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Assessing Stainless Steel Swarf Effect on Limonitic Laterite Sintering Process

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Abstract

Stainless steel swarf is a typical by-product produced from stainless steel processing, which contains a significant level of valuable metals, such as iron, chrome, and nickel. About 1 million tons of stainless steel swarf are generated in China annually, but as mixed with impurities such as Al and Si, stainless steel swarf is not suitable to be directly smelted into stainless steel through refining process. In this study, stainless steel swarf was applied as a strengthening agent during limonitic laterite sintering process. The effects of adding stainless steel swarf on green bed permeability, the yield and quality indexes of the sinters, and the microstructure of the sinters were evaluated systematically. The results showed that the concentrated distribution degree of granules and green bed permeability were improved after adding stainless steel swarf. As the additional amount of stainless steel swarf increased from 0 to 3%, the tumble index and yield of the sinters rose from 50.07 to 54.69% and from 62.04 to 67.35%, respectively. The addition of stainless steel swarf would not change the phase compositions, and had little adverse impact on the metallurgical properties of the limonitic laterite sinters.

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Funding

The authors would express their sincere thanks to National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1960114), and Xuchang Talent Plan (No. 2021-178). Data from this manuscript had been presented at the New Directions in Mineral Processing, Extractive Metallurgy, Recycling and Waste Minimization: An EPD Symposium in Honor of Patrick R. Taylor, 2023.

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  1. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Peace Building, No. 248, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, China

    Yikang Tu, Zijian Su & Yuanbo Zhang

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  1. Yikang Tu
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Correspondence to Zijian Su or Yuanbo Zhang.

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Tu, Y., Su, Z. & Zhang, Y. Assessing Stainless Steel Swarf Effect on Limonitic Laterite Sintering Process. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 40, 1513–1522 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-023-00816-z

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