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An exploration of iron and steel, from its genesis to modern steel production and reflections on the future, taking readers on a journey from the early discovery of techniques used to work with steel to recent developments in the manufacturing and use of steel

Table of Contents

PrefaceCh. 1. Iron and Steel before the 18th Century: Slow Adoption, Artisanal Production and Scaling-upCh. 2. Rise of Modern Ferrous Metallurgy, 1700-1850: Coke, Blasts, Furnaces and Expensive SteelCh. 3. Iron and Steel before WW I, 1850-1914: The Age of Affordable SteelCh. 4. A Century of Advances, 1914-2014: Changing in Leadership in Iron and Steel IndustryCh. 5. Modern Ironmaking and Steelmaking: Furnaces, Processes, CastingCh. 6. Materials in Modern Iron and Steel Production: Ores, Coke, Fluxes, Scrap and Other InputsCh. 7. Energy Costs and Environmental Impacts of Iron and Steel: Energies, Atmospheric Emissions, and Waste StreamsCh. 8. Ubiquitous Uses of Steel: Sectoral Consumption and the Quest for QualityCh. 9. Looking Back: Advances and AccomplishmentsCh. 10. Looking Ahead: The Future of Iron and SteelAppendicesIndex

About the Author

Vaclav Smil is active in interdisciplinary research in the fields of materials, energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, risk assessment, and public policy.He has published 35 books and more than 400 papers on these topics. His research areas span throughout the sciences. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (Science Academy), and a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2010 he was listed by Foreign Policy among the top 100 global thinkers. He was the first non-American to receive the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology.He has worked as a consultant for many US, EU and international institutions, has been an invited speaker in nearly 400 conferences and workshops in the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia and Africa, and has lectured at many universities in North America, Europe and East Asia. Lastly, in 2013 he had the distinction having Bill Gates state that “There is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil” in an article that appeared in Wired.com.