When making steel:
First Iron ore (iron oxide) carbon (coke charcoal, etc.) and limestone are mixed in a furnace and air is blow through The limestone is present to remove silicon but the carbon iron oxide and air blast work to generate a high enough temperature that the carbon can rob the iron oxide of its oxygen.
Second the iron in a melted state is subjected to more air flow (atmospheric oxygen to remove the carbon, thereby producing very low carbon iron.
Third, carbon is put back into the nearly pure iron to make high carbon steel.
This process could be summarized as:
· Carbon is used to remove oxygen
· Oxygen is used to remove carbon
· Carbon is added back in.
This seems contradictory! Explain the process and why a blast furnace is needed for the first step and a Bessemer converter might be used in the second case and why after getting all the carbon out the carbon is put back in. Place the development of this process in a a historical context.
Additional information might be found on the internet or in the accompanying booklet.
In reviewing the steel making process, consider that originally, charcoal from biological sources was used in steel making until it was discovered that coal mined from the ground could be turned into coke, and this would provide the carbon much more cheaply. IF we assume that manmade release of carbon dioxide is a significant factor in global warming, since so much carbon is burned in making steel, perhaps we could find a bio-based source so that we are simply recycling atmospheric carbon rather than increasing it. Could we afford to do this? Would we burn down the environment faster than it grows, Could we afford steel?
2006-10-30
16:21:48
·
2 answers
·
asked by
♥
3