Ironworks

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The Iron Rolling Mill (Eisenwalzwerk), 1870s, by Adolph Menzel. Adolph Menzel - Eisenwalzwerk - Google Art Project.jpg
The Iron Rolling Mill (Eisenwalzwerk), 1870s, by Adolph Menzel.
Casting at an iron foundry: From Fra Burmeister og Wain's Iron Foundry, 1885 by Peder Severin Kroyer Burmeister og Wain (1885 painting).jpg
Casting at an iron foundry: From Fra Burmeister og Wain's Iron Foundry, 1885 by Peder Severin Krøyer

An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ironworks is ironworks.

Contents

Ironworks succeeded bloomeries when blast furnaces replaced former methods. An integrated ironworks in the 19th century usually included one or more blast furnaces and a number of puddling furnaces or a foundry with or without other kinds of ironworks. After the invention of the Bessemer process, converters became widespread, and the appellation steelworks replaced ironworks.

The processes carried at ironworks are usually described as ferrous metallurgy, but the term siderurgy is also occasionally used. This is derived from the Greek words sideros - iron and ergon or ergos - work. This is an unusual term in English, and it is best regarded as an anglicisation of a term used in French, Spanish, and other Romance languages.

Historically, it is common that a community was built around the ironworks where the people living there were dependent on the ironworks to provide jobs and housing. [1] As the ironworks closed down (or was industrialised) these villages quite often went into decline and experienced negative economic growth. [2]

Varieties of ironworks

Primary ironmaking

A South Wales iron mill in 1798 Iron Mills - A View near Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire.jpeg
A South Wales iron mill in 1798
Blast furnaces of Trinec Iron and Steel Works. VysokePece1.jpg
Blast furnaces of Třinec Iron and Steel Works.
Toronto rolling mills Toronto Rolling Mills.jpg
Toronto rolling mills

Ironworks is used as an omnibus term covering works undertaking one or more iron-producing processes. [3] Such processes or species of ironworks where they were undertaken include the following:

Modern steelmaking

The ironworks of Dalsbruk in Kimitoon, Finland Dalsbruk - Stalverket.jpg
The ironworks of Dalsbruk in Kimitoön, Finland

From the 1850s, pig iron might be partly decarburised to produce mild steel using one of the following: [5]

The mills operating converters of any type are better called steelworks, ironworks referring to former processes, like puddling.

Further processing

After bar iron had been produced in a finery forge or in the forge train of a rolling mill, it might undergo further processes in one of the following:

Manufacture

Most of these processes did not produce finished goods. Further processes were often manual, including

In the context of the iron industry, the term manufacture is best reserved for this final stage.

Notable ironworks

Coat of arms of Eisenhuttenstadt ("city of ironworks"), Germany Wappen Eisenhuettenstadt.png
Coat of arms of Eisenhüttenstadt ("city of ironworks"), Germany

The notable ironworks of the world are described here by country. See above for the largest producers and the notable ironworks in the alphabetical order.

Africa

South Africa

Americas

United States

Asia

China

India

Japan

The largest Japanese steel companies' main works are as follows:

Korea

Vietnam

Europe

Czech Republic

Germany

Great Britain

Italy

  • Cogne acciai speciali, Aosta (example of a mountain steel meel)
  • Ferreira di Servola, Trieste (operating since 1896)
  • Acciaieria di Piombino
  • Società Italiana Acciaierie Cornigliano di Cornigliano, Genova
  • Acciai speciali Termi, now ThyssenKrupp Terni
  • Acciaieria di Bagnoli, Napoli
  • Acciaieria di Taranto (biggest Integrated steel mill in Europe)

Sweden

Russia

Spain

Historical

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pig iron</span> Iron alloy

Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel, which is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silica and other constituents of dross, which makes it brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrought iron</span> Iron alloy with a very low carbon content

Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content in contrast to that of cast iron. It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions, which give it a wood-like "grain" that is visible when it is etched, rusted, or bent to failure. Wrought iron is tough, malleable, ductile, corrosion resistant, and easily forge welded, but is more difficult to weld electrically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steel mill</span> Plant for steelmaking

A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finished casting products are made from molten pig iron or from scrap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open hearth furnace</span> A type of industrial furnace for steelmaking

An open-hearth furnace or open hearth furnace is any of several kinds of industrial furnace in which excess carbon and other impurities are burnt out of pig iron to produce steel. Because steel is difficult to manufacture owing to its high melting point, normal fuels and furnaces were insufficient for mass production of steel, and the open-hearth type of furnace was one of several technologies developed in the nineteenth century to overcome this difficulty. Compared with the Bessemer process, which it displaced, its main advantages were that it did not expose the steel to excessive nitrogen, was easier to control, and permitted the melting and refining of large amounts of scrap iron and steel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Act</span> British legislation regulating colonial trade in America

The Iron Act, also called the Importation, etc. Act 1749, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which was one of the legislative measures introduced within the system of Trade and Navigation Acts. The Act sought to increase the importation of pig and bar iron from its American colonies and to prevent the building of iron-related production facilities within these colonies, particularly in North America where these raw materials were identified. The dual purpose of the Act was to increase manufacturing capacity within Great Britain itself, and to limit potential competition from the colonies possessing the raw materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyfarthfa Ironworks</span>

