Results and Trends on the Injection of Plastics and ASR into the Blast Furnace

Automotive shredder residue (ASR): Reviewing its production from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and its recycling, energy or chemicals’ valorisation

“…From a metallurgical point of view, in the blast furnace, the use of the gas or oils produced by gasification or pyrolysis of ASR is preferred to direct secondary recovery [20,132]. Continuous supply of ASR with adequate and constant quality and sufficient quantity, is a fundamental requirement of the iron makers, but is unfortunately difficult to guarantee by the producers [130].…”

“…Several simulations, lab scale and industrial tests have been conducted in order to analyse the possible use of ASR in blast furnaces both as auxiliary fuel and as auxiliary reducing agent [20,36,[129][130][131][132][133]. Most of these studies concluded that, due to the presence of certain chemical components as well as due to the physical nature of ASR, it is only cost-effective to co-combust small proportions (up to 3%).…”

“…Injection of high calorific plastics into the raceway has become normal blast furnace operational practice since the late 1990s [61,130]. Several simulations, lab scale and industrial tests have been conducted in order to analyse the possible use of ASR in blast furnaces both as auxiliary fuel and as auxiliary reducing agent [20,36,[129][130][131][132][133].…”

Recycling Rubber Tyres and Waste Plastics in EAF Steelmaking

“…The formed char would be expected to reach the reduction zone and contribute to the reduction process 8. Waste plastics have been injected into the blast furnace on a production scale at Stahlwerke Bremen in Germany 10 as a substitute for coke, coal and heavy oils. In 1996 mixed polymer waste was fed pneumatically via lances into the tuyeres to the bottom of a 70,000 tonne furnace where at 2000 °C the waste is cracked and produced reducing synthesis gas.…”

Chars from agricultural wastes as greener fuels for electric arc furnaces

“…Moreover, the use of waste plastics and rubbers into blast furnaces as substitute for coke and coal has attracted significant attention from the steelmaking industry, based on the high content in carbon and hydrogen of these polymeric materials [4,16]. In fact, the injection of waste plastics and tyres has become normal practice in BF steelmaking industry since mid-1990s, when Arcelor Group and Nippon Kokan Co., (NKK) started to use this residue in their processes [16][17][18][19]. Based on the beneficial properties of the polymeric waste and the experience obtained from their use in blast furnaces, their application for EAF steelmaking has been recently investigated [5,8,16,20,21].…”