SMU Community Chat
May 27, 2021
Bell: American Steel, a Force for Good in the World
Written by Sandy Williams
The United States leads the world in production of sustainable steel and doesn’t get enough credit for its performance in reducing climate-changing CO2 emissions, said Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip Bell, during during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat webinar.
The minimill electric arc furnace is the preferred technology for lowering CO2 intensity. “The U.S produces over 70% of its steel via EAF while the rest of the world has about 30% EAF production,” said Bell. The use of recycled steel and direct reduced iron pellets gives EAFs a major advantage over traditional steelmaking and a competitive edge over the rest of the world’s steel production. By using natural gas and DRI, EAFs can reduce CO2 by 75% as compared to the blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace route, said Bell.
