In the Pursuit of Waste free Metallurgy

Abstract

Science claims that an ideal production process is one which is waste free. This applies all the more to metall-urgy where the wastes are too many and amount to millions of tonnes. The wastes include gases, slag and dust from the furnaces, waste water from various parts of the plant and slimes from the mines. The ideal way is a closed cycle in which all the ingredients of the raw materials and all the by-products are utilised. As of today waste free meta-llurgy still remains a dream. However, in recent past increasing research activities are being undertaken around the world to reduce wastes by adopting green process design, making technological improvements in process flow sheets as well as process equipment and making value added products from metallurgical wastes. The paper outlines some of the work carried out at National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur on reduction of wastes and control of pollution in metallurgical industries. It also addr-esses the key concepts in achieving waste free metallurgy. Some of these include green design of metallurgical proc-esses, pollution prevention through control of input mate-rials, innovative utilisation of unavoidable wastes through value addition and recovery of green house gases to avoid global warming. The economic benefits of achieving waste free metallurgy and the basic strategics for achieving the same are also discussed.