Title

REFRACTORIES RECYCLING - CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN A PATH TOWARDS CO2 FOOTPRINT REDUCTION

REFRACTORIES RECYCLING - CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN A PATH TOWARDS CO2 FOOTPRINT REDUCTION

Authorship

Moraes, Matheus Naves; Nogueira, Gustavo Geraldo Rezende; Neto, Paschoal Bonadia; Silveira, Fernanda Teixeira; Lopez, Mario

Moraes, Matheus Naves

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Nogueira, Gustavo Geraldo Rezende

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Neto, Paschoal Bonadia

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Silveira, Fernanda Teixeira

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Lopez, Mario

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DOI

10.5151/5463-5463-35038

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Abstract

The refractory industry is actively looking for CO2 footprint reduction, being recycling a key initiative. The current recycling challenges are discussed in three points: sourcing, processing, and application. The recycling sourcing depends on the regional context, predominant application, and logistic costs. After a proper refractory lining dismantling, recycling processing steps rely on screening out fines, impurities removal, and selective crushing combined with classification. After selection, some recycling classes demand additional processing to reduce contamination or stabilize components. While the processing routes and application are clearly defined for some spent refractory classes, as fired magnesia, some still need to be addressed, as alumina-magnesia-carbon. Nevertheless, refractories recycling can be also seen as an opportunity. In sourcing, circular contracts can bring benefits for the consumer of refractory goods and their producer. In processing, efficient mechanized operation is still to be developed. For the recycling application in closed-loop, an appropriate processing is essential to reach necessary quality. Ultimately, fostered by refractory companies and customer demands, solutions and applications of refractories recycling tend to grow, as a source of circular products, with lower carbon footprint, keeping the same, if not higher, performance levels.

The refractory industry is actively looking for CO2 footprint reduction, being recycling a key initiative. The current recycling challenges are discussed in three points: sourcing, processing, and application. The recycling sourcing depends on the regional context, predominant application, and logistic costs. After a proper refractory lining dismantling, recycling processing steps rely on screening out fines, impurities removal, and selective crushing combined with classification. After selection, some recycling classes demand additional processing to reduce contamination or stabilize components. While the processing routes and application are clearly defined for some spent refractory classes, as fired magnesia, some still need to be addressed, as alumina-magnesia-carbon. Nevertheless, refractories recycling can be also seen as an opportunity. In sourcing, circular contracts can bring benefits for the consumer of refractory goods and their producer. In processing, efficient mechanized operation is still to be developed. For the recycling application in closed-loop, an appropriate processing is essential to reach necessary quality. Ultimately, fostered by refractory companies and customer demands, solutions and applications of refractories recycling tend to grow, as a source of circular products, with lower carbon footprint, keeping the same, if not higher, performance levels.

Keywords

Recycling; Refractory; Circular Economy

Recycling; Refractory; Circular Economy