Recycling of Electric Arc Furnace Dust Waste as a Precursor in Pharmaceutical Grade Zinc Oxide Synthesis

Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been synthesized using electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) as a precursor. EAFD is a solid waste formed during steel production using an electric arc furnace and has the potential to be recycled because it contains several precious metals, including zinc (Zn). EAFD contains around 73.146% zinc, while the total amount of EAFD worldwide is estimated at around 3.7 million tons per year. This study aims to obtain high-purity ZnO, determine their properties, and determine the percentage loading values of curcumin in ZnO as a drug carrier. ZnO was synthesized using an ultrasonic method consisting of a solid–liquid extraction step with acid leaching (nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid) with various concentrations (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 M) and alkaline precipitation (natrium hydroxide 10%). The experiment resulted in high purity (99.174%) of ZnO. The rod hexagonal-shaped ZnO has a size ± 1.1 µm. In addition, a curcumin adsorption study was conducted to determine the ability of ZnO as a potential drug carrier in a drug delivery system. The maximum drug loading capacity of ZnO can reach 33.029%. Therefore, ZnO has the potential to be applied as an alternative in drug carrier systems. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.