Recycled Refractory Materials: Ambitions with a Future?
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E X PER T F O R UM
Recycled Refractory Materials: Ambitions with a Future? In many industries there are efforts to establish a circular economy. In the refractory industry research projects on the recycling of refractory materials are also underway. Dr. Christian Dannert and Andreas Hermann, managing directors of the European Centre for Refractories (ECREF), inform about the state of research and development and provide an outlook.
About 65 % of all refractory materials are used in the steel industry. With about 10 to 15 kg of refractory materials consumed per t of steel, the potential for reuse at the end of their service life is also coming to the fore. The recycling of refractory materials has been an issue for at least three decades and it is gaining momentum with the “zero waste” culture. The focus is not only on environmental aspects, but also on making a contribution to the conservation of resources, reducing energy consumption and the total costs of refractory production, as well as minimizing landfill costs for the end user. [1, 2]
Research projects already exist The research landscape is characterized by several research projects in the field of recycling of refractory materials. For example, a new transfer project was recently started at the Freiberg University of Min-
ing and Technology, in which carbon-bound magnesium oxide materials (MgO-C) are produced using recycled MgO-C materials. They can be used, among other things, for the lining of steel casting ladles [1]. And at the end of 2016, an automatic sorting system for used refractory bricks was tested in the Refrasort project coordinated by Vito, Belgium [3]. The final report of the project described successful trial runs of the system, which treated a total of about 30 tons of material. An upscaling of the system was planned [4].
The future of recycled refractory materials The estimated worldwide consumption of raw materials for refractory products currently amounts to 35 million tonnes per year, of which only 7 % are recycled despite efforts in research and development (As of 2018, worldwide [5]). We have asked experts to provide a forecast if this could change in the future. |
References [1] Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg: “Neues Transfer-Projekt der TU Bergakademie Freiberg untersucht feuerfeste Materialien für die Stahlindustrie“. www.idw-online.de/de/news747039 [6.05.2020] [2] IMFORMED: “Recycling refractories: entering a new era“. www.imformed.com/recycling-refractories-entering-a-new-era/ [12.01.2016] [3] Europäische Komission: „Feuerfeste Abfälle werden wieder zu Rohstoffen“. www.cordis.europa.eu/article/id/197342-how-to-turn-refractory-waste-back-into-raw-materials/de [10.4.2017] [4] Europäische Komission: „ Innovative Separation Technologies for High Grade Recycling of Refractory Waste using non destructive technologies”. www.cordis.europa.eu/project/id/603809/reporting [8.2.2017] [5] Frohneberg, Ulf; Schwickert, Kai: „Nachhaltigkeit im Feuerfest Management – Feuerfestprodukte als Teil des industriellen Wertekreislaufs
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