Erokhin Yu.V., Ponomarev V.S., Zakharov A.V. A Material Composition of Puddling Slags (Using the Example of the Verkhnesysertsky Plant, The Middle Urals)

DOI: 10.18503/1995-2732-2024-22-2-79-87

Abstract

Problem Statement (Relevance). The Ural region, as a Russian center of metallurgy, over several centuries of work has accumulated a huge number of slag dumps, which are now practically unexplored, although they can be useful for the national economy. Unfortunately, slag disposal currently occurs spontaneously and does not take into account the possibility of potential recycling. Many types of slags, containing valuable and rare elements, represent potential ore. Objectives. The study is aimed at investigating a mineral (material) composition of slags from the Verkhnesysertsky Iron Works located in the south of the Sverdlovsk Region (the Middle Urals). Methods Applied. The chemical composition of slag was determined with an XRF 1800 X-ray fluorescence wave spectrometer by Shimadzu, and a composition of minerals was determined with a CAMECA SX 100 electron probe microanalyzer with five wave spectrometers. Photographs of minerals and their relationships with one another were taken using a JSM-6390LV scanning electron microscope by Jeol. Originality. The material composition of slags was studied and analyzed using the modern nomenclature of the International Mineralogical Association and the application of classic mineralogy. Findings. The authors are the first to study mineralogy of ferruginous slags from the Verkhnesysertsky Iron Works. It has been established that these slags are composed of an aggregate of fayalite and laihunite and contain abundant dissemination of magnetite. In addition, they contain chromite, merrihueite and non-crystallized glass. These slags are waste from puddling iron production, and temperature of their formation is 1200-1400°C. Laihunite may be a typomorphic mineral of the slags of the puddling process, because the technological mixing of the melt leads to its saturation with oxygen and oxidation. Practical Relevance. The slag under study can be further processed. When using a magnetic separation, it is easy to get magnetite, which is an ore for iron with valuable impurities of chromium, vanadium and nickel. The slag in the shape of blocks can be used as a refractory material.

Keywords

fayalite, laihunite, magnetite, mineralogy, puddling slags, Verkhnesysertsky Iron Works

For citation

Erokhin Yu.V., Ponomarev V.S., Zakharov A.V. A Material Composition of Puddling Slags (Using the Example of the Verkhnesysertsky Plant, the Middle Urals). Vestnik Magnitogorskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta im. G.I. Nosova [Vestnik of Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University]. 2024, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 79-87. https://doi.org/10.18503/1995-2732-2024-22-2-79-87

Yury V. Erokhin – PhD (Geology and Mineralogy), Lead Researcher, Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. ORCID 0000-0002-0577-5898

Vladimir S. Ponomarev – PhD (Geology and Mineralogy), Senior Researcher, Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. ORCID 0000-0002-1651-1281

Anatoly V. Zakharov – Researcher, Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. ORCID 0000-0001-8790-7892

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