As a part of this effort, we are going to share the perspective from the expert of ‘Green energy’, Yun jung, Jin who is the senior researcher at POSCO Research Institute (POSRI).

Steel is nearly 100% reusable in consideration of Life Cycle Approach(Source: World Steel)

How do we achieve sustainability?

No one would deny the importance of sustainability. But how do we achieve it?

According to Jin, the answer can be found in the ‘Life Cycle Approach’ model. This model provides a better idea of how sustainability can be achieved. Life Cycle Approach seeks to prevent the root causes that can threaten the environment by identifying and considering all stages of a product’s life cycle, beginning with the extraction of raw materials.

Take vehicle emission as an example, it is widely known that electric vehicles produce far less pollution than gasoline vehicles. However, a closer look at vehicle operation would reveal that electric vehicles also produce a fair amount of pollution by burning carbon when generating electricity.

Majority of Steel product we discard is easily recycled(Source: GenesisSteel)

Can Steel be life-cycled?

So how does steel fit into the Life Cycle Approach?

Jin showed little bit more on details of the reasons why steel should be considered as an important eco-friendly as product or a material. Beginning with the manufacturing stage, the by-products of steel production, such as slag, can be recycled to make raw materials for road construction. Once in use, its longevity is a great advantage in terms of sustainability efforts. Steel used in buildings and various infrastructures boast a life span of almost 100 years. Steel used in vehicles and various machines also can last over 10 years.

SEE ALSO: Recycled Steel Changing the Way the World Uses Metal

Lifespan of steel is way longer than we anticipate(Source:World Steel)

After it has served its purpose, steel is still highly recyclable and boasts a recycling rate of nearly 90%. Because it can be infinitely recycled while maintaining its inherent property and quality intact, steel is considered the most suitable material for circulation economy.

POSCO’s Clean advanced technology may be the solution for green society

Steel is essential for our sustainable future

Jin mentioned that the POSRI reports clearly illustrates that various ways of steel can be applied to the Life Cycle Approach and its viability as an integral element for sustainability. POSCO strives to stay ahead of the curve by utilizing its cutting-edge technology to develop innovative products and solutions, such as the GIGA STEEL and FINEX® smelting processes.

Finally, Jin assured that with the Life Cycle Approach in mind, POSCO takes pride in all the efforts in reducing greenhouse emissions and in paving the way towards a sustainable society.

SEE ALSO: How Steel Makes the Circular Economy Go ‘Round’

The tiny house movement is demonstrating the trend of living and maintaining a minimalist lifestyle for those who want simpler ways of living. This trend is picking up pace across generations and countries for financial and environmental reasons. With thoughtful and innovative designs, tiny home owners can enjoy a greener lifestyle and the satisfaction of building their own refuge while freeing themselves from mortgages and expensive energy bills.

Read on to find out about these beautiful, portable and tiny houses that maximize both function and style as well as why steel is gaining popularity as the choice over wood for such homes.

Less is More

A tiny house is a shelter that is less than 400 square feet, sometimes built on wheels, that encourages a simpler lifestyle and more efficient energy consumption. Tiny homes are environmentally-friendly in multiple ways from their small ecological footprint to minimal utility consumption.

The materials selected to build tiny homes can further contribute to the sustainability factor. According to Tiny House Build’s infographic, the average house (2,598 square feet on average) emits 28,000 pounds of CO2 per year while a tiny house (186 square feet on average) emits only 2,000 pounds of CO2 per year.

Tiny homes made with steel can be lighter, stronger and more durable. Here are a few reasons why you should choose steel for sustainable living :

1. Steel is the most recycled material in the world – anything made of steel in your home can be recycled and made into new products.
2. Steel’s longevity means your house will remain for a lifetime without having to use up tremendous amounts of time, money and resources for fixing or rebuilding.
3. Light-weight steel allows thinner and larger window frames which let in more natural light to brighten up your home.
(H/T to World Steel Association)

Thanks to steel’s many benefits, 21st century housing needs can be met in both sustainable and aesthetically pleasant ways.

