ABSTRACT
Steel is an alloy of iron usually containing less than one percent carbon. The process of steel production requires several sequential steps. The two types of steelmaking technology in use today are the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and the electric arc furnace (EAF). Although these two technologies use different input materials, the output for both furnace types is molten steel which is subsequently formed into steel mill products. The BOF input materials are molten iron, scrap, and oxygen. In the EAF, electricity and scrap are the input materials used. BOFs are typically used for high tonnage production of carbon steels, while EAFs are used to produce carbon steels and low tonnage alloy and specialty steels. The processes leading up to steelmaking in a BOF are very different than the steps preceding steelmaking in an EAF; the steps after each of these processes producing molten steel are the same.
