Preliminary physical-chemical and mineralogical characterization of furnace dust samples, the basis for the selection of samples for research within the project EIT Raw Materials ris-dustrec-ii no 22009

Large amounts of EAF furnace dust are generated in Europe (1.3Mt), as well as in the world (8,764Mt). Due to the high content of Fe and Zn, whose content often reaches a total of between 50 and 60 wt.%, EAF dust has always been interesting for recycling. So far, the most commonly applied method of processing EAF dust is the pyrometallurgical Waelz kiln process of Zn extraction (85% market share). The paper presents EIT Raw Materials Project: RIS-DustRec-II, which aims to develop innovative technologies for the separation, reprocessing, and beneficial use of all components of EAF and CF furnace dust, to reduce the amount of toxic waste and achieve the zero-waste target in the EU. Preliminary chemical, XRD, and SEM analyses on two samples of EAF and CF furnace dust from Italy were performed and presented.