ÖÖD Hotel Rooms in Estonia

Meet ÖÖD, gorgeous steel-framed rooms that are delivered to anywhere in Estonia as a complete set. ÖÖD offers all the living essentials built into a compact 200-square-meter footprint. Designed for use as pop-up hotel rooms for the fast growing Airbnb and Booking.com markets in Estonia, it can be installed anywhere in only 8 hours without a building permit.

An exterior view of OOD (Source: ÖÖD)

Each unit, made from steel, insulated glass and thermally treated wood, costs around USD 36,000. This sleek tiny home offers heated floors, LED lighting and a Bose sound system, and it is even under development for off-grid solutions.

An interior view of OOD hotel rooms (Source: ÖÖD)

Smartdome in Slovenia

Another growing trend in the tiny house movement is dome-shaped houses. Dome homes are durable, efficient and most importantly, very fun to live in. The balanced shape of dome homes allows homeowners to minimize their vulnerability to natural disasters.

The Slovenian-designed abodes from Smartdome can be assembled, disassembled and moved anywhere across the nation and is only around 270 square feet. The base features adjustable steel legs which can accommodate uneven terrain and the frames are made of galvanized steel and timber.

An exterior view of Smartdome (Source: Smartdome)

An interior view of Smartdome (Source: Smartdome)

Thanks to these beautiful and innovative designs, living small just got a whole lot sweeter. With strong, durable and eco-friendly steel-framed homes, homeowners can enjoy a simplistic lifestyle with financial and emotional freedom.

*Cover photo source: David Hillegas

Upcycling ensures that resources are used to their fullest extent, minimizing the number of trips made to the landfill. Vivian Kim, a travel writer, takes us deeper into this topic and introduces two examples of upcycling architecture from her time in both Korea and the Netherlands.

Steel, an Ideal Material for Upcycling

Steel is 100% recyclable, which makes it one of the most ideal materials for upcycling. Other construction materials, such as wood and plastic, can only be recycled a limited number of times before they lose its original properties and functionality and need to be downcycled (recycled into a material that is of lower quality than the original material). Steel, on the other hand, never loses its original quality. In fact, it can even increase in value and be upgraded to a higher grade of steel with the same amount of energy it would take to recycle it.  

High-strength Low-Alloy (HSLA) steel being recycled. (Photo courtesy of Recycling International)

Steel is also reusable. Entire buildings made of steel can be reused or have their lives extended by years, just by making small improvements. Because steel can be easily reused for its original purpose, there is less of a need to use raw materials from scratch, allowing for more sustainable construction.

Let’s take a look at some of the most widely recognized pieces of upcycling architecture in the Netherlands and Korea.   

Amsterdam’s Abandoned Shipyard Reborn as Cultural Hub

Utilizing recycled materials in the design of a building is nothing new. In fact, upcycling in the Netherlands had its beginnings in the 1960’s when a small, social movement began in Jordaan, a well-known neighborhood in Amsterdam. The Dutch began to mobilize the community to protect their historical buildings and prevent constant demolition from taking place. Local governments also recognized the importance of reusing and remanufacturing materials from an economic standpoint and began to push for more upcycling initiatives.

A great example of this is the NDSM ship wharf, the site of the former Dutch Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. Just a 15-minute ferry ride from Amsterdam Central Station, the NDSM was once one of the largest shipbuilding companies in the world. However, a shortage of shipbuilding orders led to the company’s eventual closure in 1984. The abandoned shipyard soon became the breeding grounds for “city nomads” and local artists to take their place and breathe new life into the empty buildings. Through their efforts, the NDSM quarter was transformed into what is now a cultural hotspot in Amsterdam.

The NDSM ferry stop in Amsterdam Central.

As soon as visitors step off the ferry, they are greeted by what looks like a scene from an eerie, sci-fi movie. The NDSM ship wharf is full of gray, bleak buildings covered with graffiti and steel containers that are painted bright red and blue.

The former NDSM wharf is now Amsterdam’s newest creative hot spot.

Crane Hotel Faralda in the Sky of Amsterdam

At the center of the NDSM wharf stands a monumental, 50-meter-high crane called Crane 13. It is painted in red, blue and yellow, the signature colors of Dutch artist Mondrian. Built in 1951 by Hensen Ltd., it was one of the largest cranes in the world but slowly faded from the public’s memory with the closure of the shipbuilding company.

