Steel makes rice taste better?

Seeing this title, you may be wondering, what is the connection between steel and rice? Then you must not know that the by-product slag of blast furnace iron making is rich in silicon acid and can be used as fertilizer for rice cultivation.

Silicon fertilizer is considered to be the fourth largest elemental fertilizer after nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It is mainly used for rice, wheat, corn and other silicon crops, among which rice is most sensitive to silicon fertilizer. Application of silicon fertilizer on silicon-deficient soil can enhance the disease resistance of rice, increase the seed setting rate, promote the accumulation of dry matter and increase the yield, and can improve the quality of rice. It is understood that in 2018, 390,000 tons of blast furnace slag from Pohang Steel was used as agricultural fertilizer.

Steel slag helps build “marine pasture”

Posco Steel uses steel slag to make artificial reefs. Posco and the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea jointly developed artificial reefs to repair marine ecosystems and create “marine pastures”.

The artificial reef made of steel slag is rich in natural minerals, providing marine algae and fish, shellfish and other homes to survive, protecting the diversity of marine species, while algae attached to artificial reefs can also Absorb carbon dioxide from water.