Suppression of CO₂ and waste such as slags discharged from iron- and steelmaking processes are some of the typical biggest issues for the protection of global environment and sustainable growth of steelmaking industry. Utilization of active phytoplankton growth will be one of the best options to stabilize and suppress carbon dioxide at high-efficiency.
Inorganic minerals such as C, O, N, Si, P and Fe are necessary for phytoplankton multiplication. It is crucial for supply of nutrition into seawater effectively for phytoplankton multiplication to understand the dissolution behavior of some elements from steelmaking slags into seawater. Firstly, the morphology of the precipitated phases in steelmaking slags during cooling period was investigated in the present work. Secondary, the dissolution behavior of some elements from steelmaking slags and pure substances such as 4CaO · P₂O₅ (8.5 mass% P), 3CaO · P₂O₅ (10.0 mass% P) and 2CaO · SiO₂-3CaO · P₂O₅ (2.8 mass% P) solid solution phase into artificial seawater has also been studied. Thirdly, the dissolution mechanism of elements from steelmaking slags was discussed by using stability diagrams of Si, P and Fe in seawater.