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The electric arc furnace offers an alternative method of bulk steel making. Unlike the basic oxygen route, the electric arc furnace does not use hot metal. It is charged with "cold" material which is normally steel scrap - which would otherwise be unsightly and environmentally damaging. Other forms of raw material are also available.

Steel scrap is first tipped into the electric arc furnace from an overhead crane. A lid is then swung into position over the electric arc furnace. This lid contains three graphite electrodes which are lowered into the electric arc furnace. An electric current is passed through the electrodes to form an arc. The heat generated by this arc melts the scrap.

During the melting process, other metals (ferro-alloys) are added to the steel to give it the required chemical composition. Also oxygen is blown in to the electric arc furnace to purify the steel.

After samples have been taken to check the chemical composition of the steel, the electric arc furnace is tilted to allow the slag, which is floating on the surface of the molten steel, to be poured off. The electric arc furnace is then tilted in the other direction and the molten steel poured into a ladle, where it either undergoes secondary steelmaking or is transported to the caster.

The modern electric arc furnace typically makes upto 150 tonnes in each melt, which takes around 90 minutes. Steel making with electric arc furnace is also economical. Every tonne of electric arc furnace steel uses about 7.4 GJ of energy compared with about 16.2 GJ for every tonne of BOS steel (7.4 GJ is still equal to the power consumption of a town of 100,000 population).

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