Developing a new process to agglomerate secondary raw material fines for recycling in the electric arc furnace - the fines2EAF project

Recent years have seen a worldwide change in the environmental policy towards circular economy approaches. It is estimated that steel-making activities in Europe produce about 80 million tonnes annually of by-products and waste, equivalent to half of the European steel production, of which more than 10 million tonnes is waste for disposal. This waste of resources and land area is not sustainable and has to be decreased in the future. The Fines2EAF project aims to increase the value of steelmaking residues by internal recycling and (re)use in the form of agglomerates. The benefit of this strategy is threefold: improved utilization of residues, internal recovery of valuable materials and reduction of the amount of dumped materials. The approach followed is the development of an innovative process to produce cement-free agglomerates based on primary and secondary raw material fines, alternative binder systems and a hydraulic stamp press. In addition, a new pre-treatment process for fines based on microwave heating is investigated. The first results of the lab-scale investigation of the fines pre-treatment to reduce the amount of zinc, volatiles and alkalis are presented. Six materials from two steel plants have been tested in a laboratory microwave furnace. Also presented are first results of the agglomeration of fines using a laboratory press.