The Crane Hotel Faralda, transformed from a rusty, old crane into a luxurious high-end hotel.

In the spirit of upcycling, the 60-year-old rusty crane was transformed into the Crane Hotel Faralda in 2013 despite immense technical challenges. The hotel, named after a female Dutch spy who saved hundreds of people during World War II, is made entirely of steel.

As a crane’s main purpose is to lift heavy objects, only the strongest of steel is used to build it. For this reason, High-Strength Low-Alloy Steel (HSLA) is often employed. It contains 0.05% of carbon and other raw materials such as chromium, nickel, molybdenum, and vanadium – the secret behind its enhanced strength. HSLA steel is also more resistant to atmospheric corrosion, enabling Crane 13 to withstand the strong Netherland winds of the North Sea for over 60 years.

In the following time-lapse video, watch how the rusty crane transforms into an iconic symbol of the NDSM quarter and one of Europe’s most unique and sensational hotels.

An old rice mill transforms into one of Seoul’s hotspots

Another example of upcycling that shifts the culture can be found in the quaint neighborhood of Seongsu-Dong, South Korea. Known as the “Brooklyn of Seoul”, Seongsu-Dong is known for its trendy and hip cafes embedded in between old warehouses and factories. Its roots can be traced back to the 1970s where steel, leather and printing factories once dominated the streets. But, beginning in 2010, a wave of cafés, galleries, and studios began to break into the bleak space, transforming the once gray industrial district to a colorful vibrant scene brimming with new sights and sounds.

Daelim Warehouse in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. (Photo courtesy of Daelim Warehouse)

Hidden within the streets of Seongsu-Dong is the Daelim Warehouse, an old rice mill that has in recent years, been upcycled into a multi-cultural hub that doubles as a café and performance/exhibition venue for the artist community. From the bare concrete walls to the metal rod ceiling structure, it retains the distinct flair of a warehouse, cultivating a special atmosphere that has people flocking to it on a regular basis. Because of its unique interior, it has even been acknowledged as one of the most Instagram-worthy spots in Seoul.  

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From the NDSM quarter in Amsterdam to the Seongsu-Dong neighborhood in Seoul, upcycling has become a worldwide trend improving our surroundings as we live, create and build. Just as steel has been with mankind for thousands of years, it will continue to play a crucial role in recycling, reusing and upcycling.

Cover image courtesy of Crane Hotel Faralda

What is the Circular Economy?

The circular economy concept gained momentum in the 1970s as academics, businesses, and thought leaders realized that there needed to be a change in the way products were manufactured and disposed of. The general goals of a circular economy involved eliminating waste, using renewable energy to manufacture goods, and to be more respectful of the natural environment.

In a circular economy, resources need to be allocated efficiently while making products that earn a return for the businesses without being too costly to consumers. Products should be durable, recyclable, and easily repaired. Simply put, manufacturers and consumers need to extend the life of their products before they are thrown away.

A well functioning circular economy ensures that products retain value even at the end of their use stage. Ideally, products would be-be 100% recyclable, and even before reaching that stage, they should be durable enough for reuse or remanufacturing. Steel represents a critical piece of this concept as it can be reused, repurposed, and remanufactured after use and then still remains infinitely recyclable. Beyond that, advances in steel production technology have created more energy efficient and green processes for steelmakers.

Steel in the Circular Economy

Steel is used to manufacture and ship almost every product on the globe. Its ubiquity makes it a central piece of the concept of a circular economy and more sustainable production. It can be reused, remanufactured, and recycled without losing any of its properties. Also, due to technological advancements in recent decades, steel has become both lighter and stronger making everything from cars to ships more energy efficient.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Steel is 100% recyclable without losing any of its original properties or strength.” quote=”Steel is 100% recyclable without losing any of its original properties or strength.” theme=”style6″]

In addition to lightweighting, one must look at steel’s life cycle assessment in order to measure its effect on the circular economy, Last month on The Steel Wire, Dr. Roland Geyer from the University of California at Santa Barbara took an in-depth look at the life cycle assessment of steel. His research aims to show that steel’s benefit to the automotive industry lies not only in its lightweight properties but also in its ability to be recycled and used over and over again – making it the most optimal material for automakers in a circular economy.

