Metal smelting involves heating ore with carbon to create liquid metal, which is then mixed with flux to remove impurities. The liquid is superheated to remove oxygen and poured into molds to cool. Different types of ore correspond to different metals, and coke is commonly used in iron production.
Metal smelting is the process of creating metal by heating ore. The ore, whether it be iron, copper or tin, is mixed with a carbon and the mixture is heated to the point of conversion into liquid form. The liquid is then mixed with a flux, like limestone, during the melting of the metal. The flux allows you to remove all the impurities formed during the melting of the metal from the upper part of the liquid as slag. The remaining liquid metal is superheated to remove oxygen molecules and the remaining liquid is poured into molds or dies and allowed to cool.
The metal smelting process begins by extracting the ore from the earth. There are several types of ore used in metal smelting, with the particular ore corresponding to the type of metal being smelted. In the case of iron ore, iron will be the end result. Once the ore has been mined, it is placed in a container and mixed with another chemical, such as carbon, during the smelting of iron. In most cases, coke, a byproduct of coal, is used in the production of iron.
Once the ore and coke have been combined, the next step in metal smelting is to heat the two chemicals until they form a liquid. Once the heated chemicals are turned into liquid, another chemical, flux, is added to allow impurities in the liquid to be removed. This chemical is commonly limestone. By adding flux or lime to the mix, the impurities in the liquid rise to the surface and form a slag. The slag is removed by skimming it off the top of the liquid and discarding it. Once all the slag has been removed from the liquid, the mixture is reduced by superheating the materials.
The reduction step in metal smelting involves heating the liquid chemicals to remove any oxygen molecules that may be left in the mix. This reduction is achieved by introducing carbon monoxide into the furnace. The resulting liquid is the elemental metal in the form of iron, tin or any other type of ore that is used. The liquid is poured into molds and allowed to cool and solidify into the final product, the metal. The amount of heat required for the reduction step to occur varies greatly by the type of ore being smelted and the melting point of the particular base metal.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
