ABSTRACT

Introduction A wide range of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and their alloys are used within construction, but iron, steel, aluminium, copper, lead and zinc predominate. Over the last decade titanium has featured significantly in construction, having previously been used mainly in the chemical process industry and for military purposes. Recent trends have been towards the development of more durable alloys and the use of coatings both to protect and give visual diversity to the product ranges. Generally the metals require a large energy input for their production from raw materials; however, this high embodied energy is partially offset by the long life and recycling of most metals. The recovery rate of steel from demolition sites is 94%, with 10% being reused and 84% being recycled. Approximately 50% of current steel production is from scrap, and steel can be recycled any number of times without any degradation of the material.