Brazil: 40,000 tons of steel slag aggregate for the industrial district’s access works

Ternium will donate 40,000 tons of steel slag aggregate for the construction of the main access routes to the Santa Cruz industrial district. It is estimated that this material will begin to be delivered to the project in early March. Steel slab aggregate is a processed product obtained from the slag in the steel mill’s furnace, resulting from the steel production process, a material which, if not processed, would have to be disposed of as waste. However, over the years, Ternium has studied and invested in this product so it gains new uses, thus avoiding ejection to industrial landfills.

According to Ternium Brazil's Director of Coproducts, Sebastian Capote, this is an opportunity to showcase to potential users that this is a good, sustainable product that works and allows to solve multiple problems at once: “It is an intelligent solution that replaces materials pulled from nature, minimizing environmental impact. We use a product that is generated in steel production and can be used efficiently.”

Capote explained that this material donated to the Santa Cruz industrial district’s access project has the potential to open opportunities for supply to other major paving works: “The steel slab aggregate is good for paving and economically viable because it is even cheaper than the material extracted from nature, which they normally use. We are in contact with City Halls and construction companies to technically show that the material brings cost efficiency and environmental benefit,” he said, adding that the goal for 2022 is to take advantage of this display and continue to grow: “We must try to ensure that everything generated within the plant, such as coproducts, 100% of the material is sold or donated as steel slab aggregate, and that it is sustainable from a revenue generation perspective.”

According to the Outsourced Services Specialist Diego Roberto, the steel slab aggregate is widely used as a primary surfacing for improving roads and unpaved tracks, promoting significant improvements in traffic conditions, and finishing off instances of mud and potholes. The material can also be applied to traditional paving works such as base, sub-base and wearing course, the asphalt cover.

Diego believes in the opportunity to feature the partnership with the City of Rio as an example of the steel slab aggregate’s use. He points out that one of the challenges is to raise awareness among local governments to include steel slab aggregate in the bid documents for construction work projects, as a substitute for gravel: “We already use this material inside the plant, there are several streets and patios where the paving base and sub-base were prepared with steel slab aggregate. We presented these successful internal cases to the City of Rio. We had a few technical rounds with the city presenting the material, the asphalt trace we tested and used on a small scale internally. With this, the city included steel slab aggregate in the bidding as part of the project.”