List of Industrial Processes - Iron and Steel

Iron and Steel

Early production of iron was from meteorites, or as a by-product of copper refining. Heating iron ore and carbon in a crucible at 1000 K produces wrought iron. This process gained popularity during the Iron Age. Temperatures of 1300 K were produced around the 8th century by blowing air through the heated mixture in a bloomery or blast furnace (12th century); producing a strong but brittle cast iron. Furnaces were growing bigger, producing greater quantities; a factor contributing to the Industrial Revolution. In 1740 the temperature and carbon content could be controlled sufficiently to consistently produce steel; very strong and very workable. The 19th century saw the development of electric arc furnaces that produced steel in very large quantities, and are more easily controlled.

• Smelting - the generic process used in furnaces to produce steel, copper, etc.
• Catalan forge, Open hearth furnace, Bloomery, Siemens regenerative furnace - produced wrought iron
• Blast furnace - produced cast iron
• Direct Reduction - produced direct reduced iron
• Crucible steel
• Cementation process
• Bessemer process
• Basic oxygen steelmaking, Linz-Donawitz process
• Electric arc furnace