Abstract
Zinc is mainly consumed in the galvanized steel production and it has been identified as one of the elements that have potentially limited supply in nature. Therefore, the recovery of zinc from zinc-containing waste has become an important issue for the conservation of zinc resources. Since the electric arc furnace dust (EAF dust) plays a significant role in zinc recycling, the domestic substance flow of zinc associated with the steel cycle was constructed in this study to track the pathway of zinc in Thailand in 2013 which comprises of four main stages: (1) production, (2) fabrication and manufacturing, (3) use, and (4) waste management. The purpose of this study is to identify the material flow of zinc associated with steel production in order to demonstrate the potential of zinc recycling from EAF dust generation in Thailand. In 2013, zinc demand in Thailand was about 131 kt. The domestic zinc smelter produced 35 kt of zinc ingots and 40 kt of zinc alloy. The domestic zinc silicate ore produced supplied only 20% of total domestic demand and the other 80% was imported in the form of zinc sulfide concentrate, crude zinc oxide (product from electric arc furnace dust recycling), zinc ingot and zinc alloy. Approximately 70% of zinc was consumed in galvanizing steel and this proportion is expected to increase due to the foreign investment of Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel Sheets Mill supply to automotive industry in Thailand. In steel sector, around 3,579 kt of crude steel were produced from the steel scrap 3,962 kt (industrial scrap, obsolete scrap and home steel scrap) by electric arc furnace steelmaking and approximately 72 kt of EAF dust was generated. The total zinc content in the EAF dust was estimated to be 20 kt or about 15% of the domestic zinc demand. The result of this material flow analysis revealed that the EAF dust generation in Thailand has a great potential as a valuable zinc secondary resource and the domestic supply of zinc can be enhanced with more efficiency by proper intermediate dust treatment and recycling systems.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | EARTH 2015 - Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on East Asian Resources Recycling Technology |
| Publisher | International Symposium on East Asian Resources Recycling Technology |
| Pages | 259-265 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
| Event | 13th International Symposium on East Asian Resources Recycling Technology, EARTH 2015 - Pattaya, Thailand Duration: 2015 Nov 1 → 2015 Nov 4 |
Other
| Other | 13th International Symposium on East Asian Resources Recycling Technology, EARTH 2015 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Thailand |
| City | Pattaya |
| Period | 15/11/1 → 15/11/4 |
Keywords
- EAF dust
- Iron and steel
- Material flow analysis
- Resource management
- Zinc
- Zinc recycling
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)