– Finding the Hidden POSCO! –

Inside the house, here we go.

① PosMarble Takes on Design, Function, Environment, and Costs

Marble brings stylish luxury to house interiors. POSCO’s brand-new PosMarble adds to the marble luxury in terms of design and functionality. PosMarble is a perfect marriage between the rust-free PosMAC and inkjet marble printing whose resolution far exceeding that of ordinary printing. Because of this, PosMarble can emulate the luxurious patterns and textures of top quality marbles, both natural and artificial. Not only that, it’s half the cost of natural marbles and more eco-friendly.

The recent discovery of formaldehyde and radon in synthetic and natural marble created a huge controversy in the market. Amid the controversy, PosMarble is being welcomed as a new and safe alternative.

② Emergency Safety with Stainless Steel Guard Rail

During non-emergency situations, fire exit stairs outside high-rise buildings serve as railings, preventing falls. During a fire emergency, the rail unfolds and provides direct exit routes for people. The railing at Mr. P’s apartment is made of POSCO’s high-strength stainless steel pipe. Rust-free and sturdy against big external impact, the material ensures safety — both in case of emergency and non-emergency.

③ A Quiet Comfort with POSCO floors

In apartment living, the noise transfer between floors can cause high anxieties for the occupants. Worried about the noises? Think no further, POSCO’s PosCOZY has the solution.

PosCOZY, the world’s first high manganese steel plate designed to reduce noises between floors, is a noise-proof floor system created by combining galvanized steel plates with high manganese clip whose vibration resistance is four times that of normal steel.

PosCOZY is the first steel floor material that received a certificate from Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology — a grade 1 certification given to the materials that minimize impact noises on the floor.

PosCOZY reduces heavyweight floor impact noises by over 10 dB and lightweight floor impact noises by over 20 dB. Even if children upstairs play soccer at home, the downstairs occupants won’t be able to hear a thing — as quiet as a library. Applying PosCOZY to older buildings, 15 years or older, with thin floors can significantly reduce noises — boosting the acoustic performance to the legal minimum level of grade 4. PosCOZY might just be the best solution for those who want to soundproof their floors.

④ The ‘Total Smart Home’ with POSCO E&C — the AiQ TECH

After a long hard cold winter day, imagine stepping into the empty apartment. Inside, what you find is the room toasty and cozy with just the right temperature and warm bright light — not a cold dark room. Not only that, the laundry you didn’t quite finish in the morning is now all done. What about the floors? It’s squeaky clean.

Thanks to ‘Total Smart Home’ with IoT platform, we are now living in a world where all this is a reality, not a fantasy. POSCO E&C recently launched “AiQ TECH,” Korea’s first smart home technology. AiQ TECH is a self-learning smart technology with emotional intelligence to serve customers. After undergoing a long R&D and prototypes after prototypes, POSCO E&C successfully developed the AiQ TECH with the three key functions that best suit market needs: AiQ Convenience, AiQ Safety, and AiQ Health.

The AiQ Convenience uses voice commands and mobile messengers to control lighting, heating, and ventilation. It also alerts elevator arrivals and traffic conditions best suited to the lifestyle of each individual. The AiQ Safety auto-detects any malfunctions in the elevator alerting the building management personnel on duty. It also allows live-monitoring of CCTVs within the apartment complex through smartphone apps. Lastly, the AiQ Health analyzes the air quality and triggers the ventilation system when needed.

⑤Steel Home Appliances with POSCO

The increasing popularity of smart home appliances is also diversifying the designs of the appliances away from the monotonous coloring — mostly in white tones. As of late, vibrant colors, geometric patterns, and metallic texture are gaining popularity for interior designs. Steel plates from POSCO — cold-rolled steel, galvanized steel, and electro-galvanized — are especially worth noting. They are corrosion-resistant and allow generous freedom for surface treatment. POSCO steel plates allow very little power loss. That’s why everyday household appliances using POSCO materials — refrigerators, microwave ovens, and ovens — have high energy efficiency.

⑥ Stainless Kitchen Thinks Clean

When cooking, good cooking utensils are just as important as good ingredients. Stainless steel, found in various pots and pans as well as in storage containers, is one of the widely used materials in the kitchen. Among different grades of stainless steel, austenitic steel is the most widely used grade of stainless steel. It contains chromium and nickel components and is known for its formability and corrosion resistance. Austenitic steel is mainly used in kitchen appliances, building materials, and chemical facilities.

Heat transfer through stainless steel is not as superb as with aluminum. To overcome this shortcoming, POSCO developed clad steel by bonding stainless steel to aluminum. Clad steel has already made a name for itself as the top kitchenware material. Clad steel is made by rolling on stainless steel to the front and the back of aluminum plates. With triple layers, clade steel enhances the thermal conductivity, heat conservation, and efficiency of stainless steel. Furthermore, its resistance to acid and alkali makes clad steel not only eco-friendly but also harmless to humans.

⑦ Safe and Clean with Stainless Steel Water Pipes

The recent bout of rusty tap water in the Seoul Metropolitan area heightened safety concerns on drinking water. With stainless steel water pipes, however, you can rest assured that your drinking water will stay clean and toxic-free.

