Several hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes, or a combination of both, have been developed for the removal of zinc from blast furnace sludge (BFS). In the present work, the properties of BFS were utilized to effectively remove zinc by microwave heating. A combined process entailing particle size separation followed by microwave processing was proposed. The dielectric properties of BFS are exceptional owing to its high content of carbon and iron oxides, which are classified as excellent microwave absorbers. Analysis of the effects of temperature on the dielectric properties of BFS showed that its dielectric constant (epsilon') and loss factor (epsilon '') increased in the temperature range 400-800 degrees C due to carbon gasification (CO/CO2 gas). This indicated that microwave heating of BFS was most effective in the temperature range 400-800 degrees C, beyond which heating decelerated due to the removal of carbon from the sample. Based on elemental distribution, BFS can be divided into two parts: one with zinc content of about 0.108 wt.% (coarse fraction with particle size greater than 63 mu m), and the other with higher zinc content, of about 1.02 wt. % (fine fraction with particle size less than 63 mu m). The microwave tests indicated that zinc content in the fine fraction of the BFS decreased from 1.02 wt.% to < 0.13 wt.% (86.24% zinc removal rate) upon microwave processing for 10 min at 800 degrees C. This level of zinc content is acceptable for the material to be recycled i.e., reused in the blast furnace.