blast furnace, structure used chiefly in smelting smelting, in metallurgy, any process of melting or fusion, especially to extract a metal from its ore. Smelting processes vary in detail depending on the nature of the ore and the metal involved, but they are typified in the use of the blast furnace .
..... Click the link for more information. . The principle involved in this means of extracting metals is that of the reduction of the ores by the action of carbon monoxide, i.e., the removal of oxygen from the metal oxide in order to obtain the metal. Blast furnaces differ in construction. The one used in the production of iron consists of a chimneylike structure (usually 80–100 ft/24–30 m high) made of iron or steel and lined with firebrick. It is narrow at the top, increasing in diameter downward, but narrowing again suddenly almost at the bottom, to form the hearth or crucible. There the fine molten products are caught. The furnace is fed from the top with a charge of definite quantities of ore, coke, and a flux, mostly limestone. Preheated compressed air is introduced at the bottom through pipes (tuyères) entering just above the hearth. The air passes upward through the charge. The coke is oxidized to carbon dioxide, which changes to carbon monoxide at the high temperature. The carbon monoxide then reduces the ores and, taking on oxygen, reverts to carbon dioxide. This gas, together with unused carbon monoxide, nitrogen, and other constituents of the air originally introduced, is led off through a pipe from the top of the furnace and, being still at a high temperature, is employed to heat the stoves into which fresh air for the process is brought. As the operation proceeds, the mass in the furnace becomes molten and descends into the crucible. The iron sinks to the bottom; impurities, called the slag, being lighter, float on top. The slag is drained through a pipe in the upper portion of the crucible. The iron is tapped from below and run into sand molds to harden. The product is known as pig iron or cast iron (see iron iron, metallic chemical element; symbol Fe [Lat. ferrum]; at. no. 26; at. wt. 55.847; m.p. about 1,535°C;; b.p. about 2,750°C;; sp. gr. 7.87 at 20°C;; valence +2, +3, +4, or +6. Iron is biologically significant.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Efforts to increase production rates have led to the addition of pure oxygen and steam and the sizing of ore to obtain better gas-solid contact. Flux and ore are sometimes combined into pellets. Pig iron prepared in the blast furnace is converted into steel by the Bessemer process Bessemer process (bĕs`əmər) [for Sir Henry Bessemer ], industrial process for the manufacture of steel from molten pig iron.
..... Click the link for more information. . Copper ore treated in a blast furnace yields a copper matte, from which only a part of the impurities are removed. It is usually further refined by electrolytic methods (see copper copper, metallic chemical element; symbol Cu [Lat. cuprum=copper]; at. no. 29; at. wt. 63.546; m.p. 1,083.4°C;; b.p. 2,567°C;; sp. gr. 8.96 at 20°C;; valence +1 or +2. Copper and some of its alloys have been used by humanity since the Bronze Age .
..... Click the link for more information. ).

blast furnace

Vertical shaft furnace that produces liquid metals by the reaction of air introduced under pressure into the bottom of the furnace with a mixture of metallic ore, fuel, and flux fed into the top. Blast furnaces are used to produce pig iron from iron ore for subsequent processing into steel; they are also employed in processing lead, copper, and other metals. The current of pressurized air maintains rapid combustion. Blast furnaces were used in China as early as 200 BC, and appeared in Europe in the 13th century, replacing the bloomery process. Modern blast furnaces are 70–120 ft (20–35 m) high, have 20–45-ft (6–14-m) hearth diameters, use coke fuel, and can produce 1,000–10,000 tons (900–9,000 metric tons) of pig iron daily. See also metallurgy, smelting.

blast furnace

a vertical cylindrical furnace for smelting iron, copper, lead, and tin ores. The ore, scrap, solid fuel, and slag-forming materials are fed through the top and a blast of preheated air is forced through the charge from the bottom. Metal and slag are run off from the base

blast furnace [′blast ‚fər·nəs]

(metallurgy)

A tall, cylindrical smelting furnace for reducing iron ore to pig iron; the blast of air blown through solid fuel increases the combustion rate.