Techniques of reuse for slags and flakes from steel industry: a circular economy perspective

The steel industry has always been characterized by the model of a linear economy as industrial waste was considered waste to be dumped in landfill sites. This principle is opposed to the circular economy model, defined as an economic system where companies that adopt it reuse waste materials coming from a production cycle in any subsequent production cycles. In this regard, waste from steel production is the subject of this paper: more in-depth, the reuse of flake obtained during the flaking of the billets, furnace slag and ladle slag will be dealt with. This analysis has been carried out in collaboration with the Acciaierie di Sicilia S.p.A. that currently produce eco-sustainable bars, through the electrofusion of ferrous scrap. The objective of this paper is to identify possible alternatives for reusing the furnace slags, for the ladle slags and for the flakes. This would lead to economic advantages deriving from the conversion of landfill costs to revenues obtained from the sale of waste and to increase of the environmental commitment of the steel industry towards the green economy