One of the most common elements in the universe and used in every industry on earth, it’s little wonder that steel is one of the most abundant metals in our Pakenham scrap yard. This week, to celebrate the importance of steel in our modern world, we’ve come up with 10 interesting things we guarantee you didn’t know about steel.
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5 million steel cans are recycled in Australia every week
That’s enough to build 900 new cars but despite this, steel can recycling rates in Australia are very low at just 30.3.%. This is less than half the aluminium can recycling rate.
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Recycling steel as as opposed to manufacturing it from raw materials is about 75% more energy efficient
Recycling a tonne of steel saves 633kg of coal, 54kg of limestone, and 1131 kg of iron ore.
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Steel was being manufactured as far back as 4,000 years ago
During the antique period, steel produced in a clay smelting furnace or crucible. The earliest ironware ever discovered dates back to 1800 BC. However, before the age of smelting, iron from meteorites was used to build weapons, tools, and cultural objects.
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There is a species of deep sea snail that has iron sulphide ‘chainmail’ on its shell
The only known animal to use iron sulphide as a skeletal material, the purpose of the ‘samurai’ snail’s armour is to repel predators.
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Steel is 1,000 times stronger than iron
It can be recycled over and over again without deteriorating. In fact, steel aged up to 150 years without losing any of it’s original strength.
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Steel is the second largest industry in the world
It has a US$900 billion annual turnover, which puts it only second to oil and gas. Japan, China and the United States are the leading producers of steel.
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Ned Kelly’s armour was made entirely out of iron
The Kelly Gang pilfered mould boards for plough shares and used a bush forge to bend them into the four iron suits they wore during their shootout. The armour was a quarter of an inch thick and weighed around 44 kilograms.
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Brass is stronger than iron
However, the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age because iron is much easier to work with.
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Steel is a finite resource
Some estimates suggest that there is less than a century worth of iron to produce steel with. Once steel runs out on earth, we may have to look at extra-terrestrial sources
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Steel was the material used to fabricate the first prosthetic arm in 1504
The prosthesis was for a knight, and could supposedly grip both a feather and a sword with it.
Metal Men Recycling are established scrap metal buyers in Melbourne. We accept all types of scrap metal as well as car batteries. To learn more about our services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by calling 03 5941 6677.
