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Flaming cauldrons of molten metal have long been the primary venues for steel production. But blast furnaces require a lot of coal, which means greenhouse gas pollution. In fact, worldwide, steelmaking is responsible for 5 percent of annual emissions.
熊熊燃烧的溶化金属的熔炉一直是出产钢产品的主要场所。但高炉需要燃烧大量的煤炭，这意味着温室气体污染。实际上，每年炼钢所排放的温室气体占全世界总量的5%。
But scientists working on a way to harvest oxygen from the iron oxide in lunar soil for future moon bases realized that they happened on a better way to make steel here on Earth. The trick? Produce steel the way we make aluminum: use electricity rather than flame.
然而科学家们正致力于研究一种从月球土壤中的氧化铁里获得氧气的方法。因为未来月球基地意识到在地球上以这种方式炼钢更好。什么窍门？用制铝的方式炼钢：利用电能而不是火。
To make steel the old-fashioned way, you blast iron ore with heat and purify the resulting molten metal with oxygen. The process removes carbon from the steel, but produces carbon dioxide. Making a ton of steel releases roughly two tons of CO2—and the world uses a lot of steel in cars, buildings and other infrastructure.
旧的炼钢方式是加热铁矿石使其燃烧，然后用氧气净化溶化的铁水。这道程序会将碳从钢中去除，但这样会产生二氧化碳。每生产一吨钢材大约要释放两吨二氧化碳——世界上生产汽车，建造房屋和其他基础设施都需要大量钢材。
The new method involves passing a current through a molten pool of iron oxide, which drives off the originally sought-after oxygen. The by-product is steel. And depending on the source of the electricity, the process could be nearly CO2-free. Which, as far as the atmosphere is concerned, would be very cool.
新方法的步骤则包括向熔炉里的氧化铁通电，从而释放原本就炙手可热的氧气。副产品则是钢。如果采用适当的方式发电，这个过程几乎不会排出一点二氧化碳。对于大气而言也是有利的。
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