Recycled smelter slag as an engineering material – opportunity and sustainability

Recycled smelter slag as an engineering material – opportunity and sustainability

Saidur R. Chowdhury

Abstract. Slags obtained from the Vale Copper Cliff smelter in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, were investigated as sustainable engineering materials in this study. The recycled smelter waste products can remove toxic contaminants from the aqueous environment as well as be used in the construction industry (as aggregates, cement admixtures, filling materials), soil improvement for agricultural purposes, and other value-added applications and products. The removal mechanisms of the heavy metals (such as Zn, Pb, and Cu, etc.) from aqueous solutions could be physical or chemical adsorption, ion exchange, oxidation-reduction, etc. At the same time, using recycled smelter slags in various engineering applications can help with waste reduction, disposal cost reduction, resource recovery, and increased reused activities. The present study helps explore the scope of using recycled materials in the treatment or construction industry. Using industrial smelter slag as a recycling or renewable resource rather than a waste product has environmental and economic benefits. The study also specifically discusses Ni smelter slag’s composition, application, treatment efficiency, opportunity, economic benefits, and circularity for sustainable management.

Keywords
Slag, Adsorbent, Construction, Recycling, Nickel (Ni)

Published online 8/10/2023, 10 pages
Copyright © 2023 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA

Citation: Saidur R. Chowdhury, Recycled smelter slag as an engineering material – opportunity and sustainability, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 31, pp 194-203, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644902592-21

The article was published as article 21 of the book Advanced Topics in Mechanics of Materials, Structures and Construction

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

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