Sustainable slag fluxing in AOD process (HASAOD)
Important results from the project
The goals set out from the start of this project were mostly fulfilled. Industrial AOD trials carried out at Outokompu and Alleima have proven preliminary success of reducing flourspar consumption by 70% during a 304 heat and 100% in a SAF2507 heat. Thermodynamic calculation shows that flourspar-free steelmaking is theoretically possible provided that the type and the amount of flux added is well matched with the SiO2 and Al2O3 contents in the slag.
Expected long term effects
This project is the first step to enable Swedish stainless steel producers to transition towards flourspar-free AOD process, which will enhance their raw material resilience in the long run should the price, quality, and availability of flourspar becomes uncertain in the future. There may be other side benefits such as the prolonging of the refractory lifetime and more convenient post-processing and valorization of the AOD slags.
Approach and implementation
The project consisted of 4 work package, which includes project management and dissemination (WP1), industrial trials and thermodynamic investigation (WP2), experimental investigations (WP3), and economy and sustainability evaluations (WP4). The project progressed smoothly according to the schedule except that some of the sampling of slag and steel in WP2 was completed a little later than planned but this did not have a major impact on the project deliverables.
The text has been written by the project team. The content is copied from the funding agency’s website and has not been reviewed by the Program Office.