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Hyundai Steel Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. have developed technology to utilize calcium fluoride (CaF2) from recycled wastewater sludge as supplementary material in steelmaking.
The CaF2 is similar to fluorite, a steelmaking material that lowers melting temperatures and removes impurities in molten iron.
The new technology allows Hyundai Steel, the country’s No. 2 steelmaker, to cut costs while reducing Samsung’s semiconductor waste.
South Korean steelmakers have to entirely import fluorite.
Hyundai Steel imports about 20,000 tons of fluorite annually. With the new recycling technology, Hyundai Steel expects to cut its imports by half as early as the end of October.
Without the technology, Samsung would either throw away wastewater sludge or send it to cement factories for reuse.
The process began last year with a partnership agreement signed by Hyundai Steel and Samsung with local metal recycling firm Pos Ceramics Co. to jointly develop recycling technology for wastewater sludge.
In April of this year, Hyundai Steel was able to produce steel using 30 tons of fluorite alternatives.
The new technology was approved in August by South Korean authorities, including the National Institute of Environmental Research, approved the new technology in August.
