New plant in Victoria, Texas, set to recycle EAF dust from southwestern mills

Fastmarkets

Published by: Yasemin Esmen

17 Feb 2023

Houston, Texas-based Zinc Resources has started production at its new electric-arc furnace (EAF) dust recycling plant in Victoria, Texas, the company announced on Monday February 13.

The facility is the first Waelz Kiln EAF dust recycling plant to come online in the southern United States in more than 15 years. It is also the first to receive approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for recycling EAF dust in this state, according to the company.

“We saw that there was a huge regional opportunity in the Texas market to minimize the logistical restraints associated with transboundary shipping of EAF dust, not to mention the opportunity to reduce transportation costs,” Ron Crittendon, Zinc Resources chief executive officer, told Fastmarkets.

The facility’s geographic location is in close proximity to southwestern steel mills, which provides logistical benefits, the company said.

EAF steelmaking comprises a little over 70% of all steelmaking in the United States, but there are geographic variations in utilization, with all steelmaking in southern states employing EAFs while midwestern states have a mix of EAFs and blast oxygen furnaces (BOFs).

Fastmarkets’ steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US South was calculated at $41.58 per hundredweight on Wednesday, having risen steadily from $34.94 cwt since the index was launch on January 4.

The plant joins a handful of EAF dust recycling facilities in the US, which use this byproduct of EAF steelmaking to recover zinc and iron. The recovered Waelz zinc oxide is used by zinc smelters and Waelz iron product is used as a cement additive and in road construction.

The existing Waelz Kiln plants in the US include the Monterrey, Mexico-based Zinc Nacional’s Steel Dust Recycling plant in Millport, Alabama, the Waelz Sustainable Product’s (a joint venture between Zinc Nacional and the Indianapolis-based Heritage Environmental Services) site in Cass County, Indiana as well as Luxemburg-based Befesa’s plants in Calumet, Illinois; Palmerton, Pennsylvania; Barnwell, South Carolina; and Rockwood, Tennessee.

Befesa’s Mooresboro, North Carolina plant also produces special high-grade (SHG) zinc from Waelz Kiln oxide.

The new Zinc Resources plant has the capacity to process 120,000 tonnes of EAF dust annually and is currently operating at rates close to that capacity, according to a company spokesperson

While welcoming the development, some industry participants were concerned about the availability of EAF dust.

“If the steel industry grows and generates more EAF dust, it will be fine. But right now, there is more capacity for recycling [EAF dust] than there is EAF capacity,” one industry participant told Fastmarkets, asking, “Will there be enough EAF dust?”

The spokesperson for Zinc Resources said they strongly believe in the growing supply of EAF dust in the southwestern region of the US, stemming from new steel mill construction as well as expansion projects from existing mills.

Production of one tonne of steel generates between 10-20 kilograms (22.05-44.09 lbs) of EAF dust at a 1-2% rate.

The facility is located at the Port of Victoria, where the company has made significant investments. The location provides the company with the ability to offer its customers and suppliers a unique opportunity to ship by barge although they typically ship by rail, according to Zinc Resources.

“We are happy to offer our suppliers and customers a great deal of flexibility in their sending and receiving methods,” Crittendon said.

The company said the plant was designed for environmental safety and has installed specialized technology to achieve the lowest emissions and carbon footprint in the industry.

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