Project Details
The project will provide a ready for implementation solution for the growing challenge of waste management in the companies which produce white slag by complete transformation of its volume into construction material, thus eliminating the environmentally hazardous material, and at the same time providing additional profit to the companies thanks to the recovery of base (Zn, Pb, Cu) and by-product (Ag, Sb, Sn) metals which are contained therein.
​
The project focuses on one of the most important aspects of mineral processing and metallurgy activities, i.e. proper and adequate waste treatment. One of the main problems of the metallurgy industry is dumping of mostly hazardous to the environment slags generated in smelters in safe and secure places. The solution proposed by the project is based on the value of waste from two points of view - on one hand still existing in the white slag metal value (including also critical metals) can be recovered while on the other hand, the produced process residue in a form of final slag can be used in construction works, therefore large volume of material which is currently treated as waste will be profitably managed without any need for a part of it to be dumped.
​
The proposed solution eliminates (potentially) environmentally hazardous waste by reprocessing and transforming them into products. The main idea of the project is to recover Zn, Pb, Cu and minor metals such as Ag, As and In from metallurgical slags with an innovative process concept, also having in mind the quality of the residual slags, which have to be of relatively high purity to be widely used as a construction material instead of being landfilled. This concept enables an increased value creation due to its multi-metal recovery strategy as well as the minimization and optimization of the residues, consequently following a “zero waste strategy”.
​
At the moment there is no competitive technology which can be applied in the same manner for the treatment of such materials.
​
The innovative process as a base for the upscaling project is a multi-metal recovery of the precious metals simultaneously creating a residual slag with a high purity, roughly shown below:
Figure Schematic illustration on the material flow in SlagVal project.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
The primary objective of this project is to upscale a technology to recover metals from waste slags produced by lead/zinc and copper industry. These slags are a potential sources of valuable base metals, which can be recovered in the form of a marketable products. Additionally, after the process the slag is transformed into a non-hazardous material which can be used in the building sector as aggregate, i.e. for road construction or other applications. The project will result in a verified TRL8 process performed with application of the submerged arc (SAF) furnace and the top submerged lance (TSL) furnace. The verification will be conducted in such a manner that the developed processes will be versatile and adaptable to treatment of a wide variety of the metallurgical waste generated in Europe. The results of the project will create solid grounds for making a decision about building the slag valorization installations at each of the important metallurgical waste slag producers and to integrate them with the main base metal production equipment. Such situation creates a perfect opportunity for improving both perspectives, the economic and the environmental.
​
The composition of the project consortium, consisting of representatives of all three corners of Knowledge Triangle, provide very good environment for generation of added value to the KIC community. The subject of the project, i.e. technology for treatment of metallurgical slags, is currently of very high importance to raw material industry and will be considered as a case study and open for exploitation by academic curricula, especially by the academic project partner, i.e. RWTH Aachen IME can incorporate it into consisting Bachelor and Master education courses to improve the quality of academic teaching.
​
Positive outcome of the project, i.e. technology which provides possibilities for metal value recovery and transformation of waste into usable product, can be seen as a success story in zero-waste approach and promoted and propagated as such to raise the awareness of the society and public authorities.
​
It is foreseen for the slag valorization installations to be constructed at each of the important metallurgical slag producers and to be integrated with the main base metal production equipment.
​
The commercialization of the project results will require undertaking some additional actions. The developed solutions for utilization of metallurgical slags will be disseminated at scientific conferences and presented in the scientific magazines. Based on the verified Feasibility Study, the implementation and financial plan for the industrial integration of the solution, depending on the current technical and economic conditions for the individual partners will be presented. The implementation time for the users is estimated to be 2 to 5 years after the project completion. The project addresses one of the main objectives of European Partnership on Raw Materials and EIT Raw Materials, i.e. development of European raw materials base at a level which allows European economy to reduce dependence on their import. The additional advantage of the project is the improvement of the natural environment due to the cessation of the storage of the waste containing heavy metals on the landfills.
