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The Life of Steel

Steel and You

Steel ulls a unique place in our lives and yet ew o us ully realise just how important steelis to us. It is one o the most common materials that we come into contact with every day. The recyclability o steel is particularly amazing. There are ew other materials that can berecycled over and over again without loss o properties. Even steel created 100 years ago can berecycled today and used in new products and applications. As we contemplate the legacy we willleave our children and grandchildren we must ocus much harder on the sustainability o our world. The recyclability o steel is an invaluable asset. Today, a very important ocus o our attention is on reduction in steel-related greenhouse gasemissions.Over the past 25 years the steel industry has engineered a revolution in its perormance throughmassive investment in new products, new plants and technology and in new methodso working. But there is still much more to be done.In this brochure we seek to give you some insight into both how steel is made today and how itsapplication is changing the ace o the world in which we live. As an insight into the lie around us I hope you will nd it interesting and perhaps even occasionallyastonishing.

Ian ChristmasSecretary GeneralInternational Iron and Steel Institute (IISI)

Introduction

Introduction 3Recycling4 - 5 Transport6 - 7Energy8 - 9Water10 - 11Housing and Construction12 - 13Packaging14 - 15 Agribusiness16 - 17 Automotive18 - 19Communication20 - 21By-product reuse22 - 23Summary 24Credits 25

Contents

Steel and You

Recycling

Why is recycling important to thesteelmaking process?

Creating new steel rom recycled steel,rather than iron ore, reduces CO

emissions. In 2006, recycled steel madeup more than 40% (or 496 million metrictons) o the 1.240 billion metric tonso steel produced. This saved anestimated 894 million metric tons o CO

. Recycled steel is as strong anddurable as new steel made rom ironore. Unortunately, there is not enoughsteel scrap available to meet all thedemand or new steel.

Did you know that steel is the most recycledmaterial in the world? According to IISIestimates, the 20 billionth tonne o steelwas recycled in October 2007. Steel is100% recyclable. It can be innitely recycledwithout loss o quality. It is one o the ewmaterials that does not lose its propertieswhen it is recycled.

How do I know it is steel?

Did you know that steel is one o the ewmagnetic metals? This makes it easy toseparate steel rom other metals.Steel products are oten labelled withthe letters FE in a circle. Fe is the chemicalsymbol or iron, the main element in steel.Iron is the most stable o all elements.It is the most abundant material in theuniverse, the ourth most abundantmaterial in the Earth’s crust and it ormsthe core o our planet.

ShipIron ore

Capesize vesselsare used to transport coal and iron ore.Iron ore is a vital ingredient in steelmaking.

What percentage o steel is recycled?

Almost all available steel is recycled as it isan important input to the steelmaking process.In most sectors, including automotive andconstruction, steel recycling rates are between80 and 100%.Construction steel can also be reused withoutreprocessing. This saves greenhouse gasemissions, providing an added environmentaladvantage.Steel and iron components make up around65% o the average vehicle. Once all fuids havebeen drained and reusable parts removed rom anautomobile, scrap processors shred the vehicle. The average recycling rate or steel and iron incars is close to 100%.

End-o-lierecycling approach

The steel industry, along with many othermetal industries, strongly supports theend-o-lie recycling approach. It enablesmanuacturers, policymakers, designers,consumers and other decision-makersto ensure minimal waste and maximumrecycling and reuse o materials.By improving design, the need ornew steel production can be reducedas steel components can be reusedwithout reprocessing.Steelcans arethe most recycledood and beveragecontainer in the world.Globally, around 64%o steel packagingis recycled.

Scrap

496 million metric tons of steel wererecycled in 2006.