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Dry granulation of slags - turning waste into valuable products

Article · January 2005

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 CAMP-ISIJ, vol.18 (2005), pp.1088-1091

Dry Granulation of Slags - Turning Waste into Valuable Products?

CRC for Sustainable Resource Processing
CSIRO Minerals, Australia
Ο
D. Xie, B. Washington, T. Norgate, S. Jahanshahi

1 Purpose

One of the key measures for a sustainable metallurgical industry is to convert high volume slag
waste into valued products. Dry granulation of slags using a rotary disc[1-6] is an emerging
technology, which was developed and proposed in the 1980s as an attractive alternative to the
conventional water quenching. In particular, the granulation of iron blast furnace slags for use in
the cement industry has potential for significant economic and environmental benefits.
Recently, the method has been tested at CSIRO, from laboratory to pilot scale, to evaluate its
applicability to slags from both ferrous and nonferrous processes. The work at CSIRO has been
focused on the effects of slag chemistry (liquidus / solidus temperature, surface tension, viscosity)
and key operating conditions (tapping temperature up to 1600°C, tapping rate up to 1 kg/min, and
rotating speed up to 3000 rpm) on the properties of the granulated slags. A parallel analysis has
been conducted to evaluate environmental and economic benefits of using dry granulated blast
furnace slag as a cement extender. Some of the findings from the recent work at CSIRO are
presented in this paper.

2 Experimental procedure

The pilot scale experimental rig for dry slag granulation is shown in Figure 1.

Induction
furnace

Induction coils
Graphite crucible

Slag
Thermal couple
(sheath as stopper) Slag tap hole

Rotating copper disc

Granule
collecting
cones

Motor
Cooling water

Fig 1 Schematic illustration of dry granulation rig

Ο
Dongsheng Xie (CSIRO Minerals, Box 312, Clayton South, VIC3169, Australia. Email: dongsheng.xie@csiro.au)..
 CAMP-ISIJ, vol.18 (2005), pp.1088-1091

The experimental procedure involved melting the slag in a graphite crucible (Φ100 ID x 200 mm)
using an induction furnace to heat the slag to the desired temperature. After homogenisation of the
slag, the slag was tapped at a rate of about 1 kg/min through a tap hole (Φ5mm) at the bottom of the
crucible onto a water-cooled rotating copper disc. The rapid cooling and granulating produced solid
particles 3-5 mm in diameter. The rotating copper disc was 110 mm in diameter with a raised “lip”
around its edge. The disc was water-cooled from underneath and the rotation speed could be varied
from 700 to 2800rpm.
The slag temperature was measured with an R-type thermocouple, which was placed at the tip of
the stopper plug for the tap hole. The depth of the slag bath varied from about 30 mm to 150 mm
and the tap hole was about 1.2 m above the rotating disc.
The solidified slag granules were collected using a pair of “tin cones” surrounding the copper disc
(Figure 1). Samples were taken from the granulated products to determine size distribution using
sieve analysis and glassy content via X-ray diffraction technique (XRD).

3 Results

3.1 Effect of Operating Conditions

An industrial slag with the composition (wt%) of 44CaO–36SiO2–12Al2O3–6.6MgO–0.2FeOx was
used in a series of granulation experiments carried out at temperatures 1450-1530°C and rotating
speeds 700 to 2800 rpm. The granulated products were collected and particle size distribution was
determined using sieve analysis. Granulated particles were in spheres (particularly for finer
particles) or elongated balls and other irregular shapes (for larger particles). The sizes scatter
considerably, depending on temperature, rotating speed, and other conditions. Figure 2(a) shows the
average sizes obtained under varying temperature and rotating speed with a tap hole of 5 mm in
diameter. Figure 2(b) indicates the range of the average sizes obtained at varying rotating speeds as
a function of temperature. Despite considerable scatter, the results confirmed that higher
temperature and rotating speed resulted in a smaller particle size.
6 6
o
1450 C (a)
(b)
Average size, mm

Average size, mm

5 5

o
1490 C
4 4

3 3
o
1530 C
2 2
0 1000 2000 3000 1400 1450 1500 1550 1600
Rotating speed, rpm o
Temperature, C

Fig 2: Effects of rotating speed (a) and temperature (b) on average particle sizes
A comparison test was conducted with a tap hole of 4 mm in diameter. A reduction in tapping rate
resulted in a 10-20% decrease in the average particle size.
The glass content in the granulated slag was found to be more than 90%.
 CAMP-ISIJ, vol.18 (2005), pp.1088-1091

