Steel is one of the most widely used materials in the United States today. Steel comes in four common forms.
Carbon: Carbon steel is a derivation that contains carbon in varying amounts that range from low to high.
Alloy: Allow steel is steel that contains another metal or alloy that makes it harder and stronger. Materials used in alloy steel include copper, aluminium, and nickel.
Stainless: Stainless steel is a derivation that includes at least 10.5 percent chromium content.
Tool: Tool steel is for products used to make tools. Tool steel is particularly hard and resistant to abrasion, bending, and melting.
In addition to the four general categories of steel, there are other unique things that you may not know about steel. There are five particularly interesting facts that you may never have heard about steel.
Steel is One of the Most Frequently Recycled Materials in the World
You may have been somewhat aware that steel is recyclable. However, what you may not realize is that steel is one of the most frequently recycled materials in the world. The reality is that steel highly easy to recycle and then re-use.
Each year An estimated 80 million tons of steel is recycled in the United States. That represents about 70 percent of all steel used during any given year. The recycling of stainless steel saves enough energy each year to provide energy to 18 million households in the United States.
A unique feature of recycled steel is that it can be utilized Steel an infinite number of times without losing any of its original strength, hence why a steel channel is made of this metal. Very few other recyclable materials can make this same claim.
The Naming of Stainless Steel
Another unique fact about steel is something that most people are not aware of in this day and age. Specifically, many people do not the history of the naming of stainless steel.
The original name for stainless steel was “Staybrite.” After stainless steel was given this moniker, manufacturers fairly quickly discovered that Staybrite was highly resistant to rust. This resulted in the renaming of Staybrite to stainless steel.
Stainless Steel is the Best for All Types of Brewing
If you are a fan of any type of brewed beverage, you need to take a close look at stainless steel. One thing you may now know about steel is that the stainless derivation is best for all types of brewing. This includes coffee and tea. However, stainless steel is also proven best at brewing beer as well.
Research demonstrates that the flavour of these various beverages is enhanced when they are prepared and brewed in stainless steel equipment. The reason this is the case is that stainless steel does not interfere with the original flavour of whatever is being utilized in the brewing process. From a scientific standpoint, stainless steel is not altered chemically in any way, shape, or form during the brewing process. The same cannot be said of equipment made from other types of substances.
Steel Food Containers
You likely have steel food containers in your home right now. Nonetheless, you may know some interesting facts about steel food containers. Some of this information about steel food containers represents things you may never knew about steel. Over 1,500 different food products come in steel containers in this day and age.
First, steel cans are the most recycled food containers on the market today. There are 24,000 recycling programs across the United States that recycle steel food containers. About 600 steel cans are recycled in the United States every minute.
With the use of steel food containers, preservatives are not needed. This renders foods more wholesome and healthy.
Steel food containers are also the most tamper-resistant, safe food storage items available today. Food safety, in these challenging times, is crucial. These containers ensure confidence in the food supply.
Steel Has a High Melting Point
Another of the unique facts about steel you may not realize is that it has a high melting point, higher than most other metals. The heat that is needed to oxidize or melt steel necessitates a temperature past 2730 degrees F. The Earth’s core has a temperature thought to be about 9700 degrees F. Aluminum melts at about 1200 degrees F. Mercury melts at -38 degrees F.
The temperature of the fires in the Twin Towers varied from 700 degrees F and 4000 degrees F on September 11th. This is one of the factors contributing to the failure of the steel structure in the buildings on 9-11.
Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who writes for Federal Steel Supply, Inc., a leading steel tubing suppliers of carbon, alloy and stainless steel pipe, tubes, fittings and flanges.
