EVRAZ Stratcor to Rely on Roasted Steelmaking Slag at Arkansas Plant
06/06/2013 - As part of its long-term plan to diversify the feed stocks used in its vanadium operations, EVRAZ Stratcor’s Hot Springs, Ark., plant plans to start using roasted vanadium-bearing steelmaking slag as the major vanadium raw material used in its specialty-vanadium operations in the fall of 2013.
The slag, which is generated by EVRAZ’s steelmaking production in Russia, will be roasted before being shipped to Hot Springs.
The Hot Springs plant has been extensively testing the new material in its production facilities and will be processing a substantial shipment of roasted slag this summer. The vanadium recovered from slag and other raw materials is converted into specialty-vanadium alloys and chemicals used by the titanium, chemical, and steel industries.
In addition, the Hot Springs plant is currently constructing new facilities that will enable the plant to use greater amounts steelmaking slag in the future. These new facilities, which include improvements in the leaching and reagent systems, will enable Hot Springs to resume its historic production level of 9 million lbs. of vanadium pentoxide (V2 O5) per year. The new facilities are expected to come on stream in the fall of 2013.
The EVRAZ Stratcor Hot Springs plant currently processes various vanadium-bearing feed stocks – including residues, ashes, and spent catalysts that are available from many countries around the world. Using roasted steelmaking slag will allow the plant to expand production and better meet the future needs of its specialty vanadium customers.
“Roasted steelmaking slag is an abundant raw material that allows us to expand and diversify our vanadium feed stocks,” said Tim Scott, president of EVRAZ Stratcor, Inc. “It also enables EVRAZ’s worldwide vanadium operations to become more vertically integrated from raw materials through the finished product.”
