Nonmetallic Ld Slag Fines - Opportunities By Invoking Chemistry

Linz-Donawitz (LD) or BOF (Basic Oxygen Furnace) Slag produced in the LD Process during steelmaking is one of the major threats to the steel producers worldwide. In general, BOF Slag undergoes physical separation to takeout the metallic portion and remaining non-metallic slag fine is dumped in open yard. This practice is becoming difficult in the present scenario due to the higher land cost and unavailability of land. Owing to the stability issue of steelmaking slag it's utilization in road making is very limited and only around 10% of production can be utilized in cement making due to high iron content. It is also used in the sinter making to recover iron value however, all these processes are not generating enough opportunities to utilize the entirety BOF slag generated from steel industries. The present article highlights the various conventional and non-conventional methods, till date, of utilization and value addition of BOF slag.[GRAPHICS].