Utilization of steelmaking slag in cement clinker production: A review

Abstract

The cement industry significantly contributes to global CO2 emissions, with a notable portion attributed to limestone calcination during cement clinker production. To promote carbon-neutral building practices, alternative approaches are being explored to replace raw materials in cement manufacturing and mitigate CO2 emissions. Steelmaking slag, enriched with noncarbonated CaO from limestone decarbonization during steel production, shows potential as a promising raw material for cement manufacture to reduce CO2. Despite their environmental benefits, most steelmaking slags are underutilized, with limited recognition of their CO2 mitigation potential. Moreover, challenges to using steelmaking slag as a raw material to manufacture cement clinker exist due to the mineral and chemical compositions of each slag type. This study explored potential pretreatment methods to enhance slag's performance as a cement raw material and the research on utilizing steelmaking slag, including blast furnace slag (BFS), Kanbara reactor (KR) slag, basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag, electric arc furnace (EAF) slag, ladle furnace (LF) slag, and stainless slag, in cement clinker manufacture. Consequently, steelmaking slag could be used as a raw material to manufacture cement clinker to reduce CO2 emissions. However, additional research is needed, including slag pretreatment methods and cement clinker manufacturing process optimization.