What Does iron and steel industry Mean
The concept of steel industry derives from the Greek language . It is the process that consists of the extraction and use of iron (the chemical element whose atomic number is 26 ).
Through the steel industry, various treatments can be given to iron to achieve different alloys and types of minerals. In nature, iron can be found as a sulfide , silicate , carbonate , hydroxide, or oxide . Thus, the first step of the steel industry is the exploitation of iron mines to obtain this resource.
The steel industry generally works with iron in the form of carbonate , hydroxide or oxide . The different processes that iron is subjected to make it possible to obtain very important products at an industrial level, such as steel .
Through density separation or magnetization, the steel industry manages to separate the components of the rocks that do not serve it (known as gangas ) and keep the iron ore. For the production of steel , this mineral is first converted into pig iron .
Let's see these separation methods in more detail below:
* Magnetization : this is a process that begins when each rock is passed through a magnetized cylinder so that those that do not have iron ore fall and remain apart, while the others remain attached to the cylinder. This method of separation presents a problem that makes it unreliable, since a large part of the iron ore reserves is in the form of hematite, and this is not of the magnetic type;
* separation by density : unlike the previous process, you must use water with a density halfway between the iron ore and the gangue, and submerge each rock in it. This method is not foolproof either, as the steelmaking process can be adversely affected by wetting the ore.
The smelting of iron with pumice and coke constitutes the initial phase of the generation of steel. The already molten iron is subjected to steeling to minimize the carbon level, remove impurities and add, in some cases, various components.
It is important to distinguish between steel and metallurgy . While the notion of iron and steel is centered on steel, metallurgy refers to the obtaining and processing of metals and the production of alloys. The steel industry, in this way, is a branch of metallurgy.
On the other hand, it is necessary to point out the differences between the concepts of integral steelmaking and steelmaking : the former is also known simply by the name of steelmaking and refers to an industrial plant that is dedicated to the entire steel production process starting from ore of iron; The steelworks, for its part, is also an industrial plant, but it only produces and elaborates steel, for which part of iron or other steel.
In a comprehensive steel plant there are a series of facilities that allow the production of various formats of steel:
* coke ovens : to get gas and coke coal;
* steelworks : allows you to convert pig iron, or cast iron, into steel;
* blast furnaces : with which molten iron can be obtained from ore;
* molding : required for the production of large castings, called ingots .
On the other hand, three types of rolling mills are recognized , which are listed below:
* devastating : for the reduction of the dimensions of the ingots;
* finishing : for hot plates and structures ;
* cold : for strips and sheets.
There are several museums dedicated to these processes. In Spain, for example, the Museo de la Siderurgia y la Minería de Castilla y León, and the Museo de la Siderurgia de Asturias ( MSM and MUSI , respectively) stand out.