BLOG ENTRY - 3 SUSTAINABILITY OF STEEL

 IS STEEL SUSTAINABLE?


Hello guys 


Today we are going to understand whether steel is a sustainable material or not.


What makes a material sustainable? 

The material should be produced in the required volumes without depleting non-renewable resources and without disrupting the environment. 


In today’s world, with an inevitable growing population, our need for housing is greater and growing, reducing structures’ consumption of natural resources and associated emissions, is crucial for the future. 


Metals originate from Ores. Ores are extracted from Earth’s crust through mining. The fact that ores are mined, contributes to the misconception that it’s a depletion of natural resources. The Earth’s overall natural resource deposits haven’t decreased so much as just changed locations. 


Steel enables construction and provides sustain building solutions. Present-day steelmakers are offering energy/efficient building solutions like low-carbon-neutral buildings, lowering the carbon emission which destroys the surrounding environment. 

Steel helps extend the life span of a building through design and reuse. It can be reused  and recycled at any point of its life span of without losing its strength or durability. Even extra pieces and rejected components can be easily fabricated. Steel constructions and steel-framed structures can be easily dismantled and reused. It’s an endlessly recyclable material. 


With advancing manufacturing technology, the energy required to produce raw steel has dropped 60% since 1960s. While producing steel, steel alloys, different types of steel for its different purposes. Even the wastage, can be used for a different purpose. The by-product gases from the furnaces from producing steel can also be fully reused, as a direct fuel substitute. Scrap metal is also used in the production, which requires much less energy than producing new steel from scratch. 


As a material, steel allows freedom in the design process, dematerialisation and is efficient. Steel’s strength-to-weight ratio makes it possible for the structure to bear high loads using less material. Steel building components can be cut and prefabricated outside the site and assembled on site. 

Steel enables a safer, faster and affordable construction, left with little to no maintenance problems. Steel is therefore an incredibly sustainable material.


Thank you for reading my blog!

References:

file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Sustainable-steel-at-the-core-of-a-green-economy.pdf

https://blog.dahlstromrollform.com/is-steel-a-sustainable-material

http://sustain.rutgers.edu/what_are_sustainable_materials#:~:text=Sustainable%20materials%20are%20materials%20used,and%20key%20natural%20resource%20systems.


Signing off 

Tejashri Kumaresan

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