Synthesis of nanosized nickel zinc ferrite using electric arc furnace dust and ferrous pickle liquor

Ayman Galal; Olfat Sadek; Moataz Soliman; Shaker Ebrahim; M Anas

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99697-9

Synthesis of nanosized nickel zinc ferrite using electric arc furnace dust and ferrous pickle liquor

Sci Rep. 2021 Oct 11;11(1):20170. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-99697-9.

Authors

Ayman Galal^{1

2}, Olfat Sadek¹, Moataz Soliman¹, Shaker Ebrahim¹, M Anas³

Affiliations

¹ Materials Science Department, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 832, Alexandria, Egypt.
² EL EZZ-EL Dehkila Steel Co., Alexandria, Egypt.
³ Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. mohamed.anas@alexu.edu.eg.

Abstract

Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) and waste pickle liquor (WPL); two major side products of the steel industry with negative environmental impact were used for the synthesis of nickel zinc ferrite (NZF); the important magnetic ceramic material of versatile industrial applications. The structural and magnetic properties of the prepared material were examined which showed good magnetic properties (high saturation magnetization and low coercivity) compared with those synthesized from pure reagents. In the applied process, nano sized nickel zinc ferrite (NZF) with a composition of Ni_x(Zn + impurities)_1-xFe₂O₄ (where x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and impurities of manganese, magnesium, and calcium were prepared using zinc-containing electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) and waste pickle liquor (WPL). The chemical compositions of the prepared samples were determined using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. The optimum acetic acid concentration for EAFD treatment was found 2% v/v that decreased Ca content of EAFD by 70.6% without loss of Fe and Zn. The structural and morphological characterization was done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) to confirm the formation of Ni-Zn ferrite nanoparticles and estimate the particle sizes. The maximum saturation magnetization (M_s) of 73.89 emu/g was achieved at 0.5 Ni content and the minimum coercivity of 2.55 Oe was obtained at 0.25 Ni content.