Production, characterisation, utilisation, and beneficial soil application of steel slag: A review

Highlights: • Steel industries are moving towards sustainable utilisation of their waste as co-products. • Slag sources, properties, and studies of beneficial application are reviewed. • Steel slag utilisation would increase if the P and Fe phases in slag can be separated at an industrial scale. • The P-rich phase can be used as a fertiliser and soil amendment, while the Fe-rich phase can be recycled in sinter factories. • More comprehensive data on the nutrients of various slags are required to evaluate the use of slag for soil application. Slags are a co-product produced by the steel manufacturing industry and have mainly been utilised for aggregates in concreting and road construction. The increased utilisation of slag can increase economic growth and sustainability for future generations by creating a closed-loop system, circular economy within the metallurgical industries. Slags can be used as a soil amendment, and slag characteristics may reduce leachate potential of heavy metals, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as contain essential nutrients required for agricultural use and environmental remediation. This review aims to examine various slag generation processes in steel plants, their physicochemical characteristics in relation to beneficial utilisation as a soil amendment, and environmental implications and risk assessment of their utilisation in agricultural soils. In relation to enhancing recycling of these resources, current and emerging techniques to separate iron and phosphorus slag compositions are also outlined in this review. Although there are no known immediate direct threats posed by slag on human health, the associated risks include potential heavy metal contamination, leachate contamination, and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in plants, thereby reaching the food chain. Further research in this area is required to assess the long-term effects of slag in agricultural soils on animal and human health.