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Material Description
ORIGIN
In the production of iron, iron ore, iron scrap, and fluxes (limestone and/or dolomite) are charged
into a blast furnace along with coke for fuel. The coke is combusted to produce carbon
monoxide, which reduces the iron ore to a molten iron product. This molten iron product can be
cast into iron products, but is most often used as a feedstock for steel production.
Blast furnace slag is a nonmetallic coproduct produced in the process. It consists primarily of
silicates, aluminosilicates, and calcium-alumina-silicates. The molten slag, which absorbs much
of the sulfur from the charge, comprises about 20 percent by mass of iron production. Figure 3-1
presents a general schematic, which depicts the blast furnace feedstocks and the production of
blast furnace coproducts (iron and slag).
Different forms of slag product are produced depending on the method used to cool the molten
slag. These products include air-cooled blast furnace slag (ACBFS), expanded or foamed slag,
pelletized slag, and granulated blast furnace slag.
Figure
3-1.
General
schematic
and blast furnace slag production.
of
blast
furnace
operation
MARKET SOURCES
Blast furnace slag materials are generally available from slag processors located near iron
production centers.
Cements containing ground granulated blast furnace slag are available from many producers of
Portland cement or directly from ground granulated blast furnace slag cement manufacturers.
AASHTO M240 describes three types of blended cements containing slag.(3) They include
Portland blast furnace slag cement (type IS), slag modified Portland cement (type I (SM)), and
slag cement (type S). The primary distinction among the three types is the percentage of slag
they contain. Slag cement may contain Portland cement or hydrated lime (or both) while the
other two are blends of Portland cement and slag only.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recommended that effective May 1, 1995,
procuring agencies specifically include provision in all construction contracts for the use of
GGBFS in Portland cement concrete contracts.(5)
MATERIAL PROPERTIES
Physical Properties
Table 3-1 lists some typical physical properties of air-cooled, expanded, and pelletized blast
furnace slags.
Table 3-1. Typical physical properties of blast furnace slag.(3)
Property
Specific Gravity
Compacted
Unit
3
3
kg/m (lb/ft )
Absorption (%)
Pelletized(7)
840
(52)
Constituent
Calcium
Oxide
(CaO)
Silicon
Dioxide
(SiO2)
Aluminum Oxide
(Al2O3)
Magnesium Oxide
(MgO)
Percent
1949a.
1957a.
1968a.
1985a.
Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range
41
34-48
41
31-47
39
32-44
39
34-43
36
31-45
36
31-44
36
32-40
36
27-38
13
10-17
13
8-18
12
8-20
10
7-12
1-15
2-16
11
2-19
12
7-15
Iron
0.5
0.1-1.0 0.5
0.2-0.9 0.4
0.2-0.9 0.5
(FeO or Fe2O3)
Manganese Oxide
0.8
0.1-1.4 0.8
0.2-2.3 0.5
0.2-2.0 0.44
(MnO)
Sulfur
1.5
0.9-2.3 1.6
0.7-2.3 1.4
0.6-2.3 1.4
(S)
a. Data source is the National Slag Association data: 1949 (22 sources);
sources); 1968 (30 sources) and 1985 (18 sources).
0.2-1.6
0.150.76
1.0-1.9
1957 (29
Value
35 - 45%
12%
40 - 45
5-6
up to 250%
is 3 to 4
Other Properties
Because of their more porous structure, blast furnace slag aggregates have lower thermal
conductivities than conventional aggregates.(21) Their insulating value is of particular advantage
in applications such as frost tapers (transition treatments in pavement subgrades between frost
susceptible and nonfrost susceptible soils) or pavement base courses over frost-susceptible soils.
REFERENCES
1. Mineral Commodity Summaries 1993. Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior,
Washington, DC, 1993.
2. Collins, R.J. and S.K. Ciesielski. Recycling and Use of Waste Materials and By-Products
in Highway Construction. National Cooperative Highway Research Program Synthesis of
Highway Practice 199, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 1994.
3. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Standard
Specification for Materials, "Blended Hydraulic Cements," AASHTO Designation:
M240-85, Part I Specifications, 14th Edition, 1986.
4. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Standard
Specification for Materials, "Ground Iron Blast-Furnace Slag for Use in Concrete and
Mortars," AASHTO Designation: M302-86, Part I Specification, 14th Edition, 1986.
5. Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN). Environmental Protection
Agency, Federal Register, May 1, 1995.
6. NSA 188.1. Processed Blast Furnace Slag, The All Purpose Construction Aggregate,
National Slag Association, Alexandria, Virginia.
7. Emery, J.J. "Pelletized Lightweight Slag Aggregate," Proceedings of Concrete
International 1980, Concrete Society, April, 1980.
8. Fax memorandum, S. Szoke, Ontario Ministry of Transportation to D. Horvat, National
Slag Limited, April 7, 1995.
9. Mineral Aggregate Conservation Reuse and Recycling. Report prepared by John Emery
Geotechnical Engineering Limited for Aggregate and Petroleum Resources Section,
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Ontario, 1992.
10. NSA 166.2. "Blast Furnace Slag, Ideal Backfill Material for Steel Sheet Piling," National
Slag Association, Alexandria, Virginia.
11. Short, A. "The Use of Lightweight Concrete in Reinforced Concrete Construction," The
Reinforced Concrete Review, British Reinforced Concrete Association, Vol.5, No.3,
September 1959.
12. National Slag Limited. Letter, April 4, 1995, D. Horvat, National Slag Limited to P.
Verok, MTO Construction Office, with Attachment, Overview Report, Leachate
Mechanism, Blast Furnace Slag Technical Committee, Hamilton, Ontario, March 17,
1995.
13. BQSF. Report of the Visit of the Slag Study Group of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation
of BQSF, British Quarrying and Slag Federation Limited, June 29, 1978.
14. BSI. British Standard Specification for Air-Cooled Blastfurnace Slag Aggregate for Use
in Construction, BS 1047: 1983, British Standards Institution, 1983.
15. NSL. The Leaching of Sulphur from Blast Furnace Slag, National Slag Limited,
November, 1985.
16. Nordrhein-Westfalen. Requirements for the Use of Processed Recycled Construction
Materials and Industrial By-Products for Excavation and Road Construction from the
Standpoint of Water Management, (Dofasco translation), Ministerial Publication 45, State
of Nordrhein-Westfalen, July 18, 1991.
17. JIS. Iron and Steel Slag for Road Construction, JIS A 5015, Japanese Industrial
Standards, 1992.
18. ASA. Guide to the Use of Slag in Roads, Australian Slag Association, 1994.
19. Ohio EPA. "Interim Policy: Use of Blast Furnace and Steel Slag," State of Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency, June 6, 1994.
20. Noureldin, A. S. and R. S. McDaniel. "Evaluation of Steel Slag Asphalt Surface
Mixtures", Presented at the 69th Annual Meeting, Transportation Research Board,
Washington, January, 1990.
21. Smith, M. A., Resources Policy, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 154-170, 1975.