Sponge Iron an Unpromising Substitute for Scrap in Steel

MODERN steelmaking has gradually evolved from an inefficient small-scale operation, utilizing tiny units, to a highly efficient one utilizing large units almost completely mechanized. The leading position of the United States in the steel industry is due to the possession of easily assembled high-grade raw materials and large-scale highly developed plants. Modern integrated steel operation is largely one of material handling. Mining and transportation of iron ore, coal, and fluxes, coking the coal in by-product ovens, smelting the ore with coke and limestone in blast furnaces, converting the resulting pig iron into steel in the Bessemer, or in the open hearth when supplemented with scrap, and fabricating the resulting steel ingots in the shapes of commerce all are done on a huge scale, mostly by machinery, most of the labor being employed either in operating the machine or keeping it in repair. At the same time the quality and uniformity of the product have been greatly increased by the development of scientific knowledge and operating skills. Thus, the steel industry in this country is highly developed both mechanically and technically.