Opportunities and dangers of using residual elements in steels. A literature survey

Olivier Rod, Christian Becker & Margareta Nylén

The growing recirculation of steel scrap coming mainly from the collection of obsolete products may result in a substantial increase of residual elements in steel, which is often considered as a problem. However, residual elements in scrap are used as effective micro alloying elements if the appropriate production is used. The current restrictions on levels of residual elements have often been set from a cautious viewpoint. With a deeper understanding of the dynamics behind the interactions of different elements, it is reasonable to believe that the level of residual elements can be increased in some high quality steel products.

This study is aimed to give an overview of the situation and state of the art concerning residual elements in low alloy low carbon steels, their effect on processing and final properties of the steels and the way they are used today.