No matter how heat-resistant, plastic pipes can’t guarantee hygiene and safety 100%. Constant contact with hot water will inevitably cause deformation inside the pipes. Compared to plastics, however, stainless steel is incredibly durable — it’s clean, keeping its original shapes much better than plastics. No wonder why stainless steel is increasingly becoming the go-to material for food containers.

Through the episode #2 of ‘Find the Hidden POSCO,’ we spotted POSCO technologies found inside the house. Giant chunks of steel have transformed themselves into various products of all shapes doing the jobs that they were born to do. Stay tuned for the next episode of [Find the Hidden POSCO] where we will explore various spots of our city to discover more POSCO technologies.

One in 9 people all over the world do not have access to drinking water. (Source: World Finance)

However, it seems the world just can’t get enough of water. Global water demand is projected to increase 55 percent by 2050. Most of the demand will be driven by the agriculture industry, which currently makes up 70 percent of freshwater consumption, but is projected to grow another 69 percent to meet the food demands of the growing population. New-growth industries will put additional pressure on freshwater supplies. For example, water used to cool power stations is projected to increase by more than 20 percent by 2055 and water demand from the manufacturing industry in developing nations will grow by 400 percent by 2055. Unfortunately, 97.5 percent of earth’s surface water is inadequate for human use.

The growing demand is putting heavy pressure on current water supplies that appear to be shrinking due to global warming and climate change. As a result, there have been extensive efforts by individuals and households to conserve and recycle water. However, in major cities around the world, water is wasted before it even reaches people’s taps.

Water leaking through the cracks

In the U.S., about 2.1 trillion gallons of water slip through the cracks, literally, each year, or about 6 billion gallons of water per day. The ancient water infrastructure throughout the country is full of leaking pipes, cracked mains and broken meters.

For example, the largest water filtration plant in the world, Jardine Water Filtration Plant, is located in the city of Chicago and pumps out purified water to about 5 million residents via thousands of miles of pipes. However, about 22 billion gallons of water leak through old pipes and broken water mains in the city every year. In Philadelphia, the Water Department pumps out 250 million gallons of purified water daily to nearby residents, but more than 60 million gallons are lost through the pipes every day.

Billions of gallons of drinking water are wasted through cracks and leaks in water pipes. (Source: UCLA)

In Canada, home to some of the most abundant supplies of freshwater, there are cities with 35 to 45 percent water loss. Ontario, for example, has outdated and leaky pipes responsible for the loss of about  CAD 700 million per year in wasted drinking water.

In the UK, about 872 million gallons, or 20 percent the nation’s treated water supply, leaks through old pipes before it reaches residents. This is 62 million gallons more per day than water loss rates from a decade ago, showing the severe consequences aging pipes can have.  

Faulty water pipes

The biggest problem with water systems around the world is simply their age. They were built ages ago, often with insufficient materials and outdated technology, and now, they’re too expensive and extensive to repair or replace.

However, old pipes can pose a number of problems. Besides the gallons of wasted purified water, an outdated water system can pose major health risks. In the U.S., 1 in 4 people drinks unsanitary water due to insufficient water infrastructure. It has already been proven that contaminants can enter the water system through leaks that are most often caused by corrosion and material defect.

Cast iron pipes are highly susceptible to corrosion and structural damage. (Source: Micro Power Grids)

Water pipes installed decades ago are traditionally made of cast iron and laid on wooden blocks or rocks. Such pipes are highly corrosive and most susceptible to damage. Also, a well-functioning pipe keeps contaminated water out with pressure from mains that forces water out of minor cracks, but not in. Over time, damage to a certain section of a pipe can cause this pressure to drop, and groundwater often finds its way in through cracks.

Making it right with steel

The ideal solution for outdated, faulty water pipes would be to replace them with new ones equipped with the latest damage detection and repair technologies. However, such projects are not only expensive, but a city’s water system is often politically, regionally and physically intertwined with other entities, making it difficult to take on such a mammoth task.

Thus, cities opt for isolated repairs instead, either placing a stainless steel clamp over the damaged area or inserting a smaller stainless steel pipe inside the existing, cracked pipe. Stainless steel is the most common material for repairing and replacing outdated cast iron, concrete and lead pipes due to its excellent strength and resistance to corrosion. Higher grades of stainless steel, such as POSCO’s PossSD, can also resist high levels of pressure and are naturally resistant to microbes. Stainless steel can also be manufactured to withstand extreme temperatures.

Major cities such as Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei are undergoing massive projects to replace the majority of their water pipes with stainless steel to ensure safe and abundant drinking water for residents. For other cities, repairing leaky pipes with stainless steel will save millions of dollars currently leaking through the pipes and prevent illnesses associated with contaminated water. As the global demand for water continues to grow and fresh water supplies continue to shrink, conservation is becoming more important than ever, ensuring that stainless steel will play a vital role in water pipe repairs and replacements for years to come in efforts to correct and maintain the system that serves the basis of all human activities.

Cover photo courtesy of The Spruce.