POSCO Innovates in Sustainable Steel Production

For its part in the circular economy, POSCO has been pursuing advancements in sustainable steel production from multiple angles. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, POSCO helped develop the FINEX® process. It is based on the direct use of iron ore fines and non-coking coal while eliminating the coke-making and sintering processes, which are most critical to the conventional blast furnace process. Combining these two decisive advantages led to lower production costs and a reduction of environmental emissions in comparison with the conventional blast furnace route.

For automakers, the steel used to manufacture vehicles is critical to the circular economy in both its production and use. POSCO has been at work developing new automotive steel solutions that are lighter, stronger, and more affordable. They have also begun utilizing advanced AI and IIoT (internet of things) solutions in its automotive steel plants to reduce waste.

Because POSCO GIGA STEEL is lightweight, strong, and affordable, it is the ideal material option for automakers looking to build more sustainable vehicles.

For its manganese steel production, POSCO developed new technology that cut production time in half while increasing efficiency by 10%. Now, instead of melting the iron, lowering the temperature, and then melting it again, POSCO can store the molten iron at its new PosLM facility helping to reduce energy costs and shorten production time.

In order to move toward a circular economy, businesses and industries must make fundamental changes to how their products are manufactured and used. Steel remains a critical piece of this concept as it can be reused, remanufactured, and recycled. However, more needs to be done, and companies like POSCO are taking the lead to develop more sustainable production processes.

*Graphs courtesy of the World Steel Association

In the ten years since Apple launched its first iPhone, mobile devices have gotten bigger screens, more features, and more powerful processors – all of which translates into bigger batteries.

For consumers, battery life remains a top priority. A quick search online brings up thousands of articles written on how users can improve the battery life of their phones, tablets, and wearables, even though most of these articles offer tips and tricks that only are marginally beneficial at best.

The rechargeable batteries used in smartphones, laptops, and now electric vehicles, are made from lithium. Traditionally, lithium carbonate is extracted from brines gathered in salt-rich lakes. This method is extremely time consuming, taking anywhere from 12-18 months, and also inefficient with a low extraction rate. Since 2010, POSCO has been working to develop new technologies for more efficient, more eco-friendly lithium extraction methods. Earlier this month POSCO announced the opening of its lithium extraction plant, PosLX, in Korea that is able to extract lithium from recycled batteries. In addition, while working on the traditional extraction methods from saline lake water, POSCO has also found a way to reduce extraction time from 12 months to less than one day.

If MWC is any indication, mobile device manufacturers are going to continue to need more lithium-ion batteries, and POSCO is now well positioned to be a leader in providing lithium carbonate. In the gallery below, we take a look at some of the improvements made by the leading mobile device manufacturers.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S3

Even though Samsung is waiting until March to unpack its new Galaxy S8 smartphone, they used the opportunity at MWC to unveil the update to their popular Galaxy Tab series. The new Galaxy Tab S3 improves upon many of the features in the S2 and now comes equipped with Samsung’s S Pen Stylus. However, the 10” model includes just a 6000mAh battery. While this is a modest improvement over the Galaxy Tab S2’s 5870mAh, it pales in comparison to some other tablets like the 9243mAh battery included in Google’s Pixel C.

LG G6

LG announced its new flagship device, the LG G6, in Barcelona on Sunday. Having ditched the rather unpopular design of the G5, LG went in a completely new direction with the G6. It features a large, nearly bezel-free display, water & dust proofing, and three cameras. Last year, LG was one of few remaining manufacturers to still include a removeable battery when it launched the G5, but this year’s device drops that distinction and sees LG follow suit with a non-removable battery. To do this, LG increased the battery size from 2,800mAh to 3,200mAh, includes quick charge capabilities, and wireless charging (US models only).

Huawei P10

In 2015, Huawei’s P9 was released to generally favorable reviews. It included powerful specs with an elegant, minimalist design – and it was placed at a price range that was more affordable than many of its competitors. This year, Huawei has launched its P10 model that carries over many of the same features found on its P9. Huawei’s P9came in two sizes, one that included a 3000mAh cell and a larger one with a 3200mAh. The P10 also comes in two sizes but Huawei has decided to upgrade the size of both batteries to 3200mAh and 3750mAh respectively.

