Bessemer process

The Bessemer process is a way of steel production that uses a machine called a bessemer converter to produce steel cheaply. The Bessemer converter uses air to oxidize impurities in pig iron as well as control the amount of carbon in the iron.

Bessemer Process Media

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  Bessemer converter, schematic diagram

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  Bessemer converter, Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield, England (2010)

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  William Kelly is credited with experimenting with a similar process before Bessemer's patent.

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  Principle of Bessemer process

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  Henry Bessemer (1813-1898)

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  Bessemer converter components

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  Evolution of the production of wrought (puddled) iron, pig iron and steel in Great-Britain and France. The transition between each metal can be noticed on these graphics, for both countries.

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  Bessemer furnace in operation in Youngstown, Ohio, 1941.