The Bessemer Process

1. The Bessemer Process
by Will Simons

2. -The Bessemer Process is a method of
steel production created by Englishman
Henry Bessemer.
-It involves forcing air through molten pig
iron (iron with a high carbon content) to
remove impurities like manganese, silicon,
and carbon.

-The process takes place in a steel
container called a Bessemer converter.
Molten pig iron is poured into the converter
as air is blown through multiple holes
perforating the bottom.

-The air does not cool the iron, instead, it
oxidizes the molten mass and raises the
temperature even further. This removes
the impurities and rapidly reduces the
carbon content to its desired level.

3. An Iron Carbon phase diagram explaining the various heat treatments of iron.

4. Before the Bessemer process, steel was
too costly to make in great quantities.

Before the Bessemer process, steel could
only be made through Benjamin
Huntsman's crucible method.
The primary metal of the industrial
revolution until then was iron.
Wrought iron has a low carbon content,
which makes it softer and more malleable,
while pig and cast iron have a high carbon
content and are brittle.

Steel has the ideal amount of carbon in it
(.2% to 2.1%, depending on the grade).
Bessemer got the motivation for inventing
the process when French army officer
Claude-Etienne Minie expressed his
reluctance to fire a 30 pound shot out of a
12 pound iron cannon.

5. Before the process, steel was made for around 50
pounds to 60 pounds (monetary) per ton.

After, steel could be produced for around 7
pounds per ton.

This made steel cost effective enough to mass
produce and revolutionized weaponry, building,
and many aspects of life.

Steel rails replaced iron in the American railway
system, making them safer.

The mass production of steel led to the rise of the
skyscraper in cities, allowing more people to
move into them.

Rich men were made from steel, with the most
famous being Andrew Carnegie.

Jobs were created for unskilled laborers.
Some argue that the mass production of steel
greatly widened the gap between social classes
in America and fed a long struggle between labor
unions and large corporation.

6. Without the mass production of steel, shipping would be miles behind what it is today.

7. Bessemer's process made steel comparably priced to wrought iron. Steel allowed great
strides in transportation, shipping, building and weaponry. Higher strength steel
components produced more powerful engines, guns, tanks, and naval ships. The mass
production of steel led to turbines and generators that made harnessing water and steam
power plausible. The effects of Bessemer's process extended across the world and have
changed the way we live today.
Henry Bessemer Andrew Carnegie