The carbon in the pyrolitic gas and dust is burned in the melting furnace at over 1,200 degrees Celsius. At such a high temperature, the dioxin in the gas and the carbon are completed combusted. The remaining ash is melted and separated as slag, which can then be used as roadfill. From the waste heat boiler in the following stage, the exhaust gas passes to the gas cooler and the bag filter, which recovers the remaining fly ash. Fly ash can contain copper, lead, zinc, chlorides and other substances.
Nothing goes to waste.
The steel, aluminum, rubble and slag, recovered in the various stages of the process are recycled. In the first year alone, Kobe Steel has received 16 orders for photovoltaic systems, which turn sunlight into electricity. Kobe Steel's marketing activities, focused on applications in public facilities, have made the photovoltaic systems a hit product this fiscal year. The photovoltaic systems are being sold in Japan under license from Angewandte Solarenergie-ASE GmbH of Germany. ASE's photovoltaic systems are simple and maintence is easy.