- Written by Sanna Nikola, Marko Mäkikyrö Rautaruukki Oyi Mineral Products, Raahe, Finland
This paper will explain how Ruukki Mineral Products implements quality control in the case of the blast furnace slag from the Raahe Works in order to take account of all its applications.
Quality control is a challenge for the manufacturers of industrial products and raw materials, especially when the same product can be used in a number of applications. This means the products have to meet several standards simultaneously and be subjected to quality control from different standpoints.
The blast furnace slag (BFS) produced at the Raahe Steel Works is a CE-certified product that conforms to the standard EN13242 and is used as a structural layer material and stabilising agent in earthworks and road construction, for liming purposes in agriculture, and as a raw material in the cement industry. It has also gained RALA acceptance and its use in agriculture is regulated by the Law and Statute on Fertilisers.
As far as the cement industry is concerned, its quality control is subject to the National Building Code of Finland (RakMK B4) and the new standard prEN 15167 for ground granulated BFS (GGBFS). Its various uses mean that the same product can even have a slightly different grain size according to the standard applied.
