6. Recycling heat balance

6.1 Energy consumption

Energy consumption is :

• in the recycling of 7,100 to 8,400 MJ/t of finished product (source OEA);

• in refining from 4,200 to 12,600 MJ/t of finished product.

In the refining sector, average consumption has fallen by 25% in 15 years (figure 7 ), as new sizes, heat recovery techniques and production management have more than offset the additional costs of pollution control, more complex material processing and increased deliveries of liquid metal.