Manufacture of Iron and

Steel
 Manufacture of Iron and Steel
IRON
• Iron is one of the most common elements on earth.
• It is also one of the oldest metals and was first fashioned into useful and
ornamental objects at least 3,500 years ago.
• Pure iron is a soft, grayish-white metal. Although iron is a common element, pure
iron is almost never found in nature.
• Most iron is found in minerals formed by the combination of iron with other
elements. Iron oxides are the most common. Iron ores minerals have the highest
iron content.
• Iron ore is converted into various types of iron through several processes:–
➢The most common process is the use of a blast furnace to produce pig iron
which is about 92-94% iron and 3-5% carbon with smaller amounts of other
elements. Pig iron has only limited uses, and most of this iron goes on to a steel
mill where it is converted into various steel alloys by further reducing the
carbon content and adding other elements such as manganese and nickel to give
the steel specific properties.
 Raw materials
• The raw materials used to produce pig iron in a blast furnace are iron ore,
coke, sinter, and limestone.
• Iron ores are mainly iron oxides and include magnetite, hematite, limonite,
and many other rocks. The iron content of these ores ranges from 70%
down to 20% or less.
• Coke is a substance made by heating coal until it becomes almost pure
carbon.
• Sinter is made of lesser grade, finely divided iron ore which, is roasted with
coke and lime to remove a large amount of the impurities in the ore.
• Limestone occurs naturally and is a source of calcium carbonate.
• Other metals are sometimes mixed with iron in the production of various
forms of steel, such as chromium, nickel, manganese, molybdenum, and
tungsten.
Chemistry of Iron production
• The production of iron from its ore involves an oxidation-reduction
reaction carried out in a blast furnace.
• Because of impurities in the form of iron oxides, iron must be first
separated from the gangue and then converted to pure iron.
• By the method of pyrometallurgy, a high temperature process, the impurities
are removed.
• The high temperatures are needed for the reduction of iron and the oxidation
of the limestone.
• The furnace is filled at the top with the iron ore oxide most commonly
hematite ( Fe2O3 ) but can also be magnetite ( Fe3O4), carbon called coke
and limestone ( CaCO3).
• To begin the process, a blast of hot air is forced in at the bottom of
the furnace that helps create a large temperature variation with the
bottom being 2273 K and the top 473 K.
• The amount of oxygen is strictly controlled so that carbon monoxide is
the main product as shown:
2C(s)+O2(g)⟶2CO(g)+heat
• Similarly carbon and carbon monoxide both contribute in the
reduction of the iron (III) oxide to give the impure metal as shown:
Fe2O3(s)+3C(s)⟶2Fe(l)+3CO2(g)

Fe2O3(s)+3CO2(g)⟶2Fe(l)+3CO2(g)
• One of the most interesting part of this redox reaction is that the majority of
the carbon dioxide formed is itself reduced when it comes in contact with
the unburned coke and produce more reducing agent.
• As the process continues, the molten iron flow down through the furnace
and collects at the bottom, where it is removed through an opening in the
side.
• When it cools the impure iron is brittle and some cases soft due to the
presence of the small impurities, such as sulfur and phosphorus.
• Thus the impure iron coming from the bottom of the furnace is further
purified. The most common method is the basic oxygen furnace. In the
furnace, oxygen is blown into the impure iron. This is vital because the
oxygen oxidizes the phosphorus and sulfur shown in the following redox
reactions:
P4(s)+5O2(g)⟶P4O10(g)

S8(s)+8O2(g)⟶8SO2(g)

• The oxides either escapes as gases or react with basic oxides that are added
or used to line the furnace. This final purification step removes much of the
impurities and the result is ordinary carbon steel.
• Thus iron is obtained through the process of oxidation-reduction
 STEEL
• Is a hard, strong grey or bluish-grey alloy of iron with carbon and usually other
elements, used as a structural and fabricating material.
• Steels are described as mild, medium- or high-carbon steels according to the
percentage of carbon they contain, although this is never greater than about
1.5%.

• The properties of steel are closely linked to its composition.

