Recycling Steel
Steel is the most recycled material in the world. Between 80 and 100% of the steel used in construction is recycled. Steel is 100% recyclable and can be reused indefinitely without losing any of its properties.
Why recycle?
Recycling steel prevents the need to mine more iron (the raw material used to produce steel), which conserves energy. Recycling steel cans saves 60 to74% of the energy used to produce them from raw materials.
Where can we find recycled steel?
Recycled steel can be found in a variety of products, including:
- Food cans
- Paper Clips
- Bridges
- Cars
- Pipes
Since steel is a magnetic metal, it can be easily separated from other waste materials such as paper or glass. It doesn't need to be separated out by color, size or kind. All kinds of steel can be melted all at once.
Step 2: Removing Tin
Many steel drink and food cans have a layer of tin to prevent the steel from corroding. The tin is removed before melting.
Step 3: Melting
All scrap steel is then gathered and placed into a furnace where it is melted. The liquid steel is then poured into a mold and rolled into bars and sheets.
Step 4: Restructuring
Once the steel is in bar and sheet form, it can be molded into all kinds of steel products such as steel cans, paperclips, car parts or construction materials.
Interested in finding out how a car is recycled?
Watch this video: http://science.discovery.com/videos/how-its-made-recycled-steel.html