The Cyfarthfa Ironworks were major 18th- and 19th-century ironworks in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South West Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puddling (metallurgy)</span> Step in the manufacture of iron

Puddling is the process of converting pig iron to bar (wrought) iron in a coal fired reverberatory furnace. It was developed in England during the 1780s. The molten pig iron was stirred in a reverberatory furnace, in an oxidizing environment, resulting in wrought iron. It was one of the most important processes for making the first appreciable volumes of valuable and useful bar iron without the use of charcoal. Eventually, the furnace would be used to make small quantities of specialty steels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finery forge</span>

A finery forge is a forge used to produce wrought iron from pig iron by decarburization in a process called "fining" which involved liquifying cast iron in a fining hearth and removing carbon from the molten cast iron through oxidation. Finery forges were used as early as the 3rd century BC in China. The finery forge process was replaced by the puddling process and the roller mill, both developed by Henry Cort in 1783–4, but not becoming widespread until after 1800.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JFE Steel</span> Japanese steel company

JFE Steel is the second largest Japanese steel manufacturer. The company was created in 2002 through the merger of the steel manufacturing business of Kawasaki Steel and NKK. It is owned by JFE Holdings, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornwall Iron Furnace</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Cornwall Iron Furnace is a designated National Historic Landmark that is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in Cornwall, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The furnace was a leading Pennsylvania iron producer from 1742 until it was shut down in 1883. The furnaces, support buildings and surrounding community have been preserved as a historical site and museum, providing a glimpse into Lebanon County's industrial past. The site is the only intact charcoal-burning iron blast furnace in its original plantation in the western hemisphere. Established by Peter Grubb in 1742, Cornwall Furnace was operated during the Revolution by his sons Curtis and Peter Jr. who were major arms providers to George Washington. Robert Coleman acquired Cornwall Furnace after the Revolution and became Pennsylvania's first millionaire. Ownership of the furnace and its surroundings was transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancashire hearth</span> Wrought iron production method

The Lancashire hearth was used to fine pig iron, removing carbon to produce wrought iron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebbw Vale Steelworks</span>

Ebbw Vale Steelworks was an integrated steel mill located in Ebbw Vale, South Wales. Developed from 1790, by the late 1930s it had become the largest steel mill in Europe. It was nationalised after World War II. As the steel industry changed to bulk handling, iron and steel making was ceased in the 1970s, and the site was redeveloped as a specialised tinplate works. It was closed by Corus in 2002, but is being redeveloped in a joint partnership between Blaenau Gwent Council and the Welsh Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fitzroy Iron Works</span>

The Fitzroy Iron Works at Mittagong, New South Wales, was the first commercial iron smelting works in Australia. It first operated in 1848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yahata Steel Works</span>

The Yahata Steel Works is a steel mill in Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Imperial Steel Works was established in 1896 to meet increasing demand from the nation's burgeoning shipbuilding, railway, construction, and armaments industries. The site chosen was the former town of Yahata, now merged into Kitakyūshū, near coal mines and with easy access to the sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nippon Steel</span> Japanese steelmaker

Nippon Steel Corporation was formed in 2012 by the merger of the old Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal. The old Nippon Steel Corporation was established in 1970 by the merger of Fuji Iron & Steel and Yawata Iron & Steel. Nippon Steel is the world's third largest steel producer by volume as of 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kakogawa Steel Works</span>

Kakogawa Steel Works is Kobe Steel, Ltd.'s ironworks in Kakogawa, Hyogo, Japan, established in 1969. It is responsible for about 80 percent of the company's iron and steel production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimitsu Steel Works</span>

Kimitsu Steel Works is an ironworks in Kimitsu, Chiba, Japan, established in 1965 by Nippon Steel Corporation, part of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation after its 2012 merger with Sumitomo Metal Industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuji Iron & Steel</span>

Fuji Iron & Steel was a major Japanese steel-producing company that existed from 1950 to 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithgow Blast Furnace</span> Former blast furnace in New South Wales

The Lithgow Blast Furnace is a heritage-listed former blast furnace and now park and visitor attraction at Inch Street, Lithgow, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1906 to 1907 by William Sandford Limited. It is also known as Eskbank Ironworks Blast Furnace site; Industrial Archaeological Site. The property is owned by Lithgow City Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

References

  1. Roos, Annie (2021). "Reproducing gender - The spatial context of gender in entrepreneurship". pub.epsilon.slu.se. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  2. Roos, Annie; Gaddefors, Johan (2022-04-07). "In the wake of the ironworks - entrepreneurship and the spatial connections to empowerment and emancipation". The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: 146575032210898. doi: 10.1177/14657503221089802 . ISSN   1465-7503. S2CID   248043339.
  3. Hayman, Richard (2005). Ironmaking: History and Archaeology of the British Iron Industry. History Press.
  4. "A new iron age?". The Why Files. 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  5. Ghosh, Ahindra; Chatterjee, Amit (2008). Ironmaking and Steelmaking: Theory and Practice. Prentice-Hall of India.
  6. Deaux, Joe (2019-12-20). "U.S. Steel to cut 1,545 Michigan jobs as weakness overwhelms Trump's protection". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2019-12-21.