Bessemer Process

The Bessemer process is a process for making steel by blowing air through molten pig iron contained in a refractory lined vessel, so as to remove by oxidation most of the carbon, silicon, and manganese. An opening at the narrow upper portion of a bessemer converter allows iron to be introduced and the finished product to be poured out. This was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace.

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