GENERAL DESCRIPTION

In 2010, the European steel industry generated, as waste, about 21.8 Mt of steel slag. The 76 % of the slag was recycled in applications such as aggregates for construction or road materials, but these sectors were unable to absorb the total amount of produced slag. The remaining 24 % was landfilled (2.9 Mt) or self-stored (2.3 Mt). The landfilled slag represents a severe environmental problem.

The main aim of RESLAG is to prove that there are industrial sectors able to make an effective use of the 2.9 Mt/y of landfilled slag, if properly supported by the right technologies. In making this prof, the RESLAG project will also prove that there are other very important environmental benefits coming from an “active” use of the slag in industrial processes, as CO2 saving (up to 970 kt/y from CSP applications and at least 71 kg/ton of produced steel from heat recovery applications) and elimination of negative impacts associated with mining.

The Fraunhofer Project Group IWKS works to assess the techno-economic viability and environmental impact of the recovered high value materials. For this purpose, an analysis will determine the criticality of the recovered materials based on factors such as geological availability and geopolitical situation in countries where mining of the primary material takes place. A second step will identify both potential market sectors and applications where primary input material can be substituted with the recovered elements and alternative market domains where the recovered material can fulfill valuable functions.

RESLAG involves the participation of 18 partners (including 10 research institutes, 5 large companies, 2 SME, 1 association) representing 8 different countries (Spain, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Finland and Morocco).

FUNDING TYPE:

BUDGET: € 8.700.000