A methodology is proposed for taking recycling, an essential activity of the developed economies, into account within LCA tools. The reasoning for choosing the methodology is exposed step by step. The final proposal is centered on the multiple-recycling model, which best describes the practical way that materials are actually recycled in the economy.
From a practical standpoint, the results obtained are attributed to steel on the basis of a specific value (e.g. t of CO2 per t of steel), which amounts to averaging the impact over the various steps of the recycling process on a weighted average basis, depending on the amount of material recycled at each step.

The new Brazilian free energy market and the possibilities afforded by the carbon credits motivated a reassessment of Top Recovery Turbines (TRT), to be installed on blast furnaces 2 and 3 of CST. These turbines could recover about 16 MW electric energy.
Several options have been considered, including energy selling, internal consumption and through Arcelor Brazil consumption, taking also carbon credits into account.

An innovative modelling strategy has been developed and validated to help the design of steel reheating furnaces. A set of complementary simulation tools has been used to rethink the furnace concept, namely the Digit@l FurnaceTM, from the burners to the global energy system optimisation. Several Digit@l FurnacesTM are now in operation on hot rolling mills. Advantages in terms of pollutant emissions, operation costs and flexibility have been demonstrated on site.

The application software “Integrated Solution for Sinter Plant and Blast Furnace Charging” is presented. This is a decision-making support system that includes a mathematical model for the automatic and optimized generation of charging solutions for the sinter plant and blast furnace processes.
This model assures the quality specifications of the products, environmental limits as well as availability of materials, with particular focus on the operational stability. Furthermore, it allows managerial analysis including the acquisition strategies of new consumables and fuels.

A new mold flux has been developed to favour cuspidine crystallisation at the upper level of the mold. This reduces the local heat flux and allows an even solidification of the slab shell, thus preventing any occurrence of longitudinal cracks. Pilot tests have established that the new flux make it possible to cast hypoperitectic steel slabs at casting speeds up to 5 m/min.

Use of stainless steel rebar for concrete reinforcement is increasing worldwide. The enhanced properties of stainless steel prove to be a viable solution when life cycle costs of the structures are taken into account. Austenitic and duplex stainless steels are used as rebar because they present an excellent combination of corrosion resistance in concrete, high strength and good ductility.
The resistance to pitting corrosion of various stainless steels has been evaluated by electrochemical tests. Thus, it is possible to select the appropriate grade according to the environment the concrete structure is submitted to during its life. A classification of the selected austenitic and duplex grades is introduced.