To make iron become steel, there are a few processes involved. The most common method is through a process called steelmaking, which typically involves the following steps:
Iron ore mining: Iron ore is extracted from the earth in large-scale mining operations. It is a rock that contains iron minerals, mainly hematite and magnetite.
Iron ore processing: The extracted iron ore is processed to remove impurities and create iron ore pellets or sinter, which are more suitable for the steelmaking process.
Iron ore smelting: The iron ore pellets or sinter are heated in a blast furnace at extremely high temperatures. In the blast furnace, coke (a form of processed coal) is usually used as a fuel along with limestone which helps remove impurities.
Steelmaking: The iron obtained from the blast furnace is then converted to steel through various processes. The most common process is the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) process, where the molten iron is combined with scrap steel and oxygen is blown into the mixture to burn off impurities and adjust the carbon content. Another process is the electric arc furnace (EAF) process, which uses electricity to melt the scrap steel and add various alloys to achieve desired steel properties.
Refining and casting: The molten steel undergoes refining processes to remove any remaining impurities and adjust the composition as needed. The refined steel is then cast into different forms such as billets, slabs, or ingots, which can be further processed into various steel products.
It's important to note that the specific details and methods used can vary depending on the steelmaking facility, the type of steel being produced, and other factors.
steelmaking 煉鋼
ore 礦石,
iron ore pellets 鐵礦石球團
sinter 燒結礦
blast furnace 高爐
coke 焦炭
limestone 石灰石
impurities 雜質
oxygen furnace (BOF) process 堿性氧爐(BOF)工藝
molten iron 鐵水
scrap steel 廢鋼
electric arc furnace (EAF) process 電弧爐工藝
alloys 合金
Refining 精煉
casting 鑄造
billets 坯料,鋼坯
slabs 板坯
ingots 鋼錠
