Heavy Metals Flows Induced by Plastics Utilisation in Blast Furnace Process

However, the utilisation of waste plastics as an alternative reducing agent is also associated with an additional input of heavy metals in the process. These heavy metals may not only be relevant for the process stability and the product quality but also from an environmental point of view.To which extent gaseous emissions or waste water from furnace gas cleaning may be influencedby feedstock recycling of waste plastics have been hardly investigated so far. Therefore, heavymetal flows (Zn, Pb, Hg, Cd) in the blast furnace process and its satellite processes (e.g. top gas scrubber) have been analysed.