A blast furnace is a large, vertical shaft furnace that’s used to heat and reduce iron ore into hot metal. It’s a complex industrial reactor that involves many materials and over 30 reactions and phase changes.
Here’s how a blast furnace works:
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Materials
Iron ore, coke, and limestone are fed into the top of the furnace in alternating layers.
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Heat
Hot air is blown into the bottom of the furnace through pipes called tuyeres. The coke combusts, producing heat and carbon monoxide gas.
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Reactions
The heat melts the charge, and the carbon monoxide removes oxygen from the iron ore, producing hot metal. The limestone reacts to remove sulfur from the iron.
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Products
The end products are molten metal and slag that are tapped from the bottom, and waste gases that exit from the top.
Blast furnaces are the most energy-intensive step in the steelmaking process, generating large quantities of carbon dioxide.
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