In Australia, more than 1.5 million tones of plastics were consumed in 2009, with the numbers expected to rise every year. Waste plastics are predominantly generated from both municipal and industrial sectors. This represents a major environmental problem as well as a potential loss of energy from the materials. This paper investigates the interfacial reactions between EAF slag and blends of coke with recycled plastics at 1550°C, in a horizontal tube furnace. Three types of polymeric materials - Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Polyurethane (PU), have been used in this study. The gas generation from coke and plastic/coke blends when exposed to high temperatures has been monitored, while the dynamic foaming behaviour of the slag has been analysed using specialised software. The PET/Coke and PU/Coke blends showed better slag foaming behaviour, while a slight improvement can be seen in the case of PP containing blend. This study has strong implications in unlocking the potential for using different polymeric material from various waste streams in the steelmaking process.
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