BlackBerry KeyOne

Blackberry continues to stand out as the one major manufacturer still using a physical keyboard with its new KeyOne. In efforts to extend the phone’s running time, BlackBerry included a power-efficient Snapdragon 625 processor in addition to a fairly large 3505mAh battery. Both of these together should see the KeyOne hold up against BlackBerry’s first Android phone, the Priv which included a 3410mAh battery and was listed at 22.5 hours of mixed usage.

Nokia 3310

Nokia brought some nostalgia to its announcement by releasing an update of the wildly popular 3310 phone that first debuted in September 2000. As a basic feature phone, it comes with an Opera browser, but not much else. With limited resources being used by apps and operating systems, the battery on the Nokia 3310 gives it a standby time of 31 days with a talk time listing of 22 hours.

Consumers expect to be able to go a full day without worrying about charging their phone. However, advancements in mobile technology also require more resources – forcing manufacturers to constantly find a balance between slimmer phones and an increasing drain on batteries.

As seen at MWC, the demand for lithium continues to increase, and it is expected to skyrocket as other industries, such as electric vehicles, grow. POSCO’s work on lithium extraction technology is important because we have found a way to extract lithium in an eco-friendly way that also significantly reduces time. These improvements will create a notable impact moving forward as global consumer needs for lithium-ion batteries continue to rise.

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For this envisioned high-tech future to become a reality, however, civilizations must first study how we can help our planet sustain life for a longer period of time. After all, if we strip away all the natural resources and destroy the earth’s ecosystem, there will not be a place for humanity to reside, let alone advance its technology.

With many scientific theories stating that the earth will one day become uninhabitable, it is crucial to make as many preservation efforts as possible.

Why “Sustainability” is an Important Concept

Though sustainability has numerous definitions, when discussing the future, the term most often refers to maintaining the planet so that upcoming generations can utilize it.

According to the resolution of the UN’s World Summit on Social Development, the three pillars of sustainable development—economic development, social development and environmental protection—should be interdependent and mutually reinforce one another. These three components can exist only if there is a balance among them. For example, there is no need for a commercial fishing industry if there isn’t an ocean.

In other words, it is crucial to utilize sustainable materials that help reduce our ecological footprint to meet the needs of the environmental pillar of sustainability. Stainless steel is one such material, thanks to its closed-loop production and reuse system.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Stainless steel is a commonly used metal alloy known for its corrosion resistance and recyclability. Its various types and metallic compositions also make it useful in many industries such as construction, healthcare, food and beverage and household products, among others, serving widely applicable purposes. Its ubiquitous usage helps play an important role in creating a sustainable future.

As a readily available and relatively durable resource, stainless steel is not only ideal for manufacturing many different goods and architectural components, but is also environmentally friendly. Though stainless steel has a long lifespan to begin with, it is theoretically 100 percent recyclable, even at the end of its life cycle. Just about any stainless steel object contains an average recycled content of approximately 60 percent!

Because of its high reuse and recycle rate, stainless steel impacts the planet very minimally in terms of initial production and reproduction. In fact, recycled stainless steel doesn’t go through any degradation and stays in a sustainable, closed-loop.

Perhaps in the future, we will all eat food that is stored in stainless steel refrigerators with stainless steel spoons, in skyscrapers built with stainless steel.

Live Long and Prosper

To truly “live long and prosper” (in the famous words of Spock), we must devise a viable plan to develop a sustainable future for both present and next generations. To do so, humans must utilize existing resources such as stainless steel in the least detrimental way possible.

Although common use of starships like the Enterprise might be a bit more futuristic than what the creators of the Star Trek series originally imagined, there is definitely hope for significant technical developments to be made in due time. As long as our planet survives, that is.

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In fact, the ocean is the heart of our planet. It regulates the climate, feeds millions of people, produces the oxygen that we breathe and is home to an incredible array of wildlife.

To ensure the health and safety of our communities and future generations, it’s imperative that we take the responsibility to care for the ocean in the same way that it cares for us.

Steel, a material known for its ability to be reused and recycled almost infinitely, creates less waste during and after production, making it environmentally-friendly. In addition, steel and its byproducts are being used to recreate marine habitats in areas that have been polluted or destroyed.

