Imagine if the dust and sludge from a steel mill, which usually just goes to a landfill, could be turned back into raw materials. This project builds a high-tech furnace that acts like a giant filter, pulling out pure iron and zinc from waste. It even uses old plastic as fuel to keep the process green and circular.
Steel producers generate millions of tons of metal-rich residues that are currently sent to landfills. This results in a waste of valuable resources and high disposal costs while increasing reliance on virgin raw materials.
An industrial-scale pyrometallurgic demonstration plant consisting of a Plasma Reactor for coarse residues and a RecoDust system for fine-grained dusts.
If you are an integrated steel mill dealing with millions of tons of under-exploited residues—this project developed a Plasma Reactor and RecoDust system that recovers over 90% of metals. This allows you to replace expensive virgin iron ore with recovered iron-rich oxides.
If you are a waste processor dealing with steelmaking filter dust and sludge—this project developed a pyrometallurgic process that turns waste into concentrated zinc oxide and inert slag. This transforms a disposal cost into a source of income from high-value by-products.
If you are a chemical producer dealing with high raw material costs for zinc—this project developed a recovery method that produces highly concentrated ZnO from steel residues. This provides a sustainable, secondary source of minerals with a recovery efficiency greater than 90%.
Based on available project data, specific pricing for the technology is not provided, though the EU contributed EUR 4,645,639 to the development phase.
Yes, the main objective is the development and validation of a demonstration plant at a relevant industrial scale for recovering metals and minerals.
The project includes dedicated intellectual property management activities to ensure the protection and proper exploitation of the innovative results.
The process aims for a recycling rate of residues over 80%, with both metal and mineral recovery efficiencies exceeding 90%.
It uses secondary carbon sources like waste plastics as reducing agents and recovers energy through the use of molten pig iron to reduce CO2 emissions.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven, with 67% of the 12 partners being industrial entities, including 5 steelmaking companies. This high industry ratio, combined with 4 technology-providing RTOs and 1 university, indicates a strong focus on commercial viability and industrial application rather than pure academic research.
Contact DALMINE SPA in Italy for details on the Plasma Reactor and RecoDust implementation.
Contact us to connect with the ReMFra consortium for industrial licensing opportunities.
