## 3 Results and Discussions
### Characterization of Raw Materials
This test reflected the results shown in Table 5.  
The X-ray fluorescence of the ladle furnace slag showed an elemental composition consisting mainly of the chemical elements calcium, magnesium, silicon, and aluminum. The presence of these elements is logical, since they come directly from the steel production process and consequently from the ladle furnace slag. In the refining stage of the metallurgical industry, lime or dolomites are added in order to eliminate impurities through the formation of this slag; therefore, the ladle furnace slag has the chemical composition of the added elements. On the other hand, the existence of iron in the sample is obvious, as the slag comes from a steel production process. The rest of the chemical elements are in \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Sample** & **Nitrogen, \%** & **Carbon, \%** & **Hydrogen, \%** & **Sulfur, \%** \\ \hline LFS & 0.007 \(\pm\) 0.001 & 3.405 \(\pm\) 0.068 & 1.386 \(\pm\) 0.026 & 0.000 \(\pm\) 0.000 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Elemental analysis of the ladle furnace slag. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Compound** & **wt, \%** & **Est. Error** \\ \hline CaO & 40.19 & 0.25 \\ MgO & 19.38 & 0.20 \\ SiO\({}_{2}\) & 12.49 & 0.17 \\ Al\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{3}\) & 7.29 & 0.13 \\ Fe\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{3}\) & 2.38 & 0.08 \\ MnO & 0.936 & 0.047 \\ S & 0.548 & 0.027 \\ TiO\({}_{2}\) & 0.486 & 0.024 \\ BaO & 0.240 & 0.012 \\ Na\({}_{2}\)O & 0.118 & 0.042 \\ Cr\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{3}\) & 0.1100 & 0.0055 \\ Cl & 0.0833 & 0.0042 \\ SrO & 0.0733 & 0.0037 \\ ZnO & 0.0681 & 0.0034 \\ K\({}_{2}\)O & 0.0506 & 0.0025 \\ ZrO\({}_{2}\) & 0.0425 & 0.0021 \\ V\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{5}\) & 0.0179 & 0.0017 \\ P & 0.0138 & 0.0012 \\ CuO & 0.0117 & 0.0010 \\ NiO & 0.0082 & 0.0011 \\ PbO & 0.0048 & 0.0010 \\ Nb\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{5}\) & 0.0046 & 0.0006 \\ MoO\({}_{5}\) & 0.0028 & 0.0009 \\ Co\({}_{3}\)O\({}_{4}\) & 0.0021 & 0.0009 \\ SeO\({}_{2}\) & 0.0012 & 0.0005 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 5: Results of the X-ray fluorescence of ladle furnace slag. low proportion and do not condition the characteristics of the final material. However, the leachate test was subsequently carried out to evaluate the concentration of these chemical elements and to determine whether they could produce environmental pollution. It should be noted that the X-ray fluorescence test provides an elemental composition. This elemental composition may be reflected in the form of oxides; however, it does not imply that these oxides actually exist in the sample. For the determination of the main chemical compounds, the X-ray diffraction test was performed, reflecting the diffractogram shown in Figure 3.  
Analysis of the diffractogram obtained from the X-ray diffraction test of ladle furnace slag shows the high content of amorphous or non-diffractant material. Calcite, olivine, and periclase are identified as the main phases. In turn, different silicates are also identified in smaller proportions, including magnesium silicate. This fact ensures that the slags studied do not have expansive characteristics, since magnesium oxide is not found in the sample. The elemental magnesium identified in the X-ray fluorescence test appears combined in the form of silicates, so that its structure is more stable and does not condition expansion problems. Considering that ladle furnace slag will act as a filler in bituminous mixtures, a series of physical properties must be determined in order to ensure its quality. Firstly, the grading curve of the ladle furnace slag was analyzed as it comes from the production industry. This grading curve is detailed in Figure 4.  
As can be seen in Figure 4, the particle size of ladle furnace slag as received from the production industry and unaltered has a high percentage of particles smaller than 0.063 mm. Therefore, its use as a filler in bituminous mixtures is suitable. Figure 4: Grading curve of the ladle furnace slag received from the production industry without sieving through the 0.063 mm sieve.