Microwave-intensified treatment of low-zinc EAF dust: A route toward high-grade metallized product with a focus on multiple elements

Abstract This study reports treatment of low-zinc EAF dust for obtaining high-grade metallized product with a focus on multiple valuable elements via microwave reduction followed by magnetic separation. In reduction, the conversions of components of iron, zinc, lead, manganese and chromium, mainly in the form of spinel phases, to Fe, Zn, PbCl2, MnO and Cr2O3, respectively, were partially restrained by the formation of complex silicates, e.g., Ca3Al0.84Fe1.16Si3O12. After microwave reduction under the conditions of C/Fe mass ratio of 0.25, temperature of 1323 K, dwell time of 15 min, heating rate of 25 K/min and microwave power of 2200 W, the reduced briquette had the iron metallization degree of 96.20%, with volatilization of 98.38% of Zn and 80.22% of Pb. By magnetic separation, a high-grade metallized product containing 81.77 wt% Fe (79.97 wt% metallic iron) and 0.04 wt% Zn, satisfying the Chinese standard (YB/T 4272–2012) of the first-grade metallized product from dust, was obtained.