Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | M | Metal Center News

Metals: what it means to be green: once considered anti-environmental, the steel industry now champions recyclability and energy efficiency.

Article Excerpt
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

FOR MUCH OF THE 20th century, steel was perceived as just another smokestack industry pumping noxious gas into the atmosphere. In the last few decades, as a result of new technologies, an ever-increasing use of recycled material and some prodding from regulatory agencies, steelmakers have made substantial inroads in cleaning up their operations--and their reputation-as it relates to environmental matters. Today, as phrases such as "carbon footprint," "greenhouse gases" and "sustainability" become more common, domestic steelmakers proudly claim they are no longer part of the problem, but part of the solution.

"The steel industry has been ahead of the game," says Larry Kavanagh, vice president of environment and technology for the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington, D.C. "We're on the leading edge and have been for quite some time."

The push for the steel industry to reduce its emissions began in earnest in 1990, when greenhouse gas concerns first became a hot-button issue. The industry took notice. Since that time, domestic steelmakers have substantially reduced their emissions, by 33 percent according to the industry's numbers and by an even greater 40 percent as measured by the EPA.

"Whatever number you choose, it's a dramatic improvement compared to the goal, which was 7-10 percent," says Bill Heenan, president of the Steel Recycling Institute in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The primary reason steelmakers have been able to cut emissions is the increased importance of scrap as a raw material, driven by the growth of domestic minimills and their use of electric arc furnaces.

"We've moved from where a small component of our industry was recycling-based to now where 60 percent of the steel in the U.S. is made through the recycling process" says Steve Rowlan, general manager, environmental, for Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor Corp. "As you do that, you take a lot of the greenhouse gases out of the system. We have the best energy-intensity number and the most efficient greenhouse gas emission number per ton than any country in the world. That's a powerful success story right there."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Rowlan says one key to the increased use of recycled steel industry wide was Nucor's demonstration that steel made from scrap could be used in more applications than originally expected.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"If you look back 20 years, very few wide-flanged beams had recycled content. Now, virtually all beams made in North America have high-90-percent recycled content. If you look at Nucor's history, it's been one of moving recycled content into new product lines and expanding the viability of recycled steel in the marketplace," Rowlan says.

And it wasn't just the use of scrap material that made for a greener industry. The reduced energy required to run the electric furnaces contributes to the more environmentally friendly process.

"The advancement of the minimills was in and of itself a pollution-reducing agent, whether it's due to the recyclability of our raw materials...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!