International Journal of Iron & Steel Society of Iran

International Journal of Iron & Steel Society of Iran

Feasibility Study on the Recovery of Iron Nuggets from Steelmaking By-products

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
S. Asadi
M. Asadrokht
A. Yusefi
H. Mirloo
A. R. Ziyaei
H. Ahmadi
KSM-Rasha Co., No. 46, Darya Blvd, Sa'adat Abad, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/ijissi.2026.2071261.1331
Abstract
Steelmaking by-products have increasingly drawn attention due to their large volumes, stockpiling, and associated environmental concerns. In Iran, the electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking process relies heavily on direct-reduced iron (DRI) as its primary feedstock. The by-products generated, including sludge, mill scale, and dust, generally contain only small amounts of valuable non-ferrous metals. Therefore, the primary focus of recycling efforts is the efficient recovery of iron to maximize resource utilization and enhance the sustainability of the steelmaking process. Direct reduction has emerged as a viable pathway for extracting iron from such materials as metallic iron nuggets or secondary DRI. This study evaluates the technical feasibility of recovering iron from three representative by-products (sludge, mill scale, and EAF dust) collected from a domestic steel plant. Experiments were conducted by reduction at 1450°C for 40 min, using a 50wt% reductant, under varying conditions of pellet composition, reductant type, particle size, and lime addition as a flux. The optimal performance was achieved with composite pellets consisting of equal proportions of the three by-products, 10wt% lime, and coarse graphite reductant (< 3mm). Under these conditions, 62.4wt% of the sample was converted into metallic iron nuggets with a metallization degree above 99%.
Keywords
Steelmaking By-Products
Reduction
Third-Generation Ironmaking
Reductant
Metallic Iron Nuggets
Flux
Subjects
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