Relevance of Environmental Factors in the Steel Life Cycle for a Transition toward Circular Sustainable Production and Consumption Systems: A Joint Bibliometric and Bibliographic Analysis

The design of steel structures has evolved thanks to the increased ability to model the behavior of more complex structures. However, further constraints arise from the need for a transition toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. In particular, the assessment of the economic benefits and efficiency of existing production systems should be integrated with assessment of environmental, economic and social sustainability. In the case of steel, and limited to the environmental dimension, the literature covers various study areas, ranging from the analysis of resource flows to the assessment of steel’s environmental impacts. However, an integrated view of existing peer-reviewed studies is currently missing. The purpose of this work is to overcome this shortcoming with a review that considers and integrates research on the steel life cycle from various perspectives: analysis of material flows; quantification of emissions; environmental monitoring and indicators; and circular economy aspects, including reuse and recycling. This study is based on a deep bibliometric and bibliographical analysis of the above-cited aspects, including the key topics, authors and journals, to single out some potential research directions that have previously been neglected. The results of the analyses indicate that, even though discussed in the literature, the redesign of products is still lacking adequate consideration. The same gap was also evidenced when it came to studies on the management of waste materials and recommissioning. There is also still a lack of knowledge on the possible meaningful indicators of environmental sustainability in the case of steel. Moreover, while digital technologies that enable sustainability are being intensely developed and widely implemented, the design, testing and application of sensors for the environmental monitoring of steel production is under-studied and the interaction of environmental factors with steel structures is poorly addressed. Finally, this work evidenced poor attention with respect to water and soil pollution generated in different phases of the steel life cycle. All these aspects should be considered in future research, which would also have a beneficial effect in the implementation of informed policies for a transition toward a circular and sustainable steel life cycle.