In celebration of the United Nations’ World Oceans Day, which is held this year under the theme “Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet,” POSCO highlights the role of steel in sustainable development and use of the oceans, and how we as individuals can contribute our talents to make oceans more sustainable.

Getting Out the Waste Stream

The term “waste stream” describes the complete life cycle of the garbage we produce—from putting out the trash and recycling for pickup to landfilling, energy production and the reuse of recycled materials. Sadly, a lot of the garbage we as humans produce end up in our planet’s precious oceans.

In the North Pacific, for example, there is an area the size of Texas that is made up mostly of garbage. This floating island of waste, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, swirls around slowly with the ocean currents, imprisoning ill-fated sea creatures and marine life, while trapping non-biodegradable debris, breaking it down into tiny toxic bits and dispersing it throughout the ocean’s waters.

Of these marine wastes, plastics are perhaps the most common and the most harmful, as they tend to act as a chemical sponge, concentrating the most damaging pollutants found in the world’s oceans. For every pound of natural plankton in this area, there are six pounds of plastic.

While metal pollutants are a component of this toxic mix, steel is more often than not removed from the waste stream before it gets to the oceans.

Boasting magnetic properties, steel is more easily removed from the rest of the recycling stream via magnets. After it is separated from other materials, steel-based products are crushed and baled for transport to steel mills. There, the materials are recovered through chemical and electrolysis baths, purified, melted and cast into ingots. After being poured into sheets, the steel is shaped into cans, siding, storm window frames and other products, thus being reused rather than polluting our oceans.

Steel Slag—A New Home for Marine Life

The pollution that circulates, in combination with warming water temperatures, has severely affected marine ecosystems throughout the world.

Reef degradation is one example. In this situation, “stressed” corals, unable to photosynthesize due to decreasing algae, quickly perish. As industrialization in affected areas continues to increase, damages expanded across the area’s coasts.

The seawater’s self-purification capability then steadily weakens and the accumulating amount of marine wastes and toxic substances permeating the waters keep sunlight from reaching the ocean floor. Without sufficient sunlight—and thus nutrition and oxygenation—the number of algae and sea life dwindle, causing distress to both the ecosystem and the area’s fishing economy.

Yet steel slag, an eco-friendly by-product of steelmaking contains a high proportion of iron and calcium—elements that just so happen to provide ideal conditions for the growth of seaweed and algae spores, and the purification of contaminated sediment.

Which is exactly why communities across the world have been using the product in their marine forestation efforts.

With steel reefs providing a more habitable, biodiverse environment, creatures that had all but died out can prosper. Additionally, the restoration of the marine ecosystem contributes to the increase of fish productivity and therefore the local economies of coastal towns and villages.

POSCO Makes Waves in Ocean Conservation

Just as steel helps to protect the world’s waters, steelmaker POSCO is also making efforts to take care of the sea through an employee volunteer program.

POSCO Volunteers for Clean Ocean has been working on purifying and preserving the oceanic environment for eight years. Some 780 POSCO staff members and their families are currently working as group volunteers, with 270 of them being professional divers who hold skin scuba certificates.

Over the years, POSCO Volunteers for Clean Ocean has participated in diverse activities around Korea’s coastline. Their activities include removing litter from the ocean, removing starfish from farm fisheries and refloating scrapped fishing boats in Korea’s East, West and South Seas. In 2013, the group held an environment purification project in the waters of Dokdo Island.

This month, POSCO Volunteers for Clean Ocean will visit Korea’s Ullengdo Island and Dokdo Island. There, the group will work to restore the marine ecosystem around the island through purification activities.

Moving forward, POSCO, with a little help from steel, will continue to take the lead in protecting the oceanic environment.

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Among the challenges urbanization is expected to bring is access to fresh food. A lack of fresh food will mean that reliable packaging, storage and distribution systems will be more significant than ever. Likewise, food safety, nutritional value and environmental impact will become even more essential than they are today.

As this challenge of urbanization begins to transpire, one sustainable solution stands out: the steel can.

The History of the Steel Can

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Napoleon Bonaparte helped to prompt food packaging innovations when he offered a reward for anyone who could find a way to preserve food for his troops. In 1810, an Englishman responded by patenting a design for an iron can with tin plating and lead soldering. Commercial production began soon after in 1812 at a canning factory near London.

