Tag: metallurgy

Having a blast: The furnaces that forge iron and steel

Infographic showing how iron is produced in a blast furnace. A labelled diagram of a blast furnace is shown along with detail of the reactions taking place inside. Coal reacts with oxygen to produce carbon monoxide which reduces iron oxide, producing molten iron. Limestone removes silica impurities. Further processing removes other impurities. Detail on the energy required and carbon dioxide emissions per metric ton of steel is also detailed.
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Industrial sabotage, government intervention, and a race against time to avoid devastating consequences — not a summary of a fictional political thriller, but the real-life drama that engulfed the UK steel-making industry in recent weeks. At the story’s centre were the formerly Chinese-owned blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, which were at risk of shutting down until they were brought under emergency government ownership.

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