ABOUT SAFEPOT

Background

The steel industry generates significant amounts of slags, spent refractories, and other by-products that are often disposed of in landfills despite their potential value as secondary raw materials. At the same time, slag pots used in steel plants suffer from severe wear and slag adhesion, leading to costly maintenance operations, equipment damage, and safety concerns for workers. Traditional protection methods, such as the use of sand, lime, or pebbles, have shown limited effectiveness.

Recent research has focused on the circular use of industrial residues and the development of innovative materials for high-temperature applications. In particular, steelmaking slags and refractory waste have demonstrated potential as raw materials for geopolymers and refractory products due to their chemical and mineralogical properties. These approaches can reduce waste generation, lower the consumption of virgin resources, and decrease the environmental footprint of steel production.

Despite these advances, the industrial application of recycled-material-based solutions for slag pot protection remains limited. Further research is needed to optimize material formulations, assess their performance under representative thermo-chemical and small-scale conditions with a view to their potential future industrial application, and assess their environmental, economic, and safety benefits.

SAFEPOT addresses these challenges by developing innovative geopolymer-based products derived from slags, spent refractories, and refractory production residues. Through advanced material characterization, laboratory testing and small-scale validation supported by thermographic measurements on operating slag pots, the project aims to develop and assess solution with the potential to improve slag pot durability, enhance worker safety, reduce landfill disposal, and strengthen circularity within the European steel industry.

Technological Scope

Formulation of Geopolymers

Geopolymers are typically produced using virgin raw materials or industrial materials specifically processed for this purpose.

The project aims to develop geopolymer formulations starting from alternative industrial residues, promoting resource efficiency and circularity.

Maintenance of Ovens and Ladles

Maintenance is generally based on the replacement of worn refractory components.

The project proposes the use of refractory mortars produced from recycled refractory waste to repair and protect equipment, extending service life and reducing waste generation.

Reuse of Refractory Materials

Refractory waste is generally recycled only in its coarse fraction and mainly reused in the form of bricks.

The project seeks to recycle refractory materials of all particle sizes, from coarse fragments to fine fractions, incorporating them into innovative mixtures with tailored compositions.

Reuse of Steel By-products

Steelmaking by-products are commonly used as inert materials or aggregates in cement-based applications.

The project explores their valorisation as raw materials for slag pot lining mortars and refractory products, creating higher-value industrial applications.

Management Workforce

Safeguarding the Slag Pot Lifetime

Current commercial solutions for slag pot protection are mainly based on products manufactured from virgin raw materials.

The project introduces alternative protective solutions developed from steel industry residues, transforming waste materials into valuable resources while enhancing slag pot durability and promoting circularity.

Reuse of Refractory Materials

Slag pot management operations often require workers to perform activities in close proximity to the slag pit, exposing them to challenging operating conditions.

The project aims to improve operational safety through safer working procedures and the implementation of automated slag pot coating management systems, reducing the need for direct worker intervention.

Environmental Scope

Landfill Disposal

A large proportion of spent refractory materials generated by steelmaking processes is currently disposed of in landfills.

The project seeks to significantly reduce landfill disposal by reusing spent refractory materials within the steelmaking cycle, turning waste streams into secondary raw materials for new applications.

Dust Emissions

Dust generation during slag pit emptying operations is typically controlled through suction hoods and water spraying systems.

By developing and assessing protective materials and solutions intended to facilitate slag pot emptying and minimize dust-producing operations, the project will provide a technical basis for solutions that may contribute to reducing dust generation at source in future industrial applications.

WorkPackages

SAFEPOT follows a stepwise methodology that starts with the characterization and pre-treatment of industrial residues, continues with the development and optimization of innovative geopolymer-based materials, and culminates in prototype validation and industrial testing. The technical activities are complemented by thermographic monitoring, environmental and economic assessments, and comprehensive dissemination actions to ensure the adoption of sustainable and circular solutions for slag pot protection and refractory applications in the steel industry.

The SAFEPOT work packages are designed as a sequential and integrated workflow, where the output of each WP provides the foundation for the next stage of development.

WP1 provides the overall project management and coordination framework, ensuring that all technical, scientific, and dissemination activities are aligned and efficiently executed.
WP2 generates the knowledge base for the project by selecting, characterizing, and pre-treating steelmaking slags and spent refractories. The material properties identified in this phase determine which residues are suitable for reuse.
WP3 directly builds on the results of WP2. The characterized materials are used to formulate and optimize geopolymer binders and mortars. Laboratory testing identifies the most promising formulations for industrial applications.
WP4 takes the optimized materials developed in WP3 and converts them into prototypes, validating their performance under application-oriented conditions before industrial deployment.
WP5 correlates the results obtained in WP4 with field temperature measurements from operating slag pots. Thermographic monitoring and thermal modelling, together with small-scale tests on representative metallic surfaces, are used to assess material behaviour and support the definition of operating practices for possible future industrial implementation.
WP6 uses the data generated in WP5 to assess the overall feasibility of the developed solutions. Technical, economic, and environmental evaluations, including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), determine their sustainability and industrial viability.
WP7 supports all other work packages by communicating project objectives, progress, and results to stakeholders, industry, researchers, and the public, ensuring knowledge transfer and facilitating future exploitation of the innovations.