shatterproof, robust & lightweight: all facts about stainless steel
The new ones are here: our soulbottles steel light! This marks the second round of our soulessentials series on stainless steel. Following the launch of the double-walled soulbottles steel in 2019, we now want to discuss the properties of our new soulbottles steel light. Why is steel suitable for drinking bottles, what about recycling, and why are the soulbottles steel insulated while the steel light is incredibly lightweight? Dive with us into the world of stainless steel production.
That was a real milestone in more ways than one: In 2019, we launched our first stainless steel drinking bottles . New material, new production country, new partners, believe us – it was exciting. One year later , the steel, steel utopia and steel industrial turned out to be real bestsellers and eye-catchers in the hands of our soulfriends. Lighter, more colorful, more versatile. But we realized there was more to it and spent another year refining it... You can now admire the result in our shop: the soulbottles steel light . And most recently, our super stylish drinking cups , our soulcups. We regularly provide updates on the production of our soulbottles steel in China here on the blog. But how much do you know about steel? As part of our soulessentials series, which started with the topic of glass, we now offer a material check on stainless steel.
The production of steel is quite resource-intensive
What exactly is in stainless steel?
Stainless steel sounds quite promising in itself, as “noble” suggests a certain quality characteristic. But first, the definition of “steel”: This refers to a material that consists largely of iron . It is made from iron ore and usually also steel scrap , but more on that later. A maximum of two percent of the mass may be carbon. This makes steel what is known as an alloy, i.e. a metallic material that consists of at least two elements. It is easy to form, both hot and cold , and can be processed into a wide variety of products , from solid plates to flexible sheet metal . Stainless steel has similar properties, but is refined even further , for example by removing unwanted residues of sulfur or by adding other elements to the alloy to improve its quality - as is the case with 18/8 stainless steel of quality 304, from which the body of our soulbottles steel is made. To this is added 18% chromium and at least 8% nickel . This variant is the most commonly used and is often found in drinking bottles or lunch boxes made of stainless steel.
Steel and recycling
It all started with our glass drinking bottles at soulbottles. Not least because this material is 100% recyclable . And every type of steel has this property too. It can be completely melted down after use and reprocessed without any loss of quality. And theoretically, even ordinary steel can be alloyed during the recycling process, for example by adding chromium and nickel, and thus achieving the quality of stainless steel. What we don't want to ignore is that steel has a fairly high CO₂ footprint, primarily due to its manufacturing process . It is traditionally produced in blast furnaces, a process that requires large quantities of raw materials and is therefore energy-intensive. The CO₂ balance is correspondingly high.
But after careful consideration, the advantages convinced us. Recycling is clearly one of them. Due to its positive material properties, steel can be reused not just once, but multiple times – this is referred to as multi- recycling. In numbers: 570 million tons are recycled annually. This makes steel the world leader. Recycling, i.e. the use of steel scrap, reduces the steel industry's carbon footprint. A 2019 study found that, for example, using one ton of recycled stainless steel scrap in stainless steel production results in 4.3 tons less CO₂ being produced. Furthermore, the use of primary raw materials is also reduced. Recycling therefore helps reduce the material's ecological footprint . At soulbottles, we are currently pursuing this path:
- We try to avoid as many emissions as possible ; anything we cannot avoid, we offset through myclimate.
- Our steel cylinders travel from our producer in China by ship . This produces less CO2 than transporting them by train, plane, or truck.
- The transport is also carried out using 100% biofuels.
- We also use recycled stainless steel to manufacture our soulbottles steel. We're working to continually increase this percentage, just as we've already achieved with glass.
Why China, and how does the collaboration work there? Information about this can be found here. Clearly, there's still plenty of room for improvement in the steel industry to become more sustainable. Germany, in particular, is working on concepts to make production greener, meaning reducing the use of raw materials. We're keeping ourselves up-to-date on this as well.
one of the soulbottles founders Paul at our producer in China
Why is stainless steel suitable for drinking bottles?
The fact that steel is 100% recyclable and that your bottle can be completely melted down and reused after a long life is an important factor. But even more important is the durability of stainless steel , which means you can use your soulbottle steel and steel light for many years before it goes back into circulation. And because the material is unbreakable and also does not rust , nothing stands in the way of a long-term and therefore sustainable relationship . Stainless steel does not automatically have to be rust-free steel, even if the two are often equated. The decisive factor here is the chromium content. In the 304 stainless steel we use, it is 18 percent. This helps, among other things, to ensure that the bottles are food safe and that the material does not rust. This is why you sometimes see the term stainless steel for 304 stainless steel.
Light, lighter, steel light
Visually, the soulbottle steel and soulbottle steel light look quite similar. But when you hold your steel soulmate in your hands, one thing will strike you: Whether it's the 1.2 l, 0.7 l, or 0.5 l, the steel light is the lightest soulbottle ever! Not only is stainless steel shatterproof and doesn't release any particles into the water, the composition of our stainless steel is also feather-light . This is due to the material properties and construction. The soulbottle steel light stainless steel bottle is single-walled.
Stainless steel is our favorite lightweight material because, unlike aluminum , it's very durable and resistant to heat and sunlight . And what's important to us: Stainless steel drinking bottles require less energy to produce than aluminum ones .
Our soulbottles steel light in their 3 sizes
And what about the insulating properties of the double-walled steel?
Steel is often equated with insulated bottles, meaning their ability to separate their contents from the ambient temperature. Our soulbottles steel keep cold things cold for a long time and warm things warm for a long time. This effect contributes to steel's excellent thermal conductivity . The decisive factor: the double-walled construction . The space between them creates a vacuum that increases the insulating properties. This keeps tea hot and sparkling water cold. We are not currently providing more precise figures, as we would rather give no information than inaccurate information.
Here you can see our soulbottles steel - looks almost exactly like the steel light, doesn't it?
The advantages of soulbottles steel at a glance
- 100% recyclable and even multiple times
- can be shaped as desired
- insulatable
- unbreakable
- in our quality, stainless steel 304, food safe and rust-proof
- completely harmless to health
- And don't forget: Our stainless steel bottles are completely plastic-free
For further information: Here you will find answers to all other questions about our bottles .
Sources:
chemie.de/lexikon/Edelstahl.html
Umweltbundesamt.de/edelstahl#notes-on-recycling
