Recycling Welding Fluxes: A Case Study into Manganese-Silicate System

Recycling presents a waste-free solution to substantial disposal of welding slags which retain most components originated from the original fluxes. However, uncertainties in weld appearance and element contents render it unjustified to reuse welding slags as fluxes. In the present study, a manganese...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Metallurgical and materials transactions. B, Process metallurgy and materials processing science Process metallurgy and materials processing science, 2024-12, Vol.55 (6), p.4398-4407
Main Authors: Tian, Huiyu, Zhang, Yanyun, Shi, Shuai, Wang, Guanyi, Wang, Cong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alloying elements
Amorphous structure
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry and Materials Science
Depolymerization
Heat treating
Materials Science
Metallic Materials
Nanotechnology
Original Research Article
Recycling
Silicon dioxide
Slag
Structural Materials
Submerged arc welding
Surfaces and Interfaces
Thin Films
Weld metal
Welding fluxes
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Summary:Recycling presents a waste-free solution to substantial disposal of welding slags which retain most components originated from the original fluxes. However, uncertainties in weld appearance and element contents render it unjustified to reuse welding slags as fluxes. In the present study, a manganese-silicate flux has been demonstrated to be fully recyclable subject to submerged arc welding (SAW) for three times. The weld appearance is assessed against the initial weld metal (WM), while alloying element contents are evaluated according to AWS (American Welding Society) requirements. Flux composition and structure, two decisive factors affecting welding performance, are quantified. It is manifested that compositional changes mainly occur in the contents of MnO (39.50 to 34.66 wt pct), SiO 2 (38.46 to 34.25 wt pct), and Fe t O (1.55 to 6.78 wt pct). Moreover, crystalline structures of MgMnSiO 4 , and Mg 0.6 Mn 1.4 SiO 4 appear in the initially amorphous flux. The crystallinity is enhanced to 32.7 wt pct through flux recycling. Slight depolymerization is found in the amorphous structure, as the NBO/Si (non-bridging oxygens per silicon atom) is elevated by 0.2. Overall, this study demonstrates the capability of recycling welding fluxes and is poised to offer insight into further sustainable applications.
ISSN:1073-5615
1543-1916
DOI:10.1007/s11663-024-03252-6