subject: Steel Production [print this page] Steel Production Steel Production
Iron, like most of the metals, is found in the Earth's crust only in the form of a raw material and combined with different elements like oxygen and sulfur. Ordinary iron has minerals include Fe2O3 - the organization of iron oxides exists in nature as the hematite of mineral, and FeS2 - pyrite or the fool's gold. Iron is obtained from the raw material by eliminating oxygen and gathering the ore with a good chemical partner like carbon. This chemical operation is known as smelting. It was first made on materials of low melting points, like the "Tin", which melts at almost 250 C (482 F) and the "Copper", which melts at almost 1,000 C (1,830 F). And if we made a comparison the results will show that cast iron melts at almost 1,370 C (2,500 F). All of the previous temperatures could be obtained through old ways that have been maintained since the Bronze Age. And as the oxidation ratio itself gets higher fast after 800 C, it is pretty necessary that smelting occurs in a low-oxygen atmosphere. On the contrary of Tin and Copper, liquid iron absorbs carbon quite fast. Smelting ends up with an alloy with a big amount of carbon later would be the Steel. The extra carbon and other impurities are eliminated in further steps of production
Different substances are added to the previous iron/carbon mingle to produce the desired steel. Both Manganese and Nickel are added to increase strength and help it to be chemically stable. So now you know how important iron is to us.
