From Nickel to Stainless Steel – A Journey

Nickel is one of the metals often being included in stainless steel production. In addition to the corrosion resistance, nickel-containing stainless steels are also easy to form and weld as they remain ductile at very low temperatures. They can also be used for high temperature applications. Nickel is a metal extracted from mines mainly in Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia. The production of nickel can be done in different ways, but is mainly divided into these two production methods: Class 1 nickel and nickel pig iron.

The production of raw nickel is highly polluting. This is because mining releases heavy metal salts, which are toxic to the environment. Furthermore, CO2 is emitted in the process of extracting the pure nickel. In particular, the production of nickel pig iron has a major negative impact on the environment. Therefore, great value can be gained from recycling nickel in environmental terms - apart from the fact that nickel itself is a very expensive raw material

of nickel used for the stainless steel production. Furthermore, the amount of scrap used in the productions in Europe or Asia differs strongly and therefore has a significant influence to the environment.