Innovative Transformation and Valorisation of Red Mill Scale Waste into Ferroalloys: Carbothermic Reduction in the Presence of Alumina
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Background
1.1.1. Generation of Mill Scales
1.1.2. Recycling of Mill Scale Waste
1.1.3. Low-Temperature Carbothermic Reduction of Alumina
1.2. Aim of This Investigation
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Red MS Characterisation
2.2. Experimental
3. Results
3.1. Carbothermic Reduction of Red MS
3.2. Reduction Behaviour of Red MS-Al2O3-C Blends
3.3. Structure Determination
4. Discussion
4.1. Impact on Reactivity
4.2. Lower Temperature for Alumina Reduction
- (1)
- The reduction of iron oxide and its subsequent carburisation in the molten state.
- (2)
- The disintegration of alumina into sub-oxide gases AlO and Al2O (Al2O3 + C = 2AlO + CO, Al2O3 + 2C = Al2O + 2CO); this reaction is known to have a slow kinetics [45].
- (3)
- AlO and Al2O gases are captured by the carburised molten iron.
- (4)
- The subsequent reduction of these gases to Al by the solute carbon.
- (5)
- The dissolution of reduced Al into molten iron due to its high affinity resulted in the formation of ferro-aluminium alloys.
5. Conclusions
- A novel processing route was developed for extracting iron from red mill scales and its conversion to ferro-aluminium alloys. The key innovation of this study lies in blending red MS with Al2O3 prior to the carbothermic reduction. The yield of iron and ferrous alloys from red MS was significantly enhanced when mixed with alumina in a range of concentrations.
- Most studies on extracting iron from iron-bearing wastes do not use blends; instead, the waste is treated alone as a low-grade iron resource [49]. The interactions between alumina and red MS led to significant increases in reduction reactivity. This breakthrough result means that higher quantities of metal could be extracted using red MS-Al2O3 blends than MS alone, leading to higher yields and significant economic benefits during waste processing.
- This study showed that red MS could be used to prepare iron aluminides as well as Fe-Al alloys in a range of compositions. These alloys are known for their low density and good mechanical strength and can be up to 30% lighter than commercial stainless steel and other structural materials [50,51,52]. Iron aluminides find applications in power generation systems due to their excellent high-temperature corrosion resistance in oxidizing and sulfidizing environments [53].
- This study showed that secondary red mill scales are a valuable material source for preparing high-value ferrous alloys. This study has the potential to open new research areas in industrial waste management wherein the use of nanosized reactants could offer significantly higher process efficiencies and productivity in a range of applications.
- Instead of dumping industrial waste into landfills or trying to just get rid of it in any way possible, there is an urgent need to identify the true potential of the waste and the materials within it. In addition to utilising red MS waste for producing new alloys, new research directions have opened on the role of nanosized reactants in reduction reactions. It is expected that these energy-efficient waste recycling options will lead to waste valorisation and economic as well as environmentally sustainable resource utilisation and management.
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Khanna, R.; Konyukhov, Y.; Li, K.; Jayasankar, K.; Maslennikov, N.; Zinoveev, D.; Kargin, J.; Burmistrov, I.; Leybo, D.; Kravchenko, M.; et al. Innovative Transformation and Valorisation of Red Mill Scale Waste into Ferroalloys: Carbothermic Reduction in the Presence of Alumina. Sustainability 2023, 15, 16810. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416810
Khanna R, Konyukhov Y, Li K, Jayasankar K, Maslennikov N, Zinoveev D, Kargin J, Burmistrov I, Leybo D, Kravchenko M, et al. Innovative Transformation and Valorisation of Red Mill Scale Waste into Ferroalloys: Carbothermic Reduction in the Presence of Alumina. Sustainability. 2023; 15(24):16810. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416810
Chicago/Turabian StyleKhanna, Rita, Yuri Konyukhov, Kejiang Li, Kalidoss Jayasankar, Nikita Maslennikov, Dmitry Zinoveev, Jumat Kargin, Igor Burmistrov, Denis Leybo, Maksim Kravchenko, and et al. 2023. "Innovative Transformation and Valorisation of Red Mill Scale Waste into Ferroalloys: Carbothermic Reduction in the Presence of Alumina" Sustainability 15, no. 24: 16810. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416810
APA StyleKhanna, R., Konyukhov, Y., Li, K., Jayasankar, K., Maslennikov, N., Zinoveev, D., Kargin, J., Burmistrov, I., Leybo, D., Kravchenko, M., & Mukherjee, P. S. (2023). Innovative Transformation and Valorisation of Red Mill Scale Waste into Ferroalloys: Carbothermic Reduction in the Presence of Alumina. Sustainability, 15(24), 16810. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416810