How is steel made? Overview of the steel production process
BlogDate: 07-05-2024 by: Nhu Quynh
Steel production is an important industry that has a significant impact on our global economy. So how is steel made? What is the production process like?
This article will help you answer the above questions. We invite you to learn with MRS Steel through the article below!
How is steel made? Let's find out with MRS Steel through the section below
Get an overview of how steel is made?
Today, steel is a widely used material in daily life and production. This shows the importance and role of steel in life. So how is steel made? Let's find out right below.
What material is steel made of?
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon containing less than 2% carbon, less than 1% manganese, and other elements such as phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, and oxygen. Steel is currently commonly used in many different areas of life, but the most popular is construction, engineering, and industry.
Today, the presence of this material can be seen everywhere in everyday life. Materials for building houses, making machinery and equipment, making fences, tables and chairs, agricultural tools,...
Summary of the history of steel formation
To be able to answer the question, “How is steel made?” First, let's summarize, with MRS Steel, the history of the steel industry.
Steel is known to have a history dating back thousands of years to ancient times. Iron was first discovered after it was smelted to create tools and weapons for life. With the widespread use of iron tools, production increased; however, during this period, steel production was still limited.
To answer the question, how is steel made of? In the year 400 BC in India, steel was created by melting iron and charcoal; however, during this period, steel was produced in very small quantities. It wasn't until 1850 that a new turning point in the steel industry was marked when the Bessemer process was invented. Invented by Sir Henry Bessemer, this process allows air to be blown through molten iron to remove impurities, thereby producing steel that is more durable and malleable. Since then, steel has also been mass produced to serve daily life.
Structure of the Bessemer steel making furnace
In the 1970s, when the world economy entered the stage of modernization and industrialization, BOF (Basic Oxygen Furnace) and EAF (Electric Arc Furnace) steel making technology appeared to replace the Bessemer process, which was no longer suitable. The appearance of BOF and EAF technology has created a major turning point in the development of the steel industry, making it a key industry in the global economy. However, currently, to save energy and increase steel quality, BOF technology is being applied more commonly, accounting for about 70 - 75% of global steel production.
Steel production using an EAF furnace
How is steel made, step by step?
The steel production process includes many closed stages, from input to finished product. Steel is the material used in most fields in today's industrialization era, so this process must be correct to get good products.
In fact, the steel production process goes through all five stages. This process helps create quality products that meet the needs of construction work and various industries. And to learn more deeply about the question at the beginning of the article, how is steel made of? and the steel production process, let's learn about it below.
Iron production
Iron ore, carbon, and limestone are processed and put into furnaces to melt into molten metal or liquid iron.
Steel production
Liquid iron from the furnace is put into the blowing furnace (BOF), or scrap steel is fed into the electric arc furnace (EAF), where impurities are removed and a chemical reaction is created to produce different types of steel.
Continuous casting
Here, steel will be solidified into semi-finished steel products, including square billet, bloom billet, and flat billet.
Steel rolling
Semi-finished products are sent to specific factories to create different steel products; square billets and flat billets will be raw materials for the long steel production process; the flat billet is rolled in a hot-rolled steel mill to become hot-rolled coil before being used to produce cold-rolled coil.
Main products
Finished steel is processed to form final products for consumers.
Flat billets are rolled in hot-rolled steel mills to become hot-rolled steel coils
MRS Steel - Vietnam's leading steel supplier
MRS Steel is one of the trading units, specializing in exporting steel from steel manufacturers in Vietnam to other countries. Through many years of development, MRS Steel has always maintained its brand. We offer a wide range of products to the market, meeting the needs of most consumers and building trust and brand reputation in the market.
With the goal of long-term development, MRS Steel always takes prestige as its development goal and wins the trust of customers. Therefore, more than 90% of customers return to place orders at MRS Steel.
Above is the information to answer the question “How is steel made?” Hopefully, this information from MRS Steel will help you understand more about steel. If you need to buy steel products, please contact us.
