Metallurgical furnace

Industrial furnace from 1907.

The Manufacture of Iron -- Filling the Furnace, an 1873 wood engraving

A metallurgical furnace, more commonly referred to as a furnace, is a device used to heat and melt metal ore to remove gangue, primarily in iron and steel production. The heat energy to fuel a furnace may be supplied directly by fuel combustion, by electricity such as the electric arc furnace, or through induction heating in induction furnaces. There are several different types of furnaces used in metallurgy to work with specific metal and ores.^[1]

Smelting furnaces[]

Smelting furnaces are used in smelting to extract metal from ore. Smelting furnaces include:

• The blast furnace, used to reduce iron ore to pig iron
  • Cold blast
  • Hot blast
• Steelmaking furnaces, including:
  • Puddling furnace
  • Reverberatory furnace
  • Bessemer converter
  • Open hearth furnace
  • Basic oxygen furnace
  • Electric arc furnace
  • Electric induction furnace

Other furnaces[]

• Furnaces used to remelt metal in foundries.
• Furnaces used to reheat and heat treat metal for use in:
  • Rolling mills, including tinplate works and slitting mills.
  • Forges
• Open hearth furnace
• Electric arc furnace

References[]