Pig iron manufacturing and products

Pig iron is the primary metallic output of the blast furnace and the foundational intermediate of the iron and steel value chain. It is produced by the carbothermic reduction of iron ore using coke and limestone at temperatures exceeding 1,500°C, yielding a carbon-saturated molten iron that is tapped periodically from the furnace hearth. The name derives from the traditional sand-mould casting system in which molten iron flowed from a central runner into a series of small branching moulds — the arrangement resembled piglets feeding from a sow.

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