Separation, Reduction, and Metal Recovery in Slag Metallurgy
A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 60
Special Issue Editors
Interests: metallurgy; microwave; ceramic pigment; metallurgical waste; steel scrap; slag; dust; steelmaking; ironmaking; non-metallic Inclusions; sintering
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue highlights cutting-edge strategies to unlock the hidden value of metallurgical slags, focusing on selective separation, efficient reduction, and high-yield recovery of metals to drive sustainability in metal production. Slags, often treated as waste, contain critical metals (e.g., Fe, Cu, Zn, V, Cr, and rare earth elements) and demand innovative approaches to mitigate resource depletion and environmental impacts. The issue prioritizes scalable, energy-efficient technologies that bridge lab innovations to industrial applications. Core topics include, but are not limited to, the following themes:
1. Advanced Separation:(1) Selective techniques: supergravity-driven phase separation, targeted flotation, and magnetic enrichment to recover metals from complex slag matrices;
(2) Crystallization control: cooling process optimization (e.g., slow cooling, flux addition, etc.) to enhance metal droplet coalescence and separability.
2. Reduction and Recovery:(1) Low-carbon reduction: carbothermic/sulfurization processes using eco-friendly reductants (such as biochar and hydrogen) to extract base metals (Cu, Ni, etc.) and critical elements (V, Cr, etc.) with minimal iron contamination;
(2) Hybrid extraction: integration of hydrometallurgical leaching (acid/alkali) with pyrometallurgy for selective recovery of rare earth elements and precious metals.
3. Process Optimization:(1) Mitigating challenges such as fine metal entrapment, high energy consumption in slag grinding, and kinetic barriers in metal–slag separation;
(2) Tailoring slag chemistry (basicity, viscosity, etc.) and reactor designs to maximize metal recovery yields (>90%).
4. Sustainability Synergy:(1) Linking metal recovery with slag valorization (e.g., CO2 sequestration via carbonation, silica/calcium reuse, etc.) to achieve zero-waste metallurgy.
This issue invites contributions that bridge laboratory-scale breakthroughs with industrial scalability, emphasizing lifecycle analysis, energy savings, and reduced carbon footprints. By integrating multi-disciplinary insights, it aims to redefine slag as a strategic resource in the transition toward green metallurgy.
Dr. Xiang Zhang
Dr. Dingli Zheng
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- metal recovery
- carbothermic reduction
- magnetic separation
- hydrometallurgical processes
- slag valorization
- selective separation
- supergravity technology
- sulfurization process
- zero-waste metallurgy
- sustainable metal extraction
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