Reuse and recyclability of refractories from steel industry

Part of the CESAREF consortium, the study presented here is dedicated to the characterization of refractory material properties after usage for potential reuse and recyclability determination. The aim of this doctoral study is to provide an insight on the variation of specific materials’ key properties (such as thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, Young’s module, modulus of rupture) after operations. Mesoscale aging studies may allow to define appropriate Finite Element Models ( to foreseen operative conditions of the
refractory. Furthermore, application of an adapted FMECA (Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis) fatigue integrated approach can be a further reliable tool to better predict refractories’ lifetime. Also, MCDA (Multi Criteria Decision Approach) implementation could help in detecting the necessary strategies to define the most convenient recycling routes.