iron smelting
Extracting metal industrially
Iron smelting is the process of extracting iron from ore by heating it with carbon in a furnace.
The carbon bonds with oxygen in the ore, leaving behind molten iron that can be cast or refined into steel.
The technique dates back thousands of years and formed the basis of industrial civilization: Iron smelting transformed human warfare and agriculture.
- blast furnaceOre-to-metal converter
- crucibleVessel for extreme heat
- bloomeryIron-producing furnace
- magnetiteMagnetic iron ore
- metallurgyScience of extracting metals
slag · puddling · Industrial Revolution · sintering · coke · refining · flux · hematite · limestone · gangue · bellows · molten metal · charcoal · forge · ingot · wrought · carbon · molten
- old industriesblacksmithing, sawmills, gristmills, tanneries, shipyards
- metalworkingwelding, casting, forging, smithing, anvil
- Asian inventionsgunpowder, paper money, compass, silk production, movable type
- Iron AgeCelts, Gauls, Hallstatt culture, hill forts, Celtic art
- Materials HistoryBronze Age, Stone Age, Copper Age, Bessemer process, crucible steel
- Old Craftsmasonry, carpentry, thatching, joinery, timber framing
metallurgical process direction
iron smeltingrusting
Metal oxidation process
corrosion · oxidation · metal fabrication · machining · iron mining