Green Transition of the Iron and Steel Industry – Impact on Slags and By‐Products

Iron and steel together with the cement sector are the largest industrial CO2 emitters and pressure is mounting to reduce these emissions. For the iron and steel industry a shift from coal fired blast furnace to hydrogen based direct reduction, electrification via the electric arc furnace (EAF) and off‐setting with CCUS are today the most promising pathways. The iron and steel industry today is almost a closed cycle industry, where all by‐products from steel production can be recycled or used for further applications. Most of the slags that are generated in ironmaking are used as granulated blast furnace sand for cement production, hence landfilling of such slags has been largely eliminated. For steelmaking slags and dusts, different treatment and modification solutions have been developed and are in use. Still a certain part of these by products is not fully utilized. Green transition of the steel sector with less blast furnace and more direct reduction in operation will have a significant impact on the slags and by‐products generated in future. For a sustainable transition, circularity is a key aspect and slags will have to remain a secondary feed stock for the cement sector.