3.2 Effects of Surfactant Additives

In a series of subsequent experiments, the effects of addition (4wt%) of soda ash (Na2CO3) or
calcium phosphate to the slag on the dry granulation were investigated. Addition of the soda and
calcium phosphate to the slag could change slag properties, such as a decrease in the viscosity and
surface tension, which will help to promote the break up of slag and hence form smaller granules.
This was confirmed by the experimental results, which showed a ∼10% decrease in the particle size
under otherwise identical conditions.
3.3 Economic Benefit of Using Dry Granulated Slag in Cement
Blast furnace slag is being granulated by water jets to produce glassy granules with inherent latent
cementitious properties suitable for use as a cement extender to partially replace limestone. Dry
granulated slag (DGS) has similar cementitious property to water granulated slag (WGS), and hence
is also suitable for cement application. An analysis has been conducted to evaluate the economic
and environmental benefit of using granulated slags in cement production in comparison with
ordinary Portland cement (OPC) production.
Table 1 shows the estimated energy consumptions for OPC in comparison with a cement blend
containing 50% w/w granulated slag (and assuming the same Bond Work Index for DGS as WGS,
viz. 22kWh/t). Calculation of the total primary energy consumption included the conversion of
electricity to primary energy at a generation efficiency of 35%. The results showed that the use of
the granulated slags offered significant energy savings over ordinary Portland cement production,
with a 56% saving for DGS and a 34% saving for WGS. The additional energy saving of DGS over
WGS is attributable to energy credit assumed for the hot air, recovering heat from slag cooling, and
the elimination of the slag drying step.
Table 1: Estimated energy consumption for ordinary Portland cement production and
50% blend cement production using water granulated slag and dry granulated slag

Description Portland Cement Cement with Wet GBFS Cement with Dry GBFS
Clinker 0.95 0.45 0.45
Gypsum 0.05 0.05 0.05
Input tonnages
Wet GBFS 0.50
Dry GBFS 0.50
Raw material prep, Elect (kWh/t) 41 20.5 20.5
Clinker Pyro-processing, Elect (kWh/t) 25 12.5 12.5
Pyro-processing, Fuel (GJ/t) 2.43 1.22 1.22
Elect (kWh/t) 5 1
GBFS drying
Fuel (GJ/t) 0.15 -0.6
Finishing Grinding / blending, Elect (kWh/t) 46.6 59.42 59.42
Elect (kWh/t) 112.6 97.42 93.48
Total Energy Fuel (GJ/t) 2.43 1.37 0.62
Primary (GJ/t) 3.59 2.37 1.58

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from OPC production were estimated to be 0.75 t CO2
equivalent/t cement, with about 65% due to decomposition of limestone and 35% due to fossil fuel
combustion. Based on the energy reductions listed in Table 1 for a 50% w/w slag blend, the GHG
emission can be reduced by 58% for DGS and 51% for WGS.
The potential economic benefits of using granulated slags as cement extenders arises from the
energy savings and the replacement of existing raw materials with a cheaper waste material in a
lesser amount. Based on typical raw material, slag and utility costs, it was estimated that the use of
WGS and DGS in the cement blend described above could offer savings in production cost in the
 CAMP-ISIJ, vol.18 (2005), pp.1088-1091

order of A$15.59/t cement and A$11.53/t cement respectively over OPC production (however these
numbers are particularly sensitive to the cost of limestone assumed, A$18/t).

4 Conclusions

(1) Dry granulation of BF type of slags using a pilot-scale rig at CSIRO Mineral produced
granules with an average size of 2∼5 mm and glass content of more than 90%.
(2) An increase in rotating speed, tapping temperature, and addition of surfactant results in a
decrease in granule size.
(3) Primary energy calculations showed that making a cement blend containing 50% w/w dry
granulated slag may lead to a 56% energy saving and a 58% reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions over the ordinary Portland cement production.
(4) For cement application, dry slag granulation has also significant advantages over
conventional water granulation in energy saving, reduction in greenhouse gas emission, and
production cost, due to heat recovery from slag cooling and elimination of drying step.

5 References

[1] M. Yoshinaga, K. Fujii, T. Shigematsu, and T. Nakata: "Dry Granulation and Solidification of
Molten Blast Furnace Slag." Tran ISIJ, 1982, 22, 823-29.
[2] S. J. Pikering, N. Hay, T. F. Roylance, and G. H. Thomas: "New Process for Dry Granulation
and Heating Recovery from Molten Blast Furnace Slag." Ironmaking and Steelmaking, 1985,
12 (1), 14-21.
[3] D. Macauley: "Slag Treatment - Time for an Improvement." Iron & Cokemaking Supplement,
1996, Sep, S15-16.
[4] T. Mizuochi, T. Akiyama, T. Shimada, E. Kasai, and J.-I. Yagi: "Feasibility of Rotary Cup
Atomizer for Slag Granulation." ISIJ International, 2001, 41(12), 1423-28.
[5] T. Mizuochi, E. Kasai, J. Yagi, T. Shimada, and T. Akiyama: "Granulation of Molten Slag for
Heat Recovery." IECEC 2002, 2002, Paper # 20056.
[6] T. Mizuochi and T. Akiyama: "Cold Experiments of Rotary Vaned-Disks and Wheels for Slag
Atomization." ISIJ International, 2003, 43 (9), 1469-71.

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