About a hundred years later in 1922, the process of can crimping was introduced to tin can manufacturing. By the mid-1950s, tin cans no longer used lead solder but instead consisted of two or three pieces of tin-plated steel crimped together to form an air-tight seal, resulting in an attractive, safe and functional product.

Although tinplate currently only accounts for around 1 percent of steel production, it is still a highly visible and dynamic industry, allowing for high quality, shelf-stable food to be available to people in all corners of the globe.

Feeding the World

Now, as the world’s population continues to increase, steel cans continue to offer significant advantages over alternative food packaging systems.

Modern-day food processing has utilized state-of-the art manufacturing techniques to package and preserve food for an extended time. Thanks to the superior performance attributes of cans with epoxy resin coatings, consumers can have the utmost confidence in the canned foods and beverages they enjoy.

And considering that more than 1,500 different varieties of food, including a range of seasonal fruits and vegetables, are packed in steel cans, consumers are offered a supply of diverse foods at any time of the year.

Additionally, as fresh food becomes less available, steel cans help to extend the shelf life of food. The containers are tamper-resistant and protect food and drink from moisture, oxygen and light, helping to preserve the nutritional value of their contents without the need for added chemical preservatives. Studies show that canned tomatoes, for example, contain as much or more vitamin C than fresh tomatoes.

Energy-Saving, Eco-Friendly

While steel cans are incredibly useful for people, they’re also environmentally-friendly—an essential factor in a world threatened by climate change.

Compared to other food preservation methods, steel cans save energy because refrigeration and freezing are not necessary.

Furthermore, steel cans can be recycled again and again without losing their key properties such as strength, ductility or formability. Steel’s magnetic attributes also make it the easiest packaging material to extract from the waste stream for reuse.

As a result, the steel can remains the world’s most recycled packaging material, with the global recycling rate for steel cans being 68 percent in 2007. According to worldsteel LCA data, this saved 11 million tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which would have otherwise come from new steel production. This saving is equivalent to taking approximately 280,000 cars off the road.

Nowadays, steelmakers like POSCO are producing ever-thinner materials, allowing more cans to be produced per tonne of tinplate. This will help to contribute to resource efficiency and reduce the amount of CO2 being emitted over the can’s life cycle.

Today’s steel can is a versatile, efficient and sustainable packaging solution that will become increasingly more important in the near future. Along with all the advantages cans offer consumers, their eco-friendly factors will be a big benefit as the urbanizing world increasingly turns to steel cans for food packaging.

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From Bronze to Iron
The adoption of iron and steel directly impacted changes in society, affecting agricultural procedures and artistic expression, and also coincided with the spread of written language. In historical archaeology, the earliest preserved manuscripts are from the Iron Age. This is due to the introduction of alphabetic characters, which allowed literature to flourish and for societies to record historic texts.
The beginning of the Iron Age differs from region to region. It is characterized by the use of iron in tools, weapons, personal ornaments, pottery and design. The differences from the preceding age of bronze were due to more advanced ways of processing iron. Because iron is softer than bronze, it could be forged, making design move from rectilinear patterns to curvilinear, flowing designs.

Iron smelting is much more difficult than tin and copper smelting. These metals and their alloys can be cold-worked, but smelted iron requires hot-working and can be melted only in specially designed furnaces. Iron fragments found in present day Turkey (c. 1800 BC) show the use of carbon steel. These iron fragments are the earliest known evidence of steel manufacturing.
It is believed that a shortage of tin forced metalworkers to seek an alternative to bronze. Many bronze objects were recycled into weapons during this time. The widespread use of the more readily available iron ore led to improved efficiency of steel-making technology. By the time tin became available again, iron was cheaper, stronger and lighter, and forged iron replaced bronze tools permanently.
During the Iron Age, the best tools and weapons were made from steel, particularly carbon alloys. Steel weapons and tools were nearly the same weight as those of bronze, but much stronger.

