The manufacturing and naming of steels

The history of steel dates back to ancient times, when humans discovered how to produce steel using forging and hammering techniques. Since then, steelmaking has evolved considerably, from the production of an impure metal from iron oxide in furnaces to the production of an extremely resistant and versatile material.

Today, steel is used in many sectors, such as construction, the food industry and aeronautics, and is considered an essential material for many products and structures. Recycling used steel is also playing an increasingly important role in steel production, as it is relatively easy to recover scrap and ferrous residues using magnets.

There are several steelmaking processes, but cast iron and electric steel are still the two main methods used. Recently, however, new processes such as the high-temperature die, the nitrogen process, the hydrogen process, the oxygen process and processes based on direct reduction have emerged and gained in popularity due to their energy and environmental efficiency.