How do they ensure the quality of steel made from scrap metal?

Question

There’s literally everything in scrap metal, aren’t there compounds that will worsen the quality of the steel produced?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

Making little test-pieces from the melted steel is quite easy – you can then confirm composition, strengths, hardness, toughness and any other properties you deem important.

If the steel you have there doesn’t match your requirements then you can add more iron, nickel, copper, silicon or manganese to bring the composition closer to your target.

Think of it as making lemonade – if the mix is too sweet, you add lemon juice. If its too sour, you add sugar and if its too potent you add water till it dilutes the other parts.