Adjusting the melting and crystallization behaviors of ferronickel slag via partially replacing of SiO by BO for mineral wool production.

Utilization of ferronickel slag as a raw material for mineral wool production not only conserves natural resources, but also achieves the sustainable development for the ferronickel industry. In order to utilize the ferronickel slag more efficiently, the melting and crystallization behaviors of the slag with the partial replacement of SiO by BO were investigated in this paper. The results show that the initial and complete melting temperatures decreased with BO substitution for SiO, which indicates that the addition of BO can reduce the energy consumption during the melting process. The incubation time of the slag in the Time Temperature Transformation (TTT) diagram increased, whereas the initial crystallization temperature in the Continuous Cooling Transformation (CCT) diagram decreased when SiO was substituted by BO. In addition, the main crystalline phases precipitated in the slags were columnar MgSiO and MgSiO. The weakening of crystallization ability caused by the substitution of BO for SiO will be beneficial for the improvement of fiber quality when the ferronickel slag is used as a raw material for mineral wool production.