#2 Heating Oil

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What are they converting from? You probably know the steel industry was huge in PA (Bethlehem Steel, Pittsburg Steelers football, etc.), because both coal and iron ore were pushed to the surface by the Appalachian mountains that cut the state in half. But many or most of our plants here converted from coal to electric induction furnaces in the early 1970's, more than 50 years ago.

You must have had some nearly-free source of energy, to be still using anything less efficient than electric furnaces, in recent years.

Up until right now they have been coal based blast furnaces. They operated large blast furnaces, including BF6 and BF7, utilizing coke from coal, iron ore, and limestone to make pig iron before refining it into steel, but are now building electric arc furnaces powered by electricity to melt scrap metal.

Most believe the steel quality is going to go down, and that they won't even find enough scrap to operate full capacity.

 

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Good overview of the operation:

EcoSenshi

ecosenshi.com