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CommentRe:Solar sails and solar mirrors mining asteroids (Score 2)59

Electric arc furnace (EAF) steel made from scrap tends to have higher levels of certain residual contaminants compared to virgin steel made from ore via blast furnace (BOF).
Key differences:

More common in EAF/scrap steel:

Copper (Cu) – from wires, motors, plumbing

Tin (Sn) – from food cans, coatings

Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni), Molybdenum (Mo) – from stainless/alloy scrap

Phosphorus (P) and Sulfur (S) – vary by scrap quality, harder to control

Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn) – from coatings, batteries, brass components

Hydrogen (H) and Nitrogen (N) – introduced during melting in air

More controlled in BOF/virgin steel:

Lower in residuals since composition is controlled from the start

Blast furnaces remove many impurities during ore reduction

Consistent low levels of Cu, Sn, Zn, Pb, etc.

That’s why EAF steel is often limited to lower-spec applications unless carefully sorted and refined.

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