Ironworks

An iron works, often referred to as steelworks, iron foundry or short cabin, is a plant for the manufacture of iron or steel from iron ore. Today, these are usually around industrial plants. The largest iron and steel producing plant in Germany 's Duisburg.

The first evidence of iron smelting are known from the period of about 2000-1500 BC However, these are individual cases and the everyday use of iron is only around 1000-900 BC, the beginning of the Iron Age historically tangible. At that time, sponge iron ( Eisenluppe ) was generated by charcoal as a reducing agent in the so-called race fire. From the 13th century was isolated already produces liquid pig iron and converted into wrought iron. 1735 the first heated with coke blast furnace was built. From 1864 steel in open-hearth furnace was generated. Since 1950, direct iron reduction is used industrially.

The raw materials for the production of pig iron are iron ore and coke. Depending on the nature of additives ( gaits ) in the ore, for example, limestone (with siliceous admixtures ) or feldspar added ( in calcareous admixtures ) as a so -called " surcharges ". The treatment is carried out by flotation or magnetic separation. The ore is crushed. Oxidic iron ores are reduced by carbon, it is produced pig iron, because of the high carbon content of a brittle material that softens upon heating within a narrow temperature range (see the iron-carbon diagram). The pig iron production is mainly in the blast furnace. The still liquid pig iron is then refined in a converter to steel.