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Article

Treatment of Recycled Metallurgical By-Products for the Recovery of Fe and Zn Through a Plasma Reactor and RecoDust

1
K1-MET GmbH, 4020 Linz, Austria
2
RINA Consulting – Centro Sviluppo Materiali, Via di Castel Romano 100, 00128, Rome, Italy
3
TENOVA, Via Monte Rosa, 93, 20149 Milan, Italy
4
Chair of Thermal Processing Technology, Technical University of Leoben, 8700 Leoben, Austria
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Metals 2025, 15(8), 867; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080867 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 14 May 2025 / Revised: 24 June 2025 / Accepted: 26 June 2025 / Published: 1 August 2025

Abstract

The 1.9 billion metric tons of steel globally manufactured in 2023 justify the steel industry’s pivotal role in modern society’s growth. Considering the rapid development of countries that have not fully taken part in the global market, such as Africa, steel production is expected to increase in the next decade. However, the environmental burden associated with steel manufacturing must be mitigated to achieve sustainable production, which would align with the European Green Deal pathway. Such a burden is associated both with the GHG emissions and with the solid residues arising from steel manufacturing, considering both the integrated and electrical routes. The valorisation of the main steel residues from the electrical steelmaking is the central theme of this work, referring to the steel electric manufacturing in the Dalmine case study. The investigation was carried out from two different points of view, comprising the action of a plasma electric reactor and a RecoDust unit to optimize the recovery of iron and zinc, respectively, being the two main technologies envisioned in the EU-funded research project ReMFra. This work focuses on those preliminary steps required to detect the optimal recipes to consider for such industrial units, such as thermodynamic modelling, testing the mechanical properties of the briquettes produced, and the smelting trials carried out at pilot scale. However, tests for the usability of the dusty feedstock for RecoDust are carried out, and, with the results, some recommendations for pretreatment can be made. The outcomes show the high potential of these streams for metal and mineral recovery.
Keywords: ReMFra; plasma reactor; RecoDust; recycling; residue valorisation; metal and mineral recovery ReMFra; plasma reactor; RecoDust; recycling; residue valorisation; metal and mineral recovery

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MDPI and ACS Style

Reiter, W.; Di Sante, L.; Pepe, V.; Guzzon, M.; Doschek-Held, K. Treatment of Recycled Metallurgical By-Products for the Recovery of Fe and Zn Through a Plasma Reactor and RecoDust. Metals 2025, 15, 867. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080867

AMA Style

Reiter W, Di Sante L, Pepe V, Guzzon M, Doschek-Held K. Treatment of Recycled Metallurgical By-Products for the Recovery of Fe and Zn Through a Plasma Reactor and RecoDust. Metals. 2025; 15(8):867. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080867

Chicago/Turabian Style

Reiter, Wolfgang, Loredana Di Sante, Vincenzo Pepe, Marta Guzzon, and Klaus Doschek-Held. 2025. "Treatment of Recycled Metallurgical By-Products for the Recovery of Fe and Zn Through a Plasma Reactor and RecoDust" Metals 15, no. 8: 867. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080867

APA Style

Reiter, W., Di Sante, L., Pepe, V., Guzzon, M., & Doschek-Held, K. (2025). Treatment of Recycled Metallurgical By-Products for the Recovery of Fe and Zn Through a Plasma Reactor and RecoDust. Metals, 15(8), 867. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080867

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