HYDROGEN-BASED REDUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF IRON-BEARING COMPOUNDS IN ELECTRIC ARC FURNACE DUST
Annotatsiya
Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) is an inevitable by-product of scrap-based steelmaking. It presents an environmental challenge, but also has the potential to be a valuable secondary raw material. Due to the presence of significant amounts of iron oxides, zinc oxide and other non-ferrous metal compounds, EAF dust cannot be recycled directly into steelmaking furnaces. In recent years, hydrogen-based reduction has attracted increasing attention as a low-carbon alternative to conventional carbon-based reduction technologies. This study investigated the reduction behaviour of iron-bearing compounds in EAF dust using hydrogen gas under controlled laboratory conditions. Samples of dust obtained from JSC “Uzbeksteel” were characterised chemically and subjected to hydrogen reduction at temperatures between 650 and 750 °C. The reduction mechanism, thermodynamic feasibility and selectivity between iron and zinc oxides were analysed. The results demonstrate that hydrogen effectively and selectively reduces iron oxides to metallic iron, while zinc oxide remains largely unreduced within the investigated temperature range. This selective behaviour suggests a promising approach for separately recovering iron and zinc, and supports the development of environmentally friendly recycling technologies for EAF dust.