of seawater with slag are not fully understood. Therefore, this study aimed to
reveal the mechanism of solidification in seawater and the effect of contact rate with
seawater. The result indicates that the solidification is affected by the contact speed of
seawater, and would be caused by the products with the hydrolysis of magnesium, the calcium
oxide and silicate salts produced by pozzolanic reaction in alkaline condition.

Sources: https://tohoku.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/decrease-of-sulfide-in-enclosed-
coastal-sea-by-using-steelmaking--2 ↓
Decrease of sulfide in enclosed coastal sea by using steelmaking slag
Synopsis: Currently in Japan, 15 million tons of steelmaking slag (SMS) as a by-product of the
steelmaking process is produced annually. More than 60 % of the SMS is used in civil
construction. SMS has special properties which are presently under-exploited. Therefore,
research into the greater utilization of the special characteristics of SMS in coastal
environments has been undertaken over the last 20 years. It is known that steelmaking slag
can reduce hydrogen sulfide in seawater. Hydrogen sulfide is highly toxic and fatal to
benthic organisms. It also depletes oxygen and generates blue tide. The purpose of this study
is to evaluate and demonstrate the effects of removal of hydrogen sulfide in seawater by
steelmaking slag. Both the laboratory and the field experiments showed that steelmaking slag
removed the hydrogen sulfide from seawater and reduced the concentration of hydrogen
sulfide in sediment. The field experiments also indicated that steelmaking slag changed the
anaerobic condition of sediment into an aerobic condition. The results imply that effective
utilization of steelmaking slag in coastal area restoration can significantly improve the
surrounding marine environment.