<P> Before about 1860 steel was an expensive product, made in small quantities and used mostly for swords, tools and cutlery; all large metal structures were made of wrought or cast iron . Steelmaking was centered in Sheffield, Britain, which supplied the European and the American markets . The introduction of cheap steel was due to the Bessemer and the open hearth processes, two technological advances made in England . In the Bessemer process, molten pig iron is converted to steel by blowing air through it after it was removed from the furnace . The air blast burned the carbon and silicon out of the pig iron, releasing heat and causing the temperature of the molten metal to rise . Henry Bessemer demonstrated the process in 1856 and had a successful operation going by 1864 . By 1870 Bessemer steel was widely used for ship plate . By the 1850s, the speed, weight, and quantity of railway traffic was limited by the strength of the wrought iron rails in use . The solution was to turn to steel rails, which the Bessemer process made competitive in price . Experience quickly proved steel had much greater strength and durability and could handle the increasingly heavy and faster engines and cars . </P> <P> After 1890 the Bessemer process was gradually supplanted by open - hearth steelmaking and by the middle of the 20th century was no longer in use . The open - hearth process originated in the 1860s in Germany and France . The usual open - hearth process used pig iron, ore, and scrap, and became known as the Siemens - Martin process . Its process allowed closer control over the composition of the steel; also, a substantial quantity of scrap could be included in the charge . The crucible process remained important for making high - quality alloy steel into the 20th century . By 1900 the electric arc furnace was adapted to steelmaking and by the 1920s, the falling cost of electricity allowed it to largely supplant the crucible process for specialty steels . </P> <P> Britain led the world's Industrial Revolution with its early commitment to coal mining, steam power, textile mills, machinery, railways, and shipbuilding . Britain's demand for iron and steel, combined with ample capital and energetic entrepreneurs, made it the world leader in the first half of the 19th century . </P> <P> In 1875, Britain accounted for 47% of world production of pig iron and almost 40% of steel . 40% of British output was exported to the U.S., which was rapidly building its rail and industrial infrastructure . Two decades later in 1896, however, the British share of world production had plunged to 29% for pig iron and 22.5% for steel, and little was sent to the U.S. The U.S. was now the world leader and Germany was catching up to Britain . Britain had lost its American market, and was losing its role elsewhere; indeed American products were now underselling British steel in Britain . </P>

Who was the main purchaser of steel during the industrial revolution