Pig iron
Pig iron is iron with a high carbon content. Pig iron is made by smelting iron ore into ingot form, in a blast furnace. It’s called pig iron because when being cast, each ingot being cast looks like a Piglet suckling milk from a sow.
History[change | change source]
Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Chinese knew about pig iron, and were producing it as early as 1100 BC.
Uses[change | change source]
Pig iron is refined into Wrought iron by melting it and blowing hot air through it. Pig iron can also be turned into gray iron.
Modern Uses[change | change source]
Originally, pig iron was poured out the bottom of the furnace and shipped to a steel mill for processing. Now, we turn the metal into pellets before shipping it.