Slag on the great lakes
Re: Slag on the great lakes
Forgot to add that there are huge differences in chemical and physical makeup between blast furnace slag, and steel furnace slag (which comes from basic oxygen furnaces, electric arc furnaces and other steel making devices). Some customers, like the Michigan Department of Transportation, only allow blast furnace slag to be used as a construction aggregate, and then generally only as a base course and not in concrete mixtures (as an aggregate).
Re: Slag on the great lakes
As others have said, slag has two primary uses in the construction industry. First as a construction aggregate (ie natural stone replacement) and second as an admixture to portland cement.
One place where slag is commonly used as a construction aggregate is for chip seals (where an asphalt emulsion is sprayed down on a road and aggregate sprinkled on top of it). The advantage for slag is that it has higher friction properties than many natural aggregates in the Great Lakes region, so it shortens the stopping distance on roadways.
As an admixture to portland cement, if used properly, it can increase the ultimate strength of the concrete, as well as improve its resistance to chemical attack by sulfates and chlorides (ie road salt.)
Like any product, slag has to be used with care (taking into account its chemical and physical properties), since if used incorrectly, it can actually reduce the life of concrete.
One place where slag is commonly used as a construction aggregate is for chip seals (where an asphalt emulsion is sprayed down on a road and aggregate sprinkled on top of it). The advantage for slag is that it has higher friction properties than many natural aggregates in the Great Lakes region, so it shortens the stopping distance on roadways.
As an admixture to portland cement, if used properly, it can increase the ultimate strength of the concrete, as well as improve its resistance to chemical attack by sulfates and chlorides (ie road salt.)
Like any product, slag has to be used with care (taking into account its chemical and physical properties), since if used incorrectly, it can actually reduce the life of concrete.
Re: Slag on the great lakes
According to the National Slag Association:
"Slag has been safely and successfully used as a construction aggregate in many applications such as asphaltic concrete, Portland cement concrete, roadway embankment and shoulders and on unpaved roads, parking lots, walkways, and driveways. Non-construction related applications include the Portland cement production, agricultural applications such as soil remineralization, pH supplement / liming agent, for treating acidic run-off from abandoned mines and for remediation of industrial waste water run-off."
http://nationalslag.org/
http://www.nationalslag.org/sites/natio ... lletin.pdf
"Slag has been safely and successfully used as a construction aggregate in many applications such as asphaltic concrete, Portland cement concrete, roadway embankment and shoulders and on unpaved roads, parking lots, walkways, and driveways. Non-construction related applications include the Portland cement production, agricultural applications such as soil remineralization, pH supplement / liming agent, for treating acidic run-off from abandoned mines and for remediation of industrial waste water run-off."
http://nationalslag.org/
http://www.nationalslag.org/sites/natio ... lletin.pdf
Re: Slag on the great lakes
Slag is used in concrete along with Portland cement to create a specific type of concrete. It's also used in some types of road construction.
Slag on the great lakes
Hey everyone. I see often on the vessel passage page that the Algoma fleet is hauling slag around. I know they pick up slag as a by-product from iron production. My question is, what is this product used for? It’s commonly being moved around the Great Lakes so it must have some important use in other industry. Thanks for letting me know! I’m always interested in what’s being shipped around our Great Lakes