Posco and partners use steel byproducts in highway construction

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Posco and partners use steel byproducts in highway construction

Published: 30 Dec. 2024, 13:56

From left, Posco Environmental Energy Planning Group leader Cho Gyeong Seok, KECRI director Cho Nam Min, KRCRI president Jeong Sang Hwa and Hyundai Steel R&D Headquarter director Jeong Yoo Dong pose after signing an agreement on steel byproduct recycling at KECRI headquarters in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, on Dec. 18. [POSCO]

A circular economy took a step closer to realization with an agreement between Posco, the Korea Expressway Corporation Research Institute (KECRI), the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute (KRCRI) and Hyundai Steel on highway construction utilizing steel byproducts.

The deal, signed on Dec. 18, was made to strengthen cooperation in the steel industry, including the establishment of quality standards for steel slag aggregate through joint research as well as technology exchanges to secure the integration of steel slag in highway asphalt.

Posco and Hyundai Steel aim to devise solutions to enhance quality and develop improvements for steel slag to be used as a road surface material, while KECRI plans to cooperate on paving standards and KRCRI will target systemic improvement by the Ministry of Environment on the application of steel slag.

The material is one of the main steel byproducts obtained in the steel making process of eliminating impurities in molten iron and precisely adjusting the components. It has been used as a substitute with higher strength than natural aggregates like gravel and sand, and as a foundational aggregate for filling dirt in paving.

Meanwhile, according to the Korea Expressway Corporation, the demand for high-quality asphalt paving is predicted to rise on the back of scarcity of first-class natural aggregates for high-quality highway pavement.

To deal with a natural aggregate deficiency and the frequency of road damage due to an increase in large vehicle transit and abnormal temperatures, asphalt using steel slag with high durability that extends road life expectancy and reduces maintenance costs is drawing attention.

Starting with the first usage this year, Posco is expanding the usage of steel slag as a concrete aggregate. The company is also expecting to expand the utilization of steel slag in future highway construction and pavement maintenance by securing stable quality and production of the aggregate based on this agreement.

“Highway construction with consideration of the environment is becoming a must, not a need,” said KECRI Director Cho Nam-min. “KECRI will by all means cooperate with academia and the private sector to develop environmentally friendly highway construction.”

“Posco is working to realize a circular economy by setting a goal for resource recycling of steel byproducts, and we will strengthen the added value of steel slag through continued research and development,” said Posco's Managing Director of Climate, the Environment and Safety Cho Kyung-suk.

The steelmaker proposed an increase in resource recyclability by finding practical uses for steel aggregates and developing recycling technology to contribute to a circular economy.

BY LEE YEBIN [[email protected]]

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