STEEL
...making steel is to mix coal and iron ore together adequately and in the proper proportions. Iron ore varies in form depending on size, shape, and surface, and depending on the type of steel being manufactured, the proper type of iron ore needs to be utilized. The mixture of coal and iron ore is then heated in a coke oven, an oven that can be heated to very high temperatures, to produce coke. This step is known as the carbonisation step because gas is being released and collected during this part of the process. After the coke is produced, it is then transferred to a large area where it is allowed to cool down to room temperature. When the coke is cooled to room temperature, it is then mixed with fine-sized iron ore and fluxes. This mixture is then heated in a hot sinter plant, another super-heated oven, for about one hour. The high temperature generated melts the mixture together to form a porous clinker called sinter. The use of sinter in the blast furnace makes the iron making process more efficient. After all the sinter is produced, it is then again mixed with iron ore lumps and pellets, fluxes and coke. Again, the proper proportions of these materials are needed in order to ensure success. This mixture is then placed onto a conveyor belt, which takes and dumps everything into the blast furnace. The temperature in the blast furnace should be somewhere in the neighborhood of nine hundred degrees Fahrenheit. This high temperature is needed, as the mixture has to be completely liquefied. As the mixture melts to the liquid state, hot air is being blown in from the bottom of the furnace. This process generates a great amount of heat. The oxygen in the hot air combusts with the coke to form a gas called carbon monoxide. This gas is very hazardous to our health, as most people already know. This carbon monoxide flows up through the blast furnace and removes oxygen from the iron ores, creating b...