Possible Uses of Steelmaking Slag in Agriculture: An Overview

Over the past decades, the steel production has increased and, consequently, the higher volumes of by-products and residues generated have driven to the reuse of these materials in an increasingly efficient way. In recent years new technologies have been expanded, and some of them are still under developing, in order to improve the recovery rates of slags. On this subject material separation technologies and carbon sequestration could dramatically reduce CO2 emissions from steelmaking processes. On the other hand, the increase of slags recovery and use in different fields of application, such as in agriculture, allowed to reduce landfill slags and to preserve natural resources. In addition to the environmental achievements, these practices produced economic benefits, by providing sustainable solutions that can allow the steel industry to achieve its ambitious target of “zero-waste” in the incoming years (worldsteel, 2008).