5. Conclusion

World steel production, which was practically nil in 1860, rose steadily until around 1980, reaching 700 Mt/year. This sustained growth took place in the so-called industrialized countries, both in the West and in Eastern Europe. Over the following twenty years, production stagnated in these countries, but accelerated sharply in China. Since 2000, growth has soared in China and picked up slightly in the rest of the world. In 2014, annual world production reached 1,670 Mt, with China accounting for 823 Mt. In 2015 and 2016, world and Chinese production fell by around 3%.

The bottom-iron-to-steel conversion process invented by Bessemer and perfected by Thomas in the early second half of the 19th century was in use until around 1960. During this century-long period, converters were small and not very productive; steel production by the Bessemer and Thomas processes...