Before we get into the specifics of structural steel, let’s just discuss how steel in general is made. There are two ways that steel can be made a) working with raw materials or b) recycling used materials.
We will touch on raw materials first.
The first step in making steel from raw materials is to extract iron from iron ore.
The iron ore is extracted from taconite by first grinding it into small particles and then using magnets to pull out the iron ore. This leads up to the next step in the process of making iron. The iron ore is actually quite weak and needs carbon to provide it with strength. When working with raw materials, a blast furnace is used to heat iron ore and carbon will be added to the mixture.
Side note- Do you guys remember Henry Bessemer from history class? He’s the guy who created the blast furnace sometime in the mid 1850s. Neat, huh?
You may be wondering what the source of carbon is. Typically, it’s a form of coal high in carbon called coke. This coke is mixed with iron ore under high temperatures. It’s the heat that creates the chemical reaction responsible for the carbons from coke bonding to the oxygens from iron oxides. This is called reduction.
At this point the material will contain too much carbon for the product to be considered steel. It’s the reduction of carbon that helps to provide the material with strength. So, the mixture will be heated and cooled strategically until the carbon content is less than 2.1% of the product’s weight. Structural steel must have a carbon content between 0.05-0.25%.
Structural steel has a carbon content between 0.05-0.25%. This is what makes it stand out among other types of steel.
Keep in mind, there are many varying compositions in steel, all designed for specific purposes. It just so happens that low carbon steel is the best for construction (and known as structural steel) because it has sufficient strength but is also more malleable than high carbon steel would be.
Is anyone interested in hearing about the other way to make structural steel from recycled material?
If not, just skip over this part.
When working with scrap metal, an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) will be used. Essentially, a crane will lift the scrap steel into the furnace. Once the furnace is full, the lid will be closed. This lid is important because it holds electrodes charged with an electric current which create large amounts of heat capable of melting the scrap metal down.
This is where certain alloys may be added to the metal in order to obtain various grades of steel.
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