1. Iron alloys: steels and cast irons

1.1 Advantages of iron

Iron and its alloys occupy a major place in industrial materials, with world production of around 750 million tonnes, while other metals combined account for only around 40 million tonnes. Iron is widely available, and its price per unit mass, like that of ordinary steels, is the lowest of all metals. Moreover, steel recycling is highly organized: in France, around 8 million tonnes of recovered scrap were reused, out of a total crude steel production of 17 million tonnes (1996).