Home | 9th International Slag Valorisation Symposium

Key dates

Extended abstract submissionSeptember 30, 2024

Paper submission deadlineJanuary 15, 2025

Early bird registrationMarch 1, 2025

SymposiumApril 8-11, 2025

Slag Valorisation

We are now more than ever aware of the risks which we encounter on this precious planet. As our society is facing several challenges, such as climate change, depletion of resources, global socio-economic and energy crises and human inequality, we realize that action is urgently needed. Through the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the 193 Member States of the United Nations, we have a roadmap and strategy to transform our world by 2030. This is the Decade of Action. Although efforts are made around the world to make this transition happen, the progress is not yet at full speed and scale, and we need to take critical steps to tackle current and future challenges. To achieve SDG 12 “sustainable consumption and production patterns”, we should make considerable steps forward in the development of sustainable practices in the metallurgical sector, among others, through the valorisation of high-temperature residues and other wastes or by-products.

The International Slag Valorisation Symposium

Today in its 9^th edition, the “Slag Valorisation Symposium”, organised by the Materials Engineering Department at KU Leuven and held in Belgium since 2009 as a biennial conference, serves as a forum for discussions on the valorisation of slags and other metallurgical residues as well as numerous industrial process waste streams. The symposium has historically brought together different expertise from academia and industry, providing a knowledge platform to share and discuss the upcoming challenges and opportunities in the world of slag and residue valorisation and sustainable high-temperature processes. After a successful physical edition in 2023, we are happy to invite and welcome again high-level speakers from globally recognised organisations. The symposium aims to cover several topics, from the scientific and technical relevance of slag and residue valorisation to its environmental and economic impacts. The quality of the scientific committee, selected among the most recognised experts in this field, will ensure the highest standards of the accepted works.

The objectives

The objective of this 9^th edition of the International Slag Symposium – From Residues to Resources and Resilience – is to discuss and share the most updated findings in the field of slag and metallurgical residues valorisation, metals recovery, slag’s or metallurgical residues’ life cycle analysis, policy for wastes and residues valorisation guided by climate neutrality and resource efficiency principles. We invite all researchers and other actors to share their enthusiasm by submitting their works on the following topics:

Fundamental studies on liquid and solid slags
Hot-stage slag engineering, slag solidification, slag conditioning, internal reuse
Slag cleaning and metal recovery from metallurgical residues
Production, properties and performance of slag-based/residue-based products
Process development for sustainable technologies
Industrial case studies on slag/residue valorisation
Environmental and economic analysis
Policy and regulations

The contributions submitted by the participants, together with the lectures from the invited speakers, will enhance discussions and new ideas towards a more sustainable future.

Special issue of the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy

After the symposium, the best 5 papers will be selected by a Scientific Committee and the authors will be invited to submit an extended, original manuscript, to a thematic session in the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy, that will be peer-reviewed in accordance with the standards of the journal.