According to relevant data, China's scrap steel is currently entering a period of rapid growth and may reach 300 million tons in the next decade. Scrap steel is one of the main iron raw materials for steelmaking, which not only carries energy and saves energy, but also is environmentally friendly. However, for a long time, the recycling of scrap steel has not been ideal.

The recycling and utilization of scrap steel is not ideal, and the next 5 to 10 years will usher in a golden period
 

After more than a decade of economic development and industrialization, China has become a major producer and consumer of steel worldwide, accounting for about 47% of global steel consumption. With the expansion of China's steel industry, the consumption of scrap steel has increased by 14% annually. In 2015, scrap steel consumption accounted for approximately 27% of the global total. The majority of this quantity comes from household and scrap steel, which increases with steel production and manufacturing.
According to the Analysis Report on Market Demand and Investment Planning of the Scrap Steel Industry by Forward Industry Research Institute, China's steel industry is accelerating into a depreciation era: in 2016, China's scrap steel resources had reached 170 million tons, and from China's steel accumulation, it is expected that China's scrap steel resources will continue to be produced in large quantities in the next five to ten years. It is expected that China's steel reserves will be about 7.8 billion tons in 2017, and it is expected that by around 2020, China's steel reserves will reach over 10 billion tons, and the production of scrap steel resources can reach 200 million tons.
Low scrap steel recycling rate
Scrap steel is a green resource that can be recycled and reused. In steel production, it can replace pig iron raw materials for steelmaking, reducing the processes of coking, sintering, and ironmaking, reducing energy consumption, and greatly reducing the emissions of waste gas, wastewater, and slag.
According to industry analysis, compared to using iron ore to produce steel, using scrap steel to produce 1 ton of steel can save 1.6 tons of iron ore, 0.4 tons of coke, about 1 ton of raw coal, and reduce emissions of 1.6 tons of carbon dioxide and 3 tons of solid waste. Eating less ore and more scrap steel not only reduces the dependence on iron ore imports and reduces industrial risks, but also is the only way for China's steel industry to transform and upgrade, and achieve green development.
However, for a long time, the recycling of scrap steel has not been ideal. According to relevant data, the utilization rate of scrap steel in China is only 19.9%, far below the world average of 48.3%. At its root, on the one hand, most of the waste steel resources are occupied by the intermediate frequency furnace "ground bar steel", and mainstream steel enterprises cannot compete with "ground bar steel" enterprises in purchasing social waste steel resources; On the other hand, the price of scrap steel does not have an advantage compared to imported iron ore at a lower price. In the situation where tax rebate policies and subsidies are difficult to implement, the enthusiasm of enterprises to use scrap steel is limited.
In addition, the structural contradictions in China's steel process flow are also a major obstacle to the recycling of scrap steel. As the main force in the digestion of scrap steel, the short process electric furnace accounts for only 7.3% of China's steel production, far below the world average level; The blast furnace converter long process (from iron ore and coke to pig iron and then to steel) has long dominated. This structure allows China to import 65% of the world's iron ore, but underutilize a large amount of greener scrap steel.
Welcome the golden period in the next 5-10 years
"In addition to encouraging steel enterprises to use more scrap steel at the national level, scrap steel enterprises themselves should improve their equipment and technological level, and strengthen their processing capabilities," said Li Shubin, Executive Vice President of the China Scrap Steel Application Association.
Li Shubin also stated that scrap steel recycling, processing, and utilization enterprises should firmly establish the concept of industrial integration, cultivate and build leading enterprises in the entire industry, and improve the concentration and fine management of enterprises. Strengthen industry self-discipline and operate in accordance with the law, establish honest, reliable, and long-term stable industrial chain relationships with upstream and downstream customers, cooperate with relevant national departments to continue to do a good job in accessing the scrap steel processing industry, continuously strengthen and improve industry supervision and self-discipline, and welcome the arrival of a major transformation period in the scrap steel industry.
We believe that with the continuous increase in environmental protection efforts, the establishment of a carbon emission trading system, and the release and implementation of a series of policies by the country on the development of the comprehensive utilization of renewable resources, circular economy, energy conservation and emission reduction, all have created favorable conditions for the development of the scrap steel industry. The next 3 to 5 years may be an upward period for the application of scrap steel, and the scrap steel processing and distribution industry has great potential.
The Forward Industry Research Institute has also clearly pointed out that in the next 5 to 10 years, China will usher in a significant increase in the amount of scrap steel resources, ushering in an era of steel enterprises using more scrap steel, making good use of scrap steel, and reducing carbon emissions. The scrap steel processing and distribution industry has great potential, which is a golden period for related enterprises to grow and strengthen.
(Source: China Environmental Protection Online)
Article link: China Environmental Protection Online http://www.hbzhan.com/news/Detail/119301.html