Optimizing metal recovery from EAF dust: A comprehensive approach beyond the Waelz kiln process

The Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) process is predominantly used for recycling steel scrap, generating EAF dust at approximately 10-20 kg per ton of steel. This dust is rich in valuable metals like iron and zinc, in addition to metal oxides such as lead, manganese, nickel, and chromium. The DustRec project endeavours to recover all these elements, offering a comprehensive alternative to the traditional Waelz kiln process, which primarily focuses on zinc recovery. The project employs magnetic separation to initially divide dust samples into magnetic and non-magnetic fractions, followed by gravity separation to further refine these into heavy and light fractions. This detailed classification enables targeted processing of each stream through tailored pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical methods, according to their specific compositions. Throughout the project, numerous EAF and cupola furnace (CF) dust samples were collected from various sources, with the most suitable samples selected for advanced reprocessing. Separation based on particle size yielded diverse outcomes. The subsequent hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical treatments of these fractions resulted in significant metal recoveries.