Iron Powders from Steel Industry by-products: A Review

Abstract

Global iron and steel making industries generate immense number of by-products, among which few are already being utilized for the generation of high value products, while few are still struggling to gather a good market space. Waste utilization is the major concern for every industrial maker. In this context, iron powder which holds immense market in applications like powder metallurgy (PM) parts, welding electrodes, advanced oxidative agents for water treatment, food fortifying agents, metal injection moulding, catalysts, fuels etc., can now be a novel outcome from steel industry by-products. Iron powder can be manufactured by various techniques like reduction, atomization, electrolysis, etc., resulting in fine particles of various morphologies ranging from spherical to irregular shapes and low to high purity. The application of these iron powders is depended on the process, quality and purity of the desired product.