What is steel?

Steel is a metal composed of iron plus varying amounts of carbon as well as other elements such as chromium, nickel, molybdenum, zirconium, vanadium, tungsten, and so on. Different types of steel - that is, steel with different properties and characteristics - are produced by adjusting the chemical composition and adapting any of the different stages of the steelmaking process, such as rolling, finishing and heat treatment. As each of these factors can be modified, there is potentially virtually no limit to the number of different steels that can be made. Currently there are over 3,000 catalogued grades available (chemical compositions) of steel, not counting those created to meet custom demand, ranging from basic grades (such as for railway tracks) to sophisticated high-alloy and stainless grades for specialised applications.

Products

Steel slabs, billets and blooms are known as semi-finished products. Finished products include: hot- or cold-rolled flat products (such as plates, coils or sheets) and hot-rolled long products (such as wire, bars, rails or beams.

Applications

Steel is used in a vast array of products. The largest markets for steel are construction (buildings, transport infrastructure, etc.), automotive and packaging. Electronic components, industrial equipment and medical applications are also important markets, particularly for special steels and stainless steels.

Production

The steel industry worldwide produces over 750 million tons of crude steel each year (based on average annual production in the past decade). The largest steel-producing countries are PR China, Japan and the United States, which each produce around 100 million tons of this total. Russia, FR Germany and Rep. of Korea each produce around 40-50 million tons.
Stainless steel production has climbed rapidly in the past decade: over 16 million tons of finished stainless steel were produced in 1997, compared to 13 million tons in 1988 - an increase of more than 23 percent. Production has increased by more than 50 percent in Europe and Asia in that period. The largest stainless steel-producing countries are Japan (nearly 4 million tons), the United States (2 million tons), and Germany, Rep. of Korea, Italy and France, each of which produced over 1 million tons of finished stainless steel in 1997.

Consumption

Steel use in any country is closely linked to its economy, with the largest consumption in the wealthiest countries of the world. Steel consumption of finished steel products ranges from approximately 20 kilograms per person per year in Africa to around 340 kg in Europe, 420 kg in the North America and 635 kg in Japan. However, the largest consumers are in Asia: Singapore (1,200 kg/capita), Taiwan ROC (over 970 kg) and Rep. of Korea (830 kg).
Per capita consumption is climbing rapidly in Asia due to investments in industry, transport infrastructure, construction and overall improved standards of living: for example, in the past decade, per capita consumption has risen by nearly 470 percent in Malaysia, 240 percent in the Republic of Korea, and nearly 80 percent in PR China.

Process routes

It is sometimes argued that it is "better" to make steel via a particular process route, whether the traditional "integrated" route (using coal, iron ore and scrap) or the "electric arc furnace" route, which uses scrap as its basic raw material. In reality, both routes are valid, depending on local circumstances, including such factors as availability of scrap and other raw materials; local energy costs; scrap prices, local workforce skills, and so on. Production also differs according to the types of steel required, from the basic grades for heavy construction uses to the most specialised custom steels.

Recycled steel (scrap)

is a required and essential component of new steel, making steel a naturally environmentally responsible material. In basic oxygen steelmaking, scrap represents up to 30 percent of the raw materials charged into the furnace. It represents between 90 and 100 percent of the charge in EAF (electric arc furnace) production, which is also the principal route for stainless steel production.
Steel is 100 percent recyclable: moreover, it can be used over and over again with no downgrading to a lower quality product. Steel's magnetic properties make it simple to extract from other materials for recycling. Approximately 350 million tons of steel scrap are recycled each year.

Stainless steel is a very valuable commodity and is therefore almost entirely recycled.

Environmental improvements

There is no one factor to explain the many environmental improvements achieved by the steel industry in recent years. One trend has become clear however: the steel industry has shifted its focus from end-of-pipe collection of emissions to considering improvements at every single stage of the steelmaking process. Steelmakers have therefore achieved even further emissions reductions by investing in overall cleaner production, better maintenance and improved practices. New technologies, operating practices, employee education and management attention have all been important.
Many of the improvements have resulted from very heavy investment programmes. It is estimated that at least 10 percent of all steel industry capital expenditures have been specifically on environment improvement -- or more than US$ 20 billion in the last ten years alone. This is almost certainly an underestimate, since it does not include investment in new steelmaking processes - such as continuous casting, thin slab casting or coal injection - which enable much cleaner technology to be introduced.

Employment

Steel production in the world has risen by approximately 30 percent in the past 25 years. In the same period, estimated employment in the major steel-producing countries (excluding PR China) has fallen from around 2.5 million to 1.3 million people. This enormous reduction has been the result of major investments by the world's steelmakers in modern steelmaking processes and technologies. The new technologies not only improve productivity but also increase yield efficiency while reducing resource consumption and the environmental impact of the steelmaking process.

A modern material in a competitive market

While the manufacturing materials available to man changed little for hundreds of years, the latter half of the 20th century has seen a tremendous influx of new and exciting materials. The world of steel is no exception.
Steel is not a single material, but a vast range of different materials constantly evolving as steel applications evolve. For example, more than 80 percent of the steels used in automobile production today did not exist ten years ago. In automotive as in other applications, steelmakers are continually working in collaboration with their customers, improving and modifying their products, and creating innovative new steels.

Glossary of terms used

Crude steel
Crude steel is steel as it comes out of the initial steelmaking process or continuous caster, but before it has been rolled, formed or heat treated to make products such as slabs or wires.

Semi-finished and finished products
Before it can be used in consumer products such as cars, cans, bridges, and so on, crude steel is formed into the semi-finished or finished products which will be delivered to the carmaker, canmaker or bridgemaker. Semi-finished products are slabs, billets and blooms: huge basic steel shapes that will subsequently be processed to create finished products: such as sheet steel for auto body parts and appliances, wires to make reinforced concrete, and so on.

Common uses of steel

Look around you and you'll find examples of steel uses everywhere: in road, rail and bridge structures, food and beverage cans, cars, construction elements such as reinforced concrete walls and pillars, bicyles, airplanes, and in a vast array of other products. You'll find steel in furnishings (desks, filing cabinets, handles, hinges, locks and keys, light fittings, curtain rails, chair and table legs, etc.), office items (computers, paperclips, staples, diskettes...), or in motors, mobile phones, industrial machinery, flagpoles, lawnmowers.... it is impossible to imagine a world without steel.

Stainless steel
Many of the items you use every day are made of stainless steel, which is both hard wearing and beautiful. It's used in personal accessories (glasses frames, watches, buttons, clasps, zippers, keyrings...) and household items (cutlery, sinks, saucepans and utensils, appliances), and it is prized by interior designers for use in modern furniture, lights and decorative elements. Stainless steel is also invaluable in highly specialised applications: its highly resistant and easy to clean surface makes stainless steel extremely hygienic. It is therefore used extensively in hospital and sterile environments, food processing plants, restaurants, and so on.
Steel