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Effects of iron oxide on crystallization behavior and spatial distribution of spinel in stainless steel slag

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Abstract

Chromium plays a vital role in stainless steel due to its ability to improve the corrosion resistance of the latter. However, the release of chromium from stainless steel slag (SSS) during SSS stockpiling causes detrimental environmental issues. To prevent chromium pollution, the effects of iron oxide on crystallization behavior and spatial distribution of spinel were investigated in this work. The results revealed that FeO was more conducive to the growth of spinels compared with Fe2O3 and Fe3O4. Spinels were found to be mainly distributed at the top and bottom of slag. The amount of spinel phase at the bottom decreased with the increasing FeO content, while that at the top increased. The average particle size of spinel in the slag with 18wt% FeO content was 12.8 µm. Meanwhile, no notable structural changes were observed with a further increase in FeO content. In other words, the spatial distribution of spinel changed when the content of iron oxide varied in the range of 8wt% to 18wt%. Finally, less spinel was found at the bottom of slag with a FeO content of 23wt%.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge supports by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52074078 and 52374327), the Applied Fundamental Research Program of Liaoning Province (No. 2023JH2/101600002), the Shenyang Young Middle-Aged Scientific and Technological Innovation Talent Support Program (No. RC220491), the Liaoning Province Steel Industry-University-Research Innovation Alliance Cooperation Project of Bensteel Group (No. KJBLM202202), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos. N2201023 and N2325009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral (Ministry of Education), Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Zihang Yan, Qing Zhao, Chengzhi Han, Xiaohui Mei, Chengjun Liu & Maofa Jiang

  2. School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Zihang Yan, Qing Zhao, Chengzhi Han, Xiaohui Mei, Chengjun Liu & Maofa Jiang

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  1. Zihang Yan
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  2. Qing Zhao
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Correspondence to Qing Zhao.

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Yan, Z., Zhao, Q., Han, C. et al. Effects of iron oxide on crystallization behavior and spatial distribution of spinel in stainless steel slag. Int J Miner Metall Mater 31, 292–300 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-023-2713-7

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