Iron Production
Iron Production
The main volume of produced iron is in forms of cast iron and steel. The main iron metallurgical principles did not changed during millenniums. The furnace-charge consists of iron oxide ore, coke and flux such as dolomite CaCO3 MgCO3, while a blast of heated air is forced into the furnace at the bottom. In the furnace, the coke is burnt in oxygen of the air blast to produce carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide reduces the iron oxide (III) ore to molten iron, becoming carbon dioxide in the process:
2Fe2O3 + 3CO = 4Fe + 3CO2
The steel manufacturing is based on melting of cast iron in the presence of oxidizers, during which the carbon concentration falls until 1.5-2%, as a result FeO is formed and involved in redox reaction, in which the impurities are oxidated and iron is reduced.
The highly pure iron (containing less than 0,001% contaminations), prepared by carbonyl complex: distillation and chemical decomposition of purified iron pentacarbonyl Fe(CO)5 which in its turn is the product of commercial iron treatment under pressure, at 150-200°C by carbon monoxide. The carbonyl iron, which usually has the appearance of grey powder, is the product of this process.