Iron Age: Daily Life
Before the Industrial Revolution, which would take place centuries later, the majority of people lived an agrarian lifestyle. Most people were farmers, and their lives revolved around the farming seasons. Societies consisted of villages where communities of families worked the land and made necessities for living by hand. All essentials were made or grown locally.
The production of iron tools helped make the farming process easier and more efficient. Farmers could plow tougher soil, making it possible to harvest new crops and freeing time for more leisure. New varieties of crops and livestock were introduced at different times over the span of the Iron Age.
More time also meant that people could make extra supplies to sell or exchange. Some farming families spent part of their time making salt, quern stones or iron. Most settlements have evidence of making clothes, woodworking and even blacksmithing.
Iron has been enhancing the quality of life for centuries. As more advanced technologies for processing iron were discovered, the world would experience the most rapid period of growth.

Just as civilizations experienced rapid advancement during and after the Iron Age, the fourth industrial revolution of today is changing the dynamics of markets and industries. Find out more about how companies should adapt and capitalize on the change, including steel companies.

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The images that cross your mind may seem apocalyptic, or even impossible to fathom. There is barely a part of our lives today that is not influenced by the metal, and it is not an exaggeration to say that steel is perhaps the most significant component of the modern world. Without it, civilization as we know it would cease to exist. Let’s take a look at a few ways the world would be a different place without steel.

Skylines would be incredibly boring.

Structures such as skyscrapers and towers would be inconceivable without steel supports and cables. Therefore, buildings would be low-rise at their tallest, making densely populated cities devastatingly uncomfortable. It’s hard to imagine a world without the likes of the Burj Khalifa, the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building, all of which utilize steel as a main construction component.

We’d have very few options for dinner.

The food we eat today has been refined in factories with steel tools, processed with steel equipment, baked in steel ovens and preserved in steel cans. It is delivered to us via steel trains on steel rails, or by steel trucks over steel-reinforced roads. As such, in a world without steel, our food sources would be limited to what could be cultivated locally and the possibility of faminewould be persistent.

Getting in touch would take for-ev-er.

(Image source: http://bit.ly/1dgLFuc)

Without steel to manufacture telephones, computers or even mail trucks, we would be stuck relying on less than efficient carrier pigeons (which were actually a thing a few thousandyears ago) or the pony express. So much for instant connection.

Reading material would be extremely limited.

(Image source: http://bit.ly/1tNFW6q)

Newspapers, magazines and books we read today are mostly printed on a steel press. Even the paper is made from wood which is cut with steel implements and processed in steel machines. Mind you, there wouldn’t be any steel-plated pens, either, so quills would be used to write and copy the material. Of course, there might be bronze movable type printing, but it would still take a very long time and amount of patience to carry out.

Disease would run rampant.

Stainless steel has contributed greatly to improved sanitation in hospitals, restaurants and other public environments, and has helped to save the lives of millions. Easy to clean, it is more hygienic, impervious to corrosion and scratch-resistant, and is capable of standing up to harsh sterilizers, heat and heavy use, preventing deadly bacteria from surviving on its surface. Without it, the constant threat of diseases such as Ebola and measles would be very real.

Unemployment would rise and the economy would crumble.

Crude steel production reached 1.66 billion tons worldwide in 2014 which only says one thing about our world… it’s growing. It’s estimated that more than 95 countries are producing steel today, with more than two million employees worldwide, and a further two million contractors and four million people in supporting fields. Without this vital industry, the world economy would suffer and many people would be without jobs.

A glimpse into the world of steel

Fortunately, we do live in a modern world where steel does exist and its importance is clear. Yet few people tend to notice it, or understand how it works. Which is why TenarisUniversity, in conjunction with the World Steel Association’s steeluniversity, has launched the massive open online course (MOOC), “Introduction to Steel.”

This lively online learning program will feature the basics of steel melting, steel’s historical and cultural context, its relationship with society and the sustainability of a world supported by steel by utilizing everyday examples, demonstrations and film footage of steel making. Additionally, it will encourage community interactions between students and the professor.

“We believe in the highest standards of education to develop people all around the world,” Rolando Lange, Director of TenarisUniversity noted. “With this MOOC, we hope students will get passionate about steel as a material and learn about the critical role it plays in our society.”

Comprised of a four-hour framework, the course is open to all free of charge. It starts on June 2 and will run for two weeks. Registration is now open. Click here to enroll in the class, or for more information.