Abstract:
Primary and secondary mill scales (MSs) are waste products produced by the surface
oxidation of steel during the hot (800 to 1200 ◦C) rolling process in downstream steelmaking. While
the primary MS is comprised of FeO, Fe3O4
, and Fe2O3
in a range of proportions, the secondary MS
primarily contain red ferric oxide (Fe2O3
) (red MS). We report a novel route for extracting iron from
red MS and transforming it into ferro-aluminium alloys using carbothermic reduction in the presence
of alumina. The red MS powder was blended with high-purity alumina (Al2O3
) and synthetic
graphite (C) in a range of proportions. The carbothermic reduction of red MS-Al2O3
-C blends was
carried out at 1450 ◦C and 1550 ◦C under an argon atmosphere for 30 min and then furnace-cooled.
The red MS was completely reduced to iron at these temperatures with reduced iron distributed
around the matrix as small droplets. However, the addition of alumina unexpectedly resulted in a
significant increase in the number and sizes of iron droplets generated, much higher reactivity, and
the formation of ferrous alloys. A small amount of alumina reduction into metallic aluminium was
also observed at 1450 ◦C. There is an urgent need to identify the true potential of industrial waste
and the materials within it. This study showed that red MS is a valuable material source that could
be transformed into ferro-aluminium alloys. These alloys find application in a range of industrial
sectors such as construction, automotive, infrastructure, etc.
