Steel is a common product and seems to be made through some sophisticated process. How many methods are there for producing steel?
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Steel is a common product and seems to be made through some sophisticated process. How many methods are there for producing steel?
There are a few routes to make steel but the two are commonly used, and the majority of steel is produced by using these two ways.
Integrated (blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace) route.
The integrated route uses steel raw materials which mainly consist of iron ore, coking coal and limestone. A small portion of steel scrap is also used in this process. Steel which is made through blast furnace route is virgin steel.
Electric arc furnace (EAF) route.
In simple words, recycled steel is re-melted in a furnace along with some other alloys to produce steel. Under the EAF method, scrap is mainly used as a raw material to produce steel. This method is much easier, faster and less expensive.
Other methods for making steel
There are a few more methods to produce steel such as open-hearth furnaces, foundries, induction furnaces.
Open hearth process is quite bad for the environment, and almost an outdated technology. A few producers are still using technology to produce steel. Most of them are located in Ukraine and India.