Industrial Ecotechnological Assessment of Lime as a Sustainable Substitute for Desulfurization of Cast Iron

Abstract

This study comprehensively assesses the ecotechnological consideration and perspective of implementing a lime-based desulfurization process in the cast iron industry to replace the utilization of magnesium partially. By adopting an injection process to introduce the lime powder into molten cast iron, this research elucidated that the new alternative concept can successfully be integrated with daily operations without any disparities in cast iron quality, as proved by the production of cast iron products with vermicular graphite. A mixture of lime powder and carbon was utilized, and it was substantiated that the aim of a sulfur content lower than 0.015% can be reliably achieved. Furthermore, an ecological analysis was also conducted to justify the possible environmental advantages. The results indicated that considering the cradle-to-gate approach, the maximum amount of CO2eq connected to the lime-based desulfurization is approximately 43 g for 1 kg of desulfurized cast iron. This amount of calculated emission is still expected to be lower than the minimum calculated emission associated with the magnesium-based process, which can reach an amount of 76 g for a similar functional unit. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)