About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Steels in Extreme Conditions
|
| Presentation Title |
Removal of Copper From Steel Scrap Via High Temperature Sulfide Salts Treatment |
| Author(s) |
Keyan Matar, Xiaolei Guo, Jianyue Zhang, Ankur Kumar, Yuxuan Shui, Gerald S. Frankel, Alan Luo, Jianxun Hu, Brian Sieger |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Xiaolei Guo |
| Abstract Scope |
Steel recycling offers a practical route for cutting industrial energy consumption and greenhouse gas footprint, yet its full potential is hampered by tramp elements such as copper. As little as 0.3 wt % Cu triggers hot shortness, causing surface cracks during hot rolling and forcing producers to dilute or downgrade the metal. Here we report a high-temperature sulfide-salt refining method that effectively removes copper from molten scrap. Thermo-Calc simulations guided the design of a flux with low viscosity for rapid mass transfer, limited gas evolution to avoid safety issue, and high copper solubility to maximize partitioning. Bench-scale trials show that the tailored sulfur-based salt extracts more than 93 % of the copper, converting contaminated scrap into feedstock suitable for high-grade steels without added virgin iron. By enabling closed-loop recycling of automotive scrap, this approach addresses a critical bottleneck in circular steelmaking and delivers substantial environmental and economic benefits. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Sustainability, Recycling and Secondary Recovery, Iron and Steel |