Chemical Range of Stability for Self-Dusting Ladle Furnace Slags and Destabilizing Effect of Sulfur

Ladle furnace slags are characterized by volumetric expansions associated with the transition of dicalcium silicate (C2S) from β to γ phase, which generates fine dust during cooling, causing handling and storage issues that further reduce their recycling opportunities. The present work focuses on the effect of slag basicity on dusting and the role of sulfur on slag stability. Seven synthetic ladle slag precursors were made by mixing lime, magnesia, quartz and alumina in different proportions to match effective industrial compositions, increasing the binary basicity and keeping the ternary and quaternary indexes unchanged. Samples were heated to 1500 °C for 15 min and monitored during air cooling (< 5 °C/s) through thermocouples and camera to characterize the behavior, temperature, and time interval of dusting. The cooled samples were characterized chemically, mineralogically and morphologically. Starting from the chemistry of a self-stabilized slag, five additional slag precursors, characterized by increasing amounts of S, were created and analyzed using the same procedures. Experimental evidence showed the presence of three different dusting behaviors (stable, partial and complete) and stabilization of the slag once an optical basicity of 0.748 or higher was reached. In addition, mayenite was identified as the main phase capable of suppressing the β to γ transition by exerting hydrostatic pressure on C2S. Finally, although S can stabilize the β phase when dissolved in it, after saturation it precipitates as CaS, which can react with mayenite, locally decreasing the optical basicity and allowing dusting. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].