RECYCLING OF SLUDGE FROM THE PRODUCTION OF MANGANESE

摘要

For a sustainable future, the management of waste materials is a critical issue facing the mineral processing and metallurgical industries. The Norwegian Ferroalloy Producers Research Association (FFF), SINTEF and NTNU have been investigating methods to recycle sludge from the production of manganese alloys. The sludge is currently deposited to landfill, which is becoming increasingly expensive due to environmental restrictions. The goal is to determine the most economically viable solution for the complete utilisation of all sludge. In the current form it is not possible to recycle the sludge directly, due to the water and tar content and the presence of several problematic elements such as Zn, Pb, K, Na and P. Different methods have been investigated to either utilise the sludge directly to produce Mn or to treat the sludge to allow it to be recycled to the submerged arc furnace (SAF) where the Mn can be recovered. The option which is being pursued is to construct a central processing facility for all of the plants within Norway, where the sludge will be melted to produce a small quantity of alloy, a Zn rich fume and a high Mn slag, containing more than 90 per cent of the Mn, which will be utilised in the SAF.