Blast furnace

A blast furnace is a type of furnace for smelting whereby the combustion material and ore are supplied with air from the bottom of the chamber such that the chemical reaction does not take place only at the surface. Typically this is used for the production of pig iron from iron ore.

History

The oldest known blast furnaces were built in Han China in the 1st century BC. However, cast iron artifacts found in China have been dated as early as the 5th century BC, so it is possible that the history of the blast furnace in China is older than presently known. These early furnaces had clay walls and used phosphorus-containing minerals as a flux. The oldest known blast furnaces in the West were built in Sweden at Lapphyttan, sometime between 1150 and 1350. It is unclear whether the blast furnace was independently developed there, or whether the technology was transmitted to Europe by the Mongols.

Related Topics:
Han - China - 1st century BC - Cast iron - 5th century BC - Clay - Phosphorus - Flux - Sweden - 1150 - 1350 - Europe - Mongols

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In 1709, Abraham Darby developed a blast furnace that could be fired by coke instead of charcoal. Deforestation in Europe had progressed to the point that fuel-wood was becoming a strategic resource, and the use of a coal-derived fuel made blast furnace-based iron smelting significantly less expensive.

Related Topics:
1709 - Abraham Darby - Coke - Charcoal - Deforestation - Strategic resource - Coal

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