Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag

1. Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) is a by product of the steel industry. Blast furnace slag is defined as “the non-metallic product consisting essentially of calcium silicates and other bases that is developed in a molten condition simultaneously with iron in a blast furnace.” [1] In the production of iron, blast furnaces are loaded with iron ore, fluxing agents, and coke. When the iron ore, which is made up of iron oxides, silica, and alumina, comes together with the fluxing agents, molten slag and iron are produced. The molten slag then goes through a particular process depending on what type of slag it will become. Air-cooled slag has a rough finish and larger surface area when compared to aggregates of that volume which allows it to bind well with portland cements as well as asphalt mixtures. GGBFS is produced when molten slag is quenched rapidly using water jets, which produces a granular glassy aggregate.