Blast furnace

A blast furnace is a type of furnace for smelting whereby the combustion material and ore are supplied with air from the bottom of the chamber such that the chemical reaction does not take place only at the surface. Typically this is used for the production of pig iron from iron ore.

Modern blast furnaces

Diagrams

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  Profiles of various shapes of furnaces

Furnaces

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  "Deadman's foot" (Salamander) at Henrichshütte Hattingen, Germany
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  Blast furnace with elevator at Henrichshütte Hattingen, Germany
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  "Achhalle" (casting hall) at blast furnace no. 5, Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, Germany
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  Carnegie-Illinois Steel, Etna, Pennsylvania

Tapping

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  Slag runoff

Historical blast furnaces

Drawings

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  XVIIth century blast-furnace
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  Blast furnace for the production of pig iron
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  Process of smelting of cannons.
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  Casting a sow from the furnace

Specific furnaces

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  Govajdia
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  Engelsberg blast furnace