The Business Insider has reported that an Australian company is harvesting blast furnace waste and converting it into a new product to make cement in China, where 60% of the world’s iron waste is found. The new technology is called Dry Slag Granulation (DSG) and it reduces water use and cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
The DSG technology includes a spinning disc and granulation chamber which separates molten slag into droplets under centrifugal forces, uses air to quench and solidify the droplets and extracts a granulated slag product as well as heated air. The process produces a glassy product ideal for cement manufacture and represents energy savings equivalent to 14 percent of Australia’s energy use and about 10 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions each year.