Waelz Kiln Facility

Sterling Industrial was selected to construct a new Waelz Kiln Facility for Waelz Sustainable Products (WSP) in Logansport, Indiana. Once complete, this project will function as a zinc recycling facility, servicing the metals sector by providing a sustainable solution for the steel industry. It will also provide steel mills with an alternative recycling operation for the recovery of zinc from their byproducts.

The Waelz kiln process is an energy-efficient method used to treat zinc containing materials and residues. Ultimately, dry, and pelletized Electric Arc Funace (EAF) dust, a waste generated during steel production that is usually transported to landfills, is heated and melted. In this melting stage, zinc is evaporated and trapped in air handling baghouses. Zinc oxide is then produced which is a component in various products including vitamins, food supplements, paint, cement, ceramics, and much more.

Sterling Industrial is responsible for the equipment installation and structural steel erection for multiple bag houses, three settling chambers, one heat exchanger, thousands of feet of duct work, stacks, fans, and multiple different conveyor systems including screw conveyors, weigh belt feeders, gallery conveyors, drag conveyors, and one submerged flight conveyor for this facility.