The Process of Melting Metal
The process of melting metal is called smelting. Mined ores or metals are smelted to isolate the metal of interest. The purpose of melting metal is to separate the valuable components from the worthless elements within the ore.
Other People Are Reading
-
Crushing
-
Once the metal is mined and sent to a foundry or smelting facility, the ore is crushed into smaller pieces. The ore is then mixed with a chemical called coke, heated air and limestone or other flux material. The coke provides the carbon and heat required for iron production. The limestone or other flux material separates the impurities from the desired metal. The mixture is then sent to a furnace.
Roasting
-
The mixture enters a blast furnace and undergoes a process called roasting. The metal and concentrate is heated to a very high temperature, while still being in contact with air enriched with oxygen. The roasting burns off the impurities within the desired metal, which is called slag. The slag floats to the top of the melted metal and can be skimmed off, removing the impurities from the metal of interest.
-
Reduction
-
After the roasting process, the molten metal is sent to another furnace for further reduction. Iron metal is sent to a oxide furnace, while copper metal is fed into a reverberator furnace. The furnace reduces the melted metal even more. The reduction process removes any additional impurities that remain within the metal. In these secondary furnaces additional fluxes are added to the molten metal ,and heat is applied again to remove any remaining impurities.
Casting
-
The last process of melting metal takes the purest form of the metal and casts it into slabs, beams, billets or mattes. Some metals, such as aluminum, can be formed into sheets. The molten metal is sent from the reduction furnace to the formation equipment. As the molten metal cools, it is shaped into the thinner sheets or desired shapes or dumped into casts and allowed to cool.
-
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