• There is a big difference in hardness between the steel in a “drinks can” and the
steel that is used to make a pair of scissors. The metal in the scissors contains
nearly twenty times as much carbon and is many times harder.
 Categories of steel
• There are many different grades of steel that encompass varied properties.
These properties can be physical, chemical and environmental.
• Steel can be broken into four categories (as CAST):
-Carbon
-Alloy
-Stainless
-Tool
• All steel is composed of iron and carbon. It is the amount of carbon, and
the additional alloys that determine the properties of each grade
Classifications
• Composition: Carbon range, Alloy, Stainless.
• The production method: Continuous cast, electric furnace, etc.
• Finishing method used: Cold Rolled, Hot Rolled, Cold Drawn (Cold
Finished), etc.
• Form or shape: Bar, Rod, Tube, Pipe, Plate, Sheet, Structural, etc.
• De-oxidation process (oxygen removed from steelmaking process): Killed &
Semi-Killed Steel, etc.
• Microstructure: Ferritic, Pearlitic, Martensitic, etc.
• Physical Strength (Per ASTM Standards).
• Heat Treatment: Annealed, Quenched & Tempered, etc.
• Quality Nomenclature: Commercial Quality, Drawing Quality, Pressure
Vessel Quality, etc.
 The making of steel
• There are several methods to make steel.
• The most modern and commonly used method is with an oxygen
furnace.
• Very pure oxygen blows through melted iron and lowers the levels of
impurities.
• Chemicals are added to clean up sulfur and phosphorus. At this stage,
other metals can be added to create different kinds of steel.
• One kind of steel is called stainless steel, which is resistant to rust.
Among other uses, stainless steel is used in surgical instruments.
 % Yield Calculation of the product of reaction
• Although the law of conservation of mass is obeyed in a chemical reaction,
it is not always possible to obtain the calculated amount of a product (i.e.
100% yield) because;
• the reaction may not go to completion because it may be reversible
• or some of the product may be lost when it is separated from the reaction
mixture (eg via crystallisation or distillation)
• or some of the reactants may react in ways different to the expected reaction
(side reactions).
• The amount of a product you actually obtain is known as the yield.
• When compared with the maximum theoretical amount calculated as a
percentage, it is called the percentage yield.
• We can calculate the percentage yield of a product;
-from the actual yield of a reaction,
-or calculate the theoretical mass of a product from a given mass of
reactant given the balanced equation for the reaction.
YIELD: The actual yield is the mass of useful product you get from a
chemical reaction and this actual yield can be compared with the
maximum theoretical yield if everything could be done perfectly.
• The % yield of a reaction is the percentage of the product obtained
compared to the theoretical maximum (or predicted) yield calculated
from the balanced equation.
• You get the predicted maximum theoretical yield from a reacting mass
calculation.
% Yield = Actual yield (g, kg, tonnes)/Predicted theoretical yields (same unit
as actual yield)
• It is almost impossible to get 100% of the product because;
-reaction not going to completion (not 100% completed).
-losses of desired product due to filtration, distillation, crystallization etc.
2.8 g of iron was heated with excess sulphur to form iron sulphide.
Fe + S ==> FeS
The excess sulphur was dissolved in a solvent and the iron sulphide filtered
off, washed with clean solvent and dried.
If 4.1g of purified iron sulphide was finally obtained, what was the % yield of
the reaction?
1st a reacting mass calculation of the maximum amount of FeS that can be
formed:
• Relative atomic/formula masses: Fe =56, S =32. FeS = 56 + 32 = 88
• This means 56 g Fe ==> 88 g FeS, or by ratio, 2.8 g Fe ==> 4.4g FeS
• because 2.8 is 1/20th of 56, so theoretically you can get 1/20th of 88 g of FeS or 4.4g.
Secondly, the % yield calculation itself.
% yield = (actual amount obtained / maximum theoretical amount
possible) x 100
% yield = (4.1 / 4.4) x 100 = 93.2% (to 1 d.p.)
Theoretically how much iron can be obtained from 1000 tonne of pure
haematite ore (formula Fe2O3) in a blast furnace?
Solution
If we assume the iron(III) oxide ore (haematite) is reduced by carbon
monoxide, the equation is:
• Fe2O3(s) + 3CO(g) ==> 2Fe(l) + 3CO2(g)
(atomic masses: Fe = 56, O = 16)
- For every Fe2O3 ==> 2Fe can be extracted, formula mass of ore = (2 x 56) +
(3 x 16) = 160
Therefore, reacting mass ratio is: 160 ==> 112 (from 2 x 56)
• so, solving the ratio, 1000 ==> 112 / 160 = 700 tonne iron = max. can be
extracted
If in reality, only 670 tonne of iron is produced what is the % yield
of the overall blast furnace process?

% yield = (actual yield / theoretical yield) x 100

% yield = (670 / 700) x 100 = 95.7%

In other words, 4.3% of the iron is lost in waste e.g. in the slag.