The most important raw material involved in the production of iron and steel is cost and with the increasing pressure on the environment, the real question is how to 'cost down' and 'go green' all at the same time. The iron and steel making process is currently being refined on many fronts, which includes the emergence of production technologies such as HIsmelt~R and COREX~R. The industry, at this moment, continues to debate if these 'new' technologies can produce a tonne of iron at less operational and environmental cost than a traditional blast furnace. According to data published by a leading industry resource, over 70 percent of steel produced last year was through a blast furnace. Therefore, it could be argued that the movement and transition from traditional to 'new' production technologies is not moving at a rate that many observers were anticipating.
展开▼
