Global Slag News

China: Harsco has signed a US$125m contract for onsite mill services at the Tangshan plate mill facility of China's largest steelmaker, Hebei Iron & Steel (HBIS) Group. The plate mill is one of two subsidiaries of Hebei's Tangshan Iron and Steel Group, known as TangSteel, served by Harsco.

Since 2011, Harsco has supported the plate mill with a range of slag handling and metal recovery services through a Harsco-led joint venture relationship. This latest contract builds on this. Harsco will significantly expand its role to encompass a new metal recovery plant, BOF briquetting operation and a new, innovative steam-box slag cooling process, as the plate mill consolidates and expands its production capacity to 4Mt/yr. The mill produces premium-grade plates and sections used in various structural applications and shipbuilding.

"We are particularly proud to add to our strong relationship with HBIS and its flagship TangSteel operations. Over the past decade, we have worked side-by-side as a technology and service partner to deliver efficiency improvements and enhanced environmental performance to these major operations. Our aims and those of HBIS and TangSteel are firmly aligned on these objectives," said Harsco President and CEO Nick Grasberger.

Japan: 240,000t of unapproved steel slag have been found buried at a US$66m residential development in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture, according to local press. The slag lacks the approval of the landowner contravening the Land Readjustment Act. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has started to investigate.

The Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation's Kimitsu works produced the slag before selling it to the developers. Research by the Mainichi newspaper suggests that the developers used the slag for ground improvement in 2012 before approval was obtained affecting the finances of the project.

Due to the swelling of slag when it absorbs water, if the slag-to-soil ratio surpasses 30%, users should to test in advance how much the mixture will expand. Steel slag is treated as industrial waste if it is not recyclable. Disposal of such slag costs US$170 – 340/t.

India: Kiran Global Chems has launched Geocement, an environmentally-friendly branded cement. The company claims that the product is stronger than Ordinary Portland Cement and that it does not require water for mixing or curing, according to local media.

Geocement is made from Geopowder and Geobinder, other products also made by Kiran Global Chems. Geopowder uses industrial by-products such as fly ash, rice husk ash, slag, activated clay and alumina. At construction sites it can be mixed with the company's proprietary Geobinder liquid and aggregates to make concrete. The company claims that Geocement does not require water curing and attains maximum strength within seven hours. Kiran Global Chems has also launched Geocrete, a Geocement concrete made with its powder and binder for various industrial applications.

"We have started distributing this to the bulk customers, such as builders and now we are launching the brand for retail. We are planning to sell it through e-commerce," said M S Jain, chairman of Kiran Global Chems. The price of Geocement will be slightly higher than normal cement, but it promises lower finished building cost and less construction time and labour. The company intends to target southern Indian states in 2016.

Kiran Global is also preparing a US$29m expansion programme to set up 12 Geobinder units, 12 Geopowder plants, two precast concrete units and four grinding units across the country. The expansion, is intended to cut logistics cost, will result in 4Mt of capacity with a potential turnover of up to US$300m by the 2018 – 2019 financial year. The company has an in-house research and development centre, accredited by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, and has been conducting geopolymer research in collaboration with leading research institutes.

Japan: JFE Steel Corporation will use its steelmaking slag product Marine Stone in an environmental improvement project by Hiroshima Prefecture. Around 38,000t will be laid under the inner harbour of Fukuyama Port in Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima. The sediment improvement agent is expected to control the generation of hydrogen sulphide.

World: The ferrous slag market in 2014 was worth an estimated US$30bn. It is forecast to grow by 1.6% to US$36bn by 2025, according to a new report from Smithers Apex.

'The Future of Ferrous Slag to 2025' examines the factors affecting ferrous slag production to provide a basis for forecasting the quantities likely to be produced up to the year 2025. It looks at current and possible future applications of slag and describes the trends in regulations affecting the market.

The current potential market supply of blast furnace slag is estimated to be 447Mt, of which almost 295 – 300Mt is granulated blast furnace slag (GBS). The making of steel from blast furnace iron through oxygen conversion (or basic oxygen furnace, BOF) contributes a further 140 – 145Mt of slag and the alternative route to steelmaking through electric arc furnaces (EAF) supplies more than 50Mt.

According to the report, the total output of ferrous slag is expected to increase only slowly, or to stagnate and decline marginally, because EAF steelmaking capacity is expected to grow faster than BF-BOF steelmaking capacity. This effect can already be seen in the US, where the tonnage of steel produced by EAF plants overtook the tonnage produced by BF-BOF plants in the 1990s. Since then, further decline in BF-BOF output has led US-cement and aggregate companies to start importing slag and to invest in new coastal slag treatment installations dependent entirely on imported supplies.

Changes in the Chinese steel industry will contribute substantially to this rising share of EAF steel in world supply. China produces half of world crude steel and BF-BOF steelworks account for over 80% of China's steel output. The Chinese government is campaigning to replace small and inefficient steelworks with EAF installations.

In the current market, it is estimated that total production of ferrous slag of all types amounts to US$24.5bn. While it is possible that supply will increase only slowly, if at all, there is growing demand for slag products, which is likely to ensure that the value per tonne of slag products will increase. The growth in demand has been accelerated by environmental legislation and by direct intervention from governments and international bodies.

Demand for slag products has been affected by market cycles. The collapse of construction activity in Europe, as a consequence of the financial crisis, reduced sales of slag for cement and aggregate use. Over the medium term, there is every prospect that demand will outrun supply. Currently GGBS meets only an estimated 17% of global cement supply. Slag products as aggregate substitutes meet only 1 - 1.5% of total demand.