Steel slags on the road to success

More than 250 delegates contributed to the success of the
6^th European Slag Conference EUROSLAG 2010, they came not just from Europe, but from 25 countries all over the world (Fig. 1) to promote the application and share the latest ­knowledge on slags. Slag is a by-product from the steel sector producing aggregates with properties, that when processed, make them very useful for road construction and other civil works. Other slag applications include cement, and many other promising new applications ranging from water filtering to coral reefs and the reconstruction of  aquatic environments to help to promote the growth of underwater vegetation. Steelmakers, processors of slags, the research community and final users have successfully combined their efforts at EUROSLAG 2010 to optimize the benefits for each use and expand the potential for new applications.

During the conference, technical, environmental, safety, market and new research topics were discussed. The contribution of slag to sustainability was also emphasized, and summarized by Dr. Heribert Motz (Fig. 2), chairman of EUROSLAG, as reducing the consumption of natural aggregates and the impact of quarrying on the environment. Further benefits by the reduction of CO₂ emissions and energy consumption are also realized along with the avoidance of landfilling of a valuable ma­terial by the steel industry.

Also presented was the need for more influence and support from the government in general for by-products in order to promote the use of slag and avoid unnecessary constraints, based on its positive contribution to sustainability, and the need to keep EUROSLAG active on slag studies which can enhance its processing as much as its final properties. UNESID, the ­Spanish Steel Association, was in charge of the organization of the Euroslag2010. The next event, Euroslag2012 is already at the planning stage.