Until recently, steelmakers have had little choice regarding what to do with dust and sludge recovered from their operations. It had to be dumped or stored, forfeiting the often-valuable elements contained because there was no practical or economical method available to salvage them. Waste pelletizing is changing that scene. Various systems have been developed that allow very finely divided material to be shaped into forms suitable for recycling to iron and steelmaking furnaces. One of the most recent processes was devised by the Bureau of Mines Rolla, Missouri, Research Center to handle stainless steel wastes. As originally conceived, the project was designed to promote recovery of alloying elements from dusts, sludges, swarf, and mill scale. The Bureau of Mines system is now seen as a viable, cost-effective way to reach that goal. Further, it is considered an alternative to waste dumping or storage for companies that might not otherwise be interested in alloy recovery. This report describes the successful conclusion of the Bureau's research.
33 Metal Prod., V. 17, No. 11, November 1979, PP. 57-59