For this engineering project we had to choose a product and research its lifecycle. the steps in a product's lifecycle are raise and extract, process, manufacture, use, then finally dispose. I chose to do steel because it is a huge part of our lives, everything from cars to buildings to war ships.
Raise and extract
The raw materials needed to make steel are iron and carbon. The carbon you can get from coal, more specifically coking coal. The iron which is common is mostly mined in Australia and Brazil. The coking coal and iron are then shipped to steel plants in Asia and Europe.
Process
The coking coal is turned into coke which is almost pure carbon, this is used as fuel for the furnace and as the main reductant. The iron is smelted in a blast furnace to remove impurities.
Manufacture
Iron ore, coke, and limestone are put into the furnace. Gas given off by the coke gets rid of most of the oxygen and further down in the furnace the limestone reacts with the impurities in the iron to create slag. The slag floats to the top where it can be easily removed. The molten steel is then poured into molds and casts where it cools.
Use
Steel is widely used by the military because of how strong and cheap it is, and that it is easy to mass produce. It is also used widely for structural supports on bridges and in buildings. It is also reused and remanufactured. All in all it is the most commonly used material.
Disposal
Steel really isn't disposed its constantly being recycled and melted down in new batches of steel, so it really never sees the landfill. It also is used in sculptures in parks if it isn't being melted down.
Sources:
www.worldsteel.com
www.engr.sjsu.edu
www.keenovens.com
www.worldsteel.com
www.engr.sjsu.edu
www.keenovens.com
Conclusion Questions
A. What the product goes through from extracting materials to disposing the product when it is no longer needed.
B. To figure out what what affects the material will have on the environment and if the material will perform as needed.
C. I would make the steel lighter because then you could make cars and other vehicles safer, by adding more steel and not having to worry about stressing the engine further.
D. I do think steel will become obsolete because Kevlar has already started taking over some of the jobs steel had, and with technology evolving like it is we will soon have a lighter, stronger, and cheaper alternative to steel
E. Sort of like a compromise. For example, you want armor to be strong and a trade-off that happens is that it isn't going to be very light.
F. Yes i do, because steel had to be very strong to support buildings and for armor in the military. Since it is so strong its density is between 7.75 and 8.05 g/cm^3 which is a huge trade off if you need a lot of it on one thing.
G. To keep whatever trash we can out of landfills.
H. If they make a product out of a material that isn't recycled easily then not a lot of recycling of the product will be done
I. If society feels that recycling is useless, doesn't do anything to help the environment, or if it is inconvenient they will recycle a lot less
J. Try to recycle any plastic, glass, or aluminum I can.
B. To figure out what what affects the material will have on the environment and if the material will perform as needed.
C. I would make the steel lighter because then you could make cars and other vehicles safer, by adding more steel and not having to worry about stressing the engine further.
D. I do think steel will become obsolete because Kevlar has already started taking over some of the jobs steel had, and with technology evolving like it is we will soon have a lighter, stronger, and cheaper alternative to steel
E. Sort of like a compromise. For example, you want armor to be strong and a trade-off that happens is that it isn't going to be very light.
F. Yes i do, because steel had to be very strong to support buildings and for armor in the military. Since it is so strong its density is between 7.75 and 8.05 g/cm^3 which is a huge trade off if you need a lot of it on one thing.
G. To keep whatever trash we can out of landfills.
H. If they make a product out of a material that isn't recycled easily then not a lot of recycling of the product will be done
I. If society feels that recycling is useless, doesn't do anything to help the environment, or if it is inconvenient they will recycle a lot less
J. Try to recycle any plastic, glass, or aluminum I can.