Steel mill slags energy potential: the case of the steel factory of Arcelor-Mittal in Asturias (Spain)

Slag accounts for most of the residuals or by-products of the steel manufacturing process and represents a not inconsiderable amount of energy waste and CO₂ emissions. Energy recovery from steel mill slags is not actually performed because of the difficulty of the industrial implementation, but the actual demand and the incentives for new electricity generation plants based on renewable energies and on industrial waste heat recovery offer a new opportunity to evaluate the feasibility of this process. This article presents a review of the slag energy potential on a global scale, and a proposal for a recovery plant in the factories of Arcelor-Mittal in Asturias (Spain), based on a steam Rankine cycle for electricity production in a turbine. The plant production and viability have been analyzed using the typical technical and economic values for this kind of plant. Also, a parametric study has been performed on the heat recuperator efficiency and investment rate.