Objectives

The Dust2Value project was set up to demonstrate the feasibility to decarbonize the state-of-the-art Waelz process to recover zinc from steelmaking waste streams, in particular electric arc furnace dust (EAFD). The Dust2Value process uses green hydrogen to distil zinc by reducing zinc oxide to metal zinc vapor. The novel concept allows in-situ reoxidation with water vapor, forming fine zinc oxide particles which exit the furnace via the off-gas stream. These particles are recovered in bag-house filters and serve as secondary zinc concentrate. Additionally, the process produces secondary-grade DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) reusable in EAF steelmaking. The innovation results from the extensive background knowledge and detailed insights from basic research which have led to an optimized process design that achieves exceptionally high extraction rates for zinc and a high degree of metallization for iron.