Characteristics and settling behaviour of particles from blast furnace flue gas washing

Spatial distribution and source apportionment of DTPA-extractable metals in soils surrounding the largest Serbian steel production plant

Despite presenting a practical approach for the characterization of the environmental risk of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) derived from steel production facilities, the analysis of the spatial distribution of bioavailable PTEs concentrations in the soil is frequently overlooked in the management of polluted sites. In this study, the diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable forms of PTEs were investigated in soils surrounding the largest Serbian steel production plant. The correlation and geostatistical analysis indicated their pronounced variability suggesting the anthropogenic origin of most investigated elements, apparently from the steel production facility. The detailed visualization of variables and observations derived by self-organizing maps (SOMs) revealed the homologies in PTEs' distribution patterns, implying the common origin of some elements. These observations were confirmed by principal component analysis (PCA) and positive matrix factorization (PMF). The аpplied approach supports a comprehensive assessment of contaminated sites' ecological and health risks and provides a basis for soil remediation.

Lifecycle assessment of methanol production from blast furnace gas

A technological scenario configuration for producing methanol (MeOH) from blast furnace gas (BFG) with natural gas (NG)-based energy generation was evaluated by a rigorous life cycle assessment. The new BFG scenario was compared to a conventional BFG scenario-BFG energy generation with NG-based MeOH production. In all, 18 environmental impact categories were estimated for both technological BFG scenario configurations on a conceptual plant level. The results of a case study in South Korea indicated that the new BFG scenario performs better for 12 environmental impacts (20-97% lower), but fossil resource depletion is worse because NG is used for the displacement of energy generation. The robustness of the environmental impact results for the new BFG scenario was supported by a case study, which highlighted that the primary source for the displacement of energy generation is crucial.

Removal of zinc from submerged arc furnace flue gas wash water using steel slag with polyacrylamide

The aim of this research was to investigate zinc removal from submerged arc furnace flue gas wash water with steel slag and polymer treatment. The current treatment for the submerged arc furnace flue gas wash water is treatment with polymer only which aids in the settling of particulate zinc. However, in this research enhanced removal of zinc by also precipitating soluble zinc using steel slag was studied. The zinc removal results were compared with the results using commercial neutralizing agents NaOH, Mg(OH)₂, and Ca(OH)₂ together with polymer. The precipitation conditions were simulated with MINEQL + software and the calculated results were compared with the results from laboratory jar test experiments. Zinc was removed to less than the target concentration 2 mg/l with steel slag and polymer treatment at pH 9. Additionally, turbidity of the treated water decreased to 20 NTU compared to the initial 860 NTU. However, the amount of steel slag needed in the treatment was significantly higher than the amounts of NaOH and Ca(OH)_2. The main zinc removal mechanism of steel slag was precipitation as zinc oxide. Calculated zinc removal was higher than the experimental which indicates that equilibrium was not reached in the precipitation experiments which could be due to relatively short contact time chosen to simulate the actual process conditions at the plant.