Discussion on the use of stainless steel in constructions in view of sustainability

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of stainless steel in buildings, mainly owing to its corrosion properties and therefore long service life. Among stainless steels, ferritic and lean duplex grades are characterized by low nickel content resulting in a more cost-stable and economic material compared to austenitic stainless steels. These grades have comparable (or even higher) strength than carbon steel and good corrosion resistance at lower cost. That is why, lately, they have been more often used in structural components. In this paper, attention is first paid to the advantages associated with the use of stainless steel in recent construction projects in view of sustainability. Second, life cycle analysis and the background of the new European standard EN 15804 are introduced, including module D, which allows credits to be taken now for the eventual reuse or recycling of material in the future, at the end-of-life stage. Life cycle inventories of stainless steel products (cold-rolled coils and quarto plate) are presented. Depending on the fraction of material recovered at the end of the lifespan, two potential impacts (Primary Energy Demand and Global Warming Potential) are presented for four grades: 1.4301 (AISI 304) and 1.4401 (AISI 316) austenitic grades, 1.4016 (AISI 430) ferritic grade and 1.4462 (AISI 2205) duplex grade. The influence of module D is underlined.