News Release: Steel Dust Recycling, LLC to Build
Dust Recycling Plant to Service
Southern United States Steel Industry
Millport, AL (June 25, 2007) – Steel Dust Recycling, LLC, (SDR) today announced plans to build a Waelz Kiln facility in northwestern Alabama to recycle 110,000 tons per year of steel mill dust, a by-product of electric arc furnaces (EAF). The facility will be built on 66 acres in Millport, Alabama, near the SeverCorr steel mill currently under construction in Lowndes County, Mississippi. SDR will recycle steel mill dust from SeverCorr as well as other EAF plants in the Southern United States.
“Approximately 40% of the steel dust being generated annually in the U.S. – over 400,000 tons – is currently being placed in landfills, a problem that is especially acute in the South, where the steel industry is growing,” said Russ Robinson, president of SDR. “We’re filling a need for an effective alternative to sending steel dust to landfills, and the Waelz Kiln is recognized as the best available recycling technology”
Waelz Kiln technology will recover the zinc from the dust and provide the zinc-rich Waelz oxide to smelters in North America and around the world. The remaining steel-based slag is then often used by cement producers or for road aggregate.
“We are pleased SDR is offering recycling as a viable solution for disposing of steel dust,” said Wynn Calland, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs of SeverCorr, which has a multi-year contract with SDR. “They share SeverCorr’s regional focus and are bringing a much-needed service to the Southern steel industry.”
The Waelz plant will be constructed and operated under the guidance of Robinson, a 25-year veteran of the zinc industry, and Tom Knepper, a Waelz expert with over 30 years experience in kiln operations. Construction of the facility is expected to begin immediately with completion in under a year.
About Steel Dust Recycling, LLC: Steel Dust Recycling was founded in 2006 to design, build and operate a Waelz Kiln plant capable of recycling steel mill dust, a waste product of electric arc furnaces. The company will serve the growing Southern United States steel industry by locating a state-of-the-art plant in Millport, Alabama. This facility will have the capacity to process 110,000 tons of steel dust annually when fully operational in the second quarter of 2008.
