Characterization of steel slag by SEM-EDS, XRD, and INAA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15392/bjrs.v9i1A.1491Keywords:
REE, Fe3O4, INAA.Abstract
Steel slag is considered a by-product of the steel industry and its reuse is a strategy for environmental protection, since it consists of potential polluting materials. Its main applications involve the use of large quantities of the raw material, but the extraction of ores in smaller proportions can be attractive. For example, magnetite (Fe3O4) may be of great interest for its magnetic properties in the production of composites with different applications. On the other hand, rare earth elements (REE) production is vital for new technologies and since traces of the different REE are found in most iron ores, their extraction can be conducted together. However, previous characterization of the slag is necessary; since they vary in mineralogical composition conform to steelmaking operations. Classical characterization techniques of ores such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) may be limited to characterize small fractions of materials. Therefore, in this study, neutron activation analysis was used as the characterization technique to confirm the presence of iron and REE in the slag. The steel slag composite sample of the Linz-Donawitz (LD) process was collected in a steelwork localized in the Iron Quadrangle, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The steel slag sample was characterized by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), using the nuclear research reactor TRIGA MARK I IPR-R1. The results are compared with the characterizations made with XRD and SEM-EDS. Although XRD and EDS results indicated the presence of magnetite in a small proportion, INAA was decisive confirming the presence of REE in the mineralogical composition of the composite sample collected.
Downloads
References
KESSLER, W.; MULLER, G. Minor and trace-element data of iron oxides from iron-formations of the Iron Quadrangle, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Miner Petrol, v. 39, p. 245-250, 1988.
CARVALHO FILHO, A.; INDA, A. V.; FINK, J. R.; CURI, N. Iron oxides in soils of different lithological origins in Ferriferous Quadrilateral (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Appl Clay Sci, v. 118, p. 1-7, 2015.
CHAND, S.; PAUL, B.; KUMAR, M. Sustainable approaches for LD slag waste management in steel industries: a review. Metallurgist, v. 60, p. 116-128, 2016.
DAS, B.; PRAKASH, S.; REDDY, P. S. R.; MISRA, V. N. An overview of utilization of slag and sludge from steel industries. Resour Conserv Recy, v. 50, p. 40-57, 2007.
ZHANG, J. L.; WANG, Y.; JI, H.; WEI, Y. G.; WU, N. Z.; ZUO, B. J.; WANG, Q. L. Magnetic nanocomposite catalysts with high activity and selectivity for selective hydrogenation of ortho-chloronitrobenzene. J. Catal., v. 229, p. 114–118, 2005.
COLLIGAN, G.; COOK, C.; ERICKS, A. HOFF, R.; OLIVER, B. Iron Ore and Rare Earth Elements Market Interactions. Group: Iron Ore Diggers, 2016.
DING, Y.; WANG, J.; WANG, G.; XUE, Q. Innovative Methodology for Separating of Rare Earth and Iron from Bayan Obo Complex Iron Ore. ISIJ International, v. 52, p. 1772–1777, 2012.
YILDIRIM, Irem Zeynep; PREZZI, Monica. Geotechnical properties of fresh and aged basic oxygen furnace steel slag. J Mater Civil Eng, v. 27, n. 12, p. 04015046, 2015.
AIMOTO, M.; KANEHASHI, K.; FUJIOKA, Y. Analytical Technologies for steel slag. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Technical Report, v. 109, p. 16-22, 2015.
SROOR, A.; ABDEL-BASSET, N.; ABDEL-HALEEM, A. S.; HASSAN, A. M. Elemental analysis of two Egyptian iron ores and produced industrial iron samples by neutron activation analysis. Appl. Radiat. Isot., v. 54, n. 3, p. 559-562, 2001.
ALMEIDA, E.; ASSUNÇÃO, W.; OLIVEIRA, M. F.; MAIA, B. T.; GARAJAU, F. S.; GUERRA, M. S. L.; ANDRADE, W. M.; SILVA, W. M. New BOF Performance at Gerdau Ouro Branco by Slagless® Technology. 2017.
CARL ZEISS NTS. Sigma Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope. Oberkochen, Germany, 2011. Available at: <http://www.iitk.ac.in/meesa/SEM/SEM_manual.pdf>. Last accessed: 22 June. 2020.
BRUKER. ESPRIT Compact Software for QUANTAX Microanalysis Systems. Bruker Nano GmbH, Berlin, Germany, 2017 Available at: <https://www.mse.ucr.edu/sites/g/files/rcwecm1241/files/2019>. Last accessed: 22 June. 2020.
JCPDS – Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards. Powder Diffraction File. International Center for Diffraction Data-ICDD, Alphabetical Indexes, Sets 1-52, Pennsylvania, 2000.
DE CORTE, F. The k0-standardization method: a move to the optimization of neutron activation analysis. 1987. 463 f. Thesis, University of Gent, Belgium, 1987.
GREENBERG, R. R.; BODE, P.; FERNANDES, E. A. N. Neutron activation analysis: A primary method of measurement. Spectrochim. Acta B, v. 66, p.193-241, 2011.
MENEZES, M. A. B. C.; JACIMOVIC, R. Optimised k0-instrumental neutron activation method using the TRIGA MARK I IPR-R1 reactor at CDTN/CNEN, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A, v. 564, p. 707-715, 2006.
HYPERLAB. Gamma Spectroscopy Software, HyperLabs Software. Budapest: Hyperlab, 1998–2013, 2009.
SIMONITS, A.; OSTOR, J.; KALVIN, S.; FAZEKAS, B. A new concept in gamma-ray spectrum analysis. J Radioan Nucl Chem, v. 257, p. 589-595, 2003.
KAYZERO FOR WINDOWS®. User’s Manual, for reactor neutron activation analysis (NAA) using the k0 standardisation method, Netherlands: Kayzero, 2011.
IRMM – Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements. Certified Reference Material BCR-320R, Certificate of Analysis, mass fraction in Channel Sediment, Belgium: IRMM, 2006.
DINALI, G. S.; RAIZ, R. A.; AMISTADI, M. K.; CHOROVER, J.; LOPES, G. GUILHERME, L. R. G. Rare earth elements (REY) sorption on soils of contrasting mineralogy and texture. Environ. Int., v. 128, p. 279-291, 2019.
POSTILA, H.; KARJALAINEN, S. M.; KLØVE, B. Can limestone, steel slag or man-made sorption materials be used to enhance phosphate-phosphorus retention in treatment wetland for peat extraction runoff with low phosphorous concentration? Ecol. Eng., v. 98, p. 403-409, 2017.
YILDIRIM, I. Z.; PREZZI, M. Geotechnical Properties of Fresh and Aged Basic Oxygen Furnace Steel Slag. J. Mater. Civ. Eng., v. 27(12), p. 1-11, 2015.
BATTSENGEL, A.; BATNASAN, A.; NARANKHUU, A.; HAGA, K.; WATANABE, Y.; SHIBAYAMA, A. Recovery of light and heavy rare earth elements from apatite ore using sulphuric acid leaching, solvent extraction and precipitation. Hydrometallurgy, v. 179, p. 100-109, 2018.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Licensing: The BJRS articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
How to Cite
