Processing electric arc furnace dust into saleable chemical products

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/594449· OSTI ID:594449

The modern steel industry uses electric arc furnace (EAF) technology to manufacture steel. A major drawback of this technology is the production of EAF dust, which is listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The annual disposal of approximately 0.65 million tons of EAF dust in the United States and Canada is an expensive, unresolved problem for the steel industry. EAF dust byproducts are generated during the manufacturing process by a variety of mechanisms. The dust consists of various metals (e.g., zinc, lead, cadmium) that occur as vapors at 1,600{degrees}C (EAF hearth temperature); these vapors are condensed and collected in a baghouse. The production of one ton of steel will generate approximately 25 pounds of EAF dust as a byproduct, which is currently disposed of in landfills.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-83CH10093
• OSTI ID: 594449
• Report Number(s): DOE/GO--10098-560; ON: DE98004973
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
ARC FURNACES
DUSTS
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
METAL INDUSTRY
METALS
PROCESSING
VAPORS
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION