Sustainable slag fluxing in AOD process (HASAOD)
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan - Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan Inst f materialvetenskap |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 1 000 000 |
| Project duration | October 2024 - June 2025 |
| Status | Ongoing |
| Venture | Impact Innovation Metals & Minerals - Program-specific efforts Vinnova |
| Call | Impact Innovation: Feasibility studies within Technological Action Areas in the program Metals & Minerals |
Purpose and goal
The aim of this project is to investigate potential candidates which can replace fluorspar in the AOD process to ensure a long-term, resilient supply of slag fluxing agents for sustainable stainless steel production in Sweden. The goal is to evaluate the technical feasibility of the material substitution and how this would affect the AOD process (slag´s properties, steel chemistry, erosion of furnace refractory) and the recyclability of AOD slags.
Expected effects and result
The expected outcome of this project is a list of fluxing agents with good technical performance, reasonable price and availability which could be used for upcoming industrial trials. The short-term effect is that the stainless steel producers in Sweden can reduce their operational risks (e.g. when there is disruption in fluorspar supply) and improve their production quality by adopting alternative flux materials investigated in this project.
Planned approach and implementation
The project consists of 4 work packages: planning and dissemination, thermodynamic evaluation, experimental trials, sustainability and economical assessment. This structure of work package enables a holistic and systematic evaluation of the candidate flux materials, taking into account their technical, sustainability (recyclability of AOD slags, carbon footprint), and economical performance- such that the shortlisted flux materials are ready to be used industrial trials in the next phase.