A Closer Look at Iron Smelting

or Extractive Metallurgy

The Smelting Process

Early smelting operations in Britain
involved a two step process: smelting in a
charcoal-burning furnace and then refining
in a forge (to reduce non-iron content).
These required considerable capital, raw
materials (iron ore, wood to make charcoal
later coal to make coke, limestone) and a
transportation system to distribute the
products.

Historical Timeline
Date

Technology

12th c.
BCE

Tools and weapons made from Fe in

meteorites by smelting in bloomeries

1200 BCE Fe + charcoal wrought iron

1st c. BCE Oldest existing blast furnace in China
1500

Steel production appeared in Europe

1709

Fe + coke cast iron (A. Darby)

2008

Top steel producers: China, US, Japan

Bloomery
A bloomery was the earliest form of a
smelter.
Bloomery consists of a heat resistant
chimney + pipes at the bottom for air +
way to remove product called bloom
(reduced iron).
Air is added via natural draft or bellows
which required power (e.g. Water power)

Bloomery - 2
Process: Heat bloomery by burning
charcoal or coke; when hot, add iron ore +
more fuel + limestone.
During the process, iron in the ore is
reduced as pure iron pieces fall to bottom
of chimney and weld together in a spongy
mass to form the bloom.

Bloomery - 3
The rest of the ore (impurities) form the
slag. It also ends up at the bottom of the
chimney including becoming embedded in
the bloom.
To remove the slag and thus further purify
the iron product, the bloom is reheated and
then hammered.
The product of this process is called
wrought iron.

Charcoal and Coke

Charcoal: Residue left when wood
(carbohydrate) is heated in absence of
oxygen (anerobic) to drive off water and
other volatile components. The porous
residue is about 85% carbon and burns
hotter and cleaner than wood.
Coke: Residue left when coal is heated in
absence of oxygen (anerobic) to drive off
water and other gases (H2, CH4, CO).

Charcoal to Coke
Clow and Clow p 331, diagram on p 336
A process for converting coal to coke was
patented in 1627.

Blast Furnace
Again the required components are iron ore,
fuel (originally charcoal), oxygen or air and a
way to recover the product.
Process: Add iron ore and fuel from top and
air (the blast) from the bottom resulting in
iron reduction occurring continuously
throughout the furnace.
Reduced iron and slag fall to the bottom and
are recovered.

Blast Furnace - 2
The process of using coke instead of charcoal
as the fuel was first developed and sustained
by Abraham Darby I in Coalbrookedale in
1709. This was a major contributor to the
Industrial Revolution.
This furnace originally made cast iron pots,
kettles, and later steam engine cylinders.
Later pig iron was produced.

Coke Iron
A second blast furnace was built in 1715
where work culminated in 1754 (A. Darby
II) successfully producing iron bars from
pig iron. This led to a huge expansion of
the iron industry.
1768 first iron rails
1778 A. Darby III started building the first
Ironbridge and completed it in 1780.

The Pace of Technology

The transition to coke-based cast iron
production from charcoal-based malleable
iron production took over 50 years even as
forests were depleted, new cast-iron
technologies were developed and limitations
overcome:
Lack of high quality coal (i.e. low in S)
Lack of high quality coke
Developing more and new sources of power
Resistance to change to new technology

 The first Darby furnace was excavated

and is on display at Ironbridge.
The following slide shows a modern balst
furnace.

http://www.pigiron.org.uk/index
.php?nav=furnaceprocess

Iron and its Alloys

Fe Oxides Fe2O3(hematite), Fe3O4(magnetite), FeO
Pig Fe

3.5%-4.5% C + Si, Mn, P, S impurities.

Very brittle (why called pig iron?)

Cast Fe

2%-4% C + 1%-6% Si + Mn impurities.

Produced by heating pig iron to
reduce P and S.

C Steel

2% C with Mn, S, P and Si

Wrought
Fe

< 0.25% C. Very malleable

Alloy Steel Low C, but with added Cr, Mb, Ni, W

HSLA

Microalloyed, high strength, low alloy

Properties and Uses of Iron =

f(composition)
At least 3 types of pig iron were produced
in the early stages of smelting. They differ
in % Fe, C, etc
White crude iron: most brittle, not malleable,
very hard, bright white crystals when
fractured.
Grey crude iron: dark granular fractures, not
as hard or brittle, more easily shaped
Black cast-iron: rough fractures

Effect of Iron Impurities on

Properties
C

As %C increases, hardness increases, but

malleability decreases.

Causes hot iron to be brittle causing cracks

limited integrity, weld failure.

Si

Leads to gray iron which is less brittle,

preferred for casting.

Increases hardness and strength if 0.05% <

%P < 0.2%. But > 0.2%, iron becomes
brittle and unstable at low T.

Al

Mainly impacts slag viscosity (fluidity).