The Bessemer Process
Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron prior to the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. The oxidation also raise…
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, now also known as the First Industrial Revolution, was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the United States, in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods t…
How did the Bessemer process impact the Society?
Towns became major cities with steel skyscrapers and steel fabrication companies giving jobs to thousands. The Bessemer steel process changed how the world produced from the smallest of household products to skyscrapers. Not only did the Bessemer Process impact the society of the time but also sent ripples throughout the years.
How did the Bessemer process impact American industry?
What effect did the Bessemer process have on American industry? The Bessemer process had an immeasurable impact upon the US economy, manufacturing system, and work force. It allowed steel to become the dominant material for large construction, and made it much more cost effective.
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What impact did the Bessemer process have?
What impact did the Bessemer process have? The biggest way that the Bessemer Process changed the world was by making steel cost-effective and mass-producible. Steel became a dominant construction material solely because of this invention. In England, the cost of steel dropped from £40 GBP to £6-7 GBP per long ton.
Why is Bessemer important?
Bessemer invented the modern process of steel-making. During the late parts of the Industrial Revolution, steel became the major building material for everything from skyscrapers to bridges to railroads to automobiles.
How did the Bessemer process help America?
It allowed steel to become the dominant material for large construction, and made it much more cost effective. Countless millions of tons of steel were manufactured in this manner and countless buildings, bridges, and boats were made with the resulting steel crop, stimulating the US economy in every way possible.
Why was the Bessemer process important to industrialization?
The oxygen aided in the steel burning at a much higher temperature thus burning any impurities of the process. This allowed for steel to be manufactured in a high quantity and in a much quicker fashion. Bessemer's innovation changed the steel industry and allowed for much more efficiency in the steel industry.
How did the Bessemer process improve the economy?
The Bessemer process made possible the manufacture of large amounts of high-quality steel for the first time. This, in turn, provided steel at relatively low cost to various industries. By revolutionizing the steel industry, the Bessemer process helped to spur on the Industrial Revolution.
How did the Bessemer process contribute to urbanization?
The Bessemer process made it possible to produce large quantities of steel. This allowed for the construction of modern city buildings and factories. It also allowed cities to be connected to other areas of the country through railroads.
How did the Bessemer steel converter shape US history?
How did this invention shape U.S. history? The Bessemer steel converter was a new way to create steel faster and for less money which revolutionized the steel production business. The converter uses hot air to blow onto molten metals which takes away carbon impurities creating pure steel.
How did the Bessemer process contribute to the industrial growth in the Gilded Age?
In 1855, Bessemer patented an inexpensive way to process steel, so it could be produced and used on a massive, industrial scale. The Bessemer steel process, in turn, allowed for the mechanization of industry. This alone began to change the composition of the labor force.
What was the impact of the Bessemer process on the economic development of the United States during the 1800s?
The Bessemer Process for making a better quality steel, allowed for a boom in industry and the railroads. New inventions – like the telegraph, telephone, typewriter, and the sewing machine made America more productive. Natural Resources – like oil and electricity became important sources of energy.
How did the Bessemer process impact society?
The Bessemer Process was an extremely important invention because it helped made stronger rails for constructing the railroads and helped to make stronger metal machines and innovative architectural structures like skyscrapers. The United States Industrial Revolution moved from the Age of Iron to the Age of Steel.
Why was the invention of steel important?
By using steel, it allowed construction workers to build tall buildings such as skyscrapers due to the strength of the metal and the cost of it. As buildings were being put together the steel industry continued to rise, producing steel for construction, automobiles, and railroads.
What is the Bessemer process?
Bessemer process, the first method discovered for mass-producing steel.
Where was the Bessemer furnace invented?
Bessemer furnace, Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield, England. Wikityke. In 1856 Bessemer, working independently in Sheffield, developed and patented the same process. Whereas Kelly had been unable to perfect the process owing to a lack of financial resources, Bessemer was able to develop it into a commercial success.
How high is a Bessemer converter?
The Bessemer converter is a cylindrical steel pot approximately 6 metres (20 feet) high, originally lined with a siliceous refractory. Air is blown in through openings (tuyeres) near the bottom, creating oxides of silicon and manganese, which become part of the slag, and of carbon, which are carried out in the stream of air.
What was the first method of mass production?
Bessemer process, the first method discovered for mass-producing steel. Though named after Sir Henry Bessemer of England, the process evolved from the contributions of many investigators before it could be used on a broad commercial basis.
Overview
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten.
History
A system akin to the Bessemer process has existed since the 11th century in East Asia. Economic historian Robert Hartwell writes that the Chinese of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) innovated a "partial decarbonization" method of repeated forging of cast iron under a cold blast. Sinologist Joseph Needham and historian of metallurgy Theodore A. Wertime have described the method as a …
Technical details
Using the Bessemer process, it took between 10 and 20 minutes to convert three to five tons of iron into steel — it would previously take at least a full day of heating, stirring and reheating to achieve this.
The blowing of air through the molten pig iron introduces oxygen into the melt which results in oxidation, removing impurities found in the pig iron, such as sili…
Importance
In 1898, Scientific American published an article called Bessemer Steel and its Effect on the World explaining the significant economic effects of the increased supply in cheap steel. They noted that the expansion of railroads into previously sparsely inhabited regions of the country had led to settlement in those regions, and had made the trade of certain goods profitable, which had previously bee…
Obsolescence
In the U.S., commercial steel production using this method stopped in 1968. It was replaced by processes such as the basic oxygen (Linz–Donawitz) process, which offered better control of final chemistry. The Bessemer process was so fast (10–20 minutes for a heat) that it allowed little time for chemical analysis or adjustment of the alloying elements in the steel. Bessemer converters did not remove phosphorus efficiently from the molten steel; as low-phosphorus ore…
See also
• Cementation (metallurgy) process
• Methods of crucible steel production
External links
• "Progress in the Manufacture of Steel" in Popular Science Monthly Volume 19, October 1881
• "Bessemer's explanation of his process". The Engineer. 15 August 1856.
• "How the Modern Steel Furnace Does Its Work". Popular Science: 30–31. February 1919.