Basis:

• To develop ecological balance technology. Such a technology would require processing the raw materials such that liquid products are discharged at the environmental temperature and waste products are discharged in their harmless states. This requires integrating the concept of recovery, reuse and recirculation within the process environment.
  
  
• To develop a process which is flexible to use varying proportion of metallic materials depending on their availability. Converter steelmaking is based on hot metal.
  
  
• To develop technologies which are not electric energy dependent. Electric steelmaking is dependent of availability of cheap electric power, though developments are made to use chemical energy.

In the above concept, two technologies are worthwhile to mention: Energy optimizing furnace (EOF) and CONARC (Converter + Arc furnace)

Energy optimizing furnace (EOF)

Figure 19.1 is a schematic sketch of an energy optimizing furnace (EOF). EOF is a combination of three independent, interconnected reactors, namely furnace to produce steel, preheater to heat the scrap and a recuperator to rcover waste heat and to reuse by heating oxygen.