This material is part of the free Environmental Performance in Construction (EPiC) Database. The EPiC Database contains embodied environmental flow coefficients for 250+ construction materials using a comprehensive hybrid life cycle inventory approach.
Steel is a ferrous metal and is an alloy of iron and carbon, as well as potential other elements. It has a very high tensile strength. Steel has been used in the construction industry for over a century.
The core material for making steel is iron, which is found in iron ore. Iron is extracted from iron ore in blast furnaces through the smelting process, while controlling for the content of carbon. The molten steel is usually further processed before being cast for its final use.
Steel is commonly used in the construction industry, mainly as a structural material. Hot rolled structural steel is used to produce a range of structural elements, such as reinforcement bars, I-beams and railroad tracks.