 Scrap steel can be recycled in an electric arc furnace; and an alternative to making iron by smelting is direct reduced iron, where any carbonaceous fuel can be used to make sponge or pelletised iron.To lessen carbon dioxide emissions hydrogen can be used as the reducing agent and biomass or waste as the source of carbon.Historically, charcoal has been used as an alternative to coke in a blast furnace, with the resultant iron being known as charcoal iron.