Bloomery
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A bloomery is a type of metallurgical furnace once used widely for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. Bloomeries produce a porous ma
A bloomery in operation. The bloom will eventually be drawn out of the bottom hole.
An iron bloom just removed from the furnace: Surrounding it are pieces of slag that have been pounded off by the hammer.
A drawing of a simple bloomery and bellows.
A Catalan furnace, with tuyere and bellows on the right
Blast furnace
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A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. Blast refers to the combustion air being
Bloomery
…iron and slag called a bloom. The mix of slag and iron in the bloom, termed sponge iron, is usually consolidated and further forged into wrought iron. Blast furnaces, which produce pig iron, have largely superseded bloomeries. A bloomery consists of a pit or chimney with heat-resistant walls made of earth, clay, or…
Former AHM blast furnace in Port of Sagunt, Valencia, Spain
Blast furnaces of Třinec Iron and Steel Works in Czech Republic
Charcoal burning iron blast furnace in Jackson County, Ohio, 1923
Rising carbon monoxide reduces iron oxides to pure iron through a series of reactions that occur at different areas within a blast furnace.