Shock wave technology can be used for a selective treatment of different metallurgical slags. Separating and concentrating the valuable materials from multi-phase systems like metal slags allows an easier post-processing of these materials and for a better economic and ecological recycling.
By generating high-voltage discharges under water, the fragmenting effect can be specifically directed to hit the material interfaces and focus on the transitions between the mineralogical phases of the slag.
Applications of this innovative processing approach present the following advantages, especially for the intermediate products of iron, zinc and steel refining:
- efficient fragmentation of hard and abrasive materials
- the high phase selectivity improve subsequent hydrometallurgic processing
- separation of decreasing elements improves pyrometallurgical post-processing
- easier material sorting after shock wave fragmentation
The procedure allows the process parameters to be adapted to the composition and specific requirements of each material. The impurities embedded in the slag are detached and then simply separated, which presents a variety of new opportunities for metallurgical post-processing and economical recycling.