Growth and aggregation control of spinel by shear-force-based melting modification of stainless steel slag

To improve the efficiency of melting modification for stainless steel(SS) slag, a shear force was introduced in this work and its effects on the spinel and silicate melt were experimentally investigated. The results indicated that the use of shear force changed the nucleation and growth behaviors of spinel and that the effects of shear force varied with its intensity. The aggregation behavior of spinel under different shear-force conditions was studied, revealing that large spinel clusters could be formed when the stirring speed was controlled. However, no notable change in the melt structure of the silicate was detected in this study. The optimal stirring speed for the melting modification treatment was 50 r·min^(-1), which substantially promoted spinel growth and aggregation, resulting in modified SS slag with excellent chromium sequestration capability.

Effect of Al2O3 modification on enrichment and stabilization of chromium in stainless steel slag

Spinel phase is considered to be the optimal phase for stabilization of chromium in stainless steel slag.In order to restrain chromium leaching from slag for the effective environmental protection,Al2O3 was utilized for the modification treatment,and the effects on the enrichment and stabilization of chromium were investigated. The mineral phases and the existence state of chromium in slag with various Al2O3 contents at different basicities（ w（CaO）/w（SiO2） were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy（ SEM-EDS） and X-ray diffraction（ XRD）. The results showed that chromium mainly existed in the glass and spinel phases at basicity of 1. 0 and 1. 5. As the slag basicity increased to 2. 0,chromium was also found in periclase phase. Al2O3 in the stainless steel slag reacted with MgO and Cr2O3,which could generate the Al-rich Mg（CrxAl（1- x））2O4 solid solution. Moreover,the addition of Al2O3 was favorable to reduce the solubility of chromium oxide in liquid phase and suppress the precipitation of periclase phase. The experimental results demonstrated that Al2O3 modification has a positive influence on the enrichment and the stabilization of chromium in the stainless steel slag.

Growth behavior of spinel in stainless steel slag during cooling process

Spinel is an appropriate phase for sequestrating chromium in stainless steel slag to prevent chromium from polluting,and the crystal size of spinel has a significant effect on the stability of chromium and the extraction efficiency of spinel.The enrichment behavior of chromium in spinel during cooling process was investigated,and the growth process of spinel was studied based on the crystal size distribution theory.The results showed that the enrichment degree of chromium in spinel increased from 88.5% to nearly 100% during the cooling process from 1773 to 1573 K at a rate of 5 K/min.The mean diameter of spinel in stainless steel slag had an obvious growth in the cooling process,and a rapid growth of spinel occurred during the cooling process from 1623 to 1523 K.Leaching results indicated that the leaching amount of chro- mium could reduce to less than 0.01 mg/L by controlling the cooling condition.The growth mechanism of spinel was investigated and proposed to consist of two stages:in the first stage,the spinel was in the surface-controlled growth with a decaying nucleation rate from 1773 to 1573 K,and in the second stage,the growth mechanism was transformed to supply- controlled Ostwald ripening-below 1573 K.