2024 Volume 64 Issue 15 Pages 2085-2086
Recently, our society faces major and immediate challenges to the sustainability of our natural environment. In particular, the global transition to a circular economy model, the increase of scrap recycling, the development of renewable energy and associated electrical power storage technologies, and the reduction in the use of fossil fuels, are required. To achieve these objectives, the sustainable provision of steels and other metals is required, and therefore the optimization of the novel high temperature processing whether in production, refining or recycling of these materials are expected. However, for the development of efficient and environment-friendly processes, fundamental scientific knowledge on the physicochemical properties are essential.
Based on the above background, the 12th International Conference on Molten Slags, Fluxes and Salts (MOLTEN 2024) was held in June 2024 in Brisbane, Australia. The main scope was set as supporting the transition to sustainable technologies, and many of the latest ideas, developments, and concepts in the above-mentioned fields were discussed. After the COVID-19 crisis, the conference was held in a face-to-face style in 8 years. A lot of delegates including researchers, metallurgists and engineers joined from around the world, as shown in Fig. 1. The Iron and Steel Institute of Japan (hereafter represented by ISIJ) participated to this conference as a supporting partner. Under a cooperation with the above conference, the committee of ISIJ International journal decided to hold a special issue, which mainly focuses on the new developments in steels and related materials production, refining and recycling technologies, as well as evaluation of key properties of high temperature melts. The details are summarized as follows.
This special issue has comprehensively collected the original papers on the latest research studies, all of which are related to (i) high temperature processing of steels and related materials, whether in production, refining or recycling, and (ii) key properties of high temperature melts. In addition, it has included several research topics on thermodynamics, phase equilibria, reaction kinetics, and physicochemical properties of molten metals and slags or fluxes. For example, the comprehensive experimental studies on the phase equilibria in the Fe2O3-containing oxide systems related to the characteristics of iron ores, the reducing behavior of iron oxide composite with carbon materials, the observation and optimization of the slag-steel reactions in the refining of advanced steel, and evaluation of surface tension, interfacial tension, density and viscosity of high temperature melts using sophisticated experimental techniques or molecular dynamics simulation, have been included. I sincerely hope that this special issue is useful for many researchers who are engaged in the developments and improvements of the sustainable production in steel and related materials to enhance their knowledge.
On behalf of the editors of this special issue, I am grateful to all the authors and reviewers for their fruitful contributions. I also appreciate the MOLTEN 2024 international conference organizing committee members (Emeritus Prof. Peter Hayes and Prof. Evgueni Jak, The University of Queensland), and several international advisory board members (Prof. Hiroyuki Shibata, Tohoku University, Assoc. Prof. Hiroyuki Matsuura, The University of Tokyo) for their great contributions in editing the special issue.