Citation:
[1] “America’s most trusted dictionary,” Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ (accessed Jun. 24, 2024).
[2] “Ores,” Encyclopædia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/technology/iron-processing/Ores (accessed Jun. 24, 2024).
Types of Iron Products
Pig Iron
"crude iron that is the direct product of the blast furnace and is refined to produce steel, wrought iron, or ingot iron" [1]
Wrought Iron
"a commercial form of iron that is tough, malleable, and relatively soft, contains less than 0.3 percent and usually less than 0.1 percent carbon, and carries 1 or 2 percent of slag mechanically mixed with it "[1]
Steel
"commercial iron that contains carbon in any amount up to about 1.7 percent as an essential alloying constituent, is malleable when under suitable conditions, and is distinguished from cast iron by its malleability and lower carbon content "[1]
Cast Iron
"a commercial alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon that is cast in a mold and is hard, brittle, nonmalleable, and incapable of being hammer-welded but more easily fusible than steel "[1]
Types of Iron ore
"Ores
Iron ores occur in igneous, metamorphic (transformed), or sedimentary rocks in a variety of geologic environments. Most are sedimentary, but many have been changed by weathering, and so their precise origin is difficult to determine. The most widely distributed iron-bearing minerals are oxides, and iron ores consist mainly of:
hematite (Fe2O3), which is red;
magnetite (Fe3O4), which is black;
limonite or bog-iron ore (2Fe2O3·3H2O), which is brown; and
siderite (FeCO3), which is pale brown.
Hematite and magnetite are by far the most common types of ore.
Pure magnetite contains 72.4 percent iron, hematite 69.9 percent, limonite 59.8 percent, and siderite 48.2 percent, but, since these minerals never occur alone, the metal content of real ores is lower. Deposits with less than 30 percent iron are commercially unattractive, and, although some ores contain as much as 66 percent iron, there are many in the 50–60 percent range. An ore’s quality is also influenced by its other constituents, which are collectively known as gangue. Silica (SiO2) and phosphorus-bearing compounds (usually reported as P2O5) are especially important because they affect the composition of the metal and pose extra problems in steelmaking." [2]