A metallurgical furnace, more commonly referred to as a furnace, is an industrial furnace used to heat and melt metal ore to remove gangue, primarily in iron and steel production. The heat energy to fuel a furnace may be supplied directly by fuel combustion, by electricity such as the electric arc furnace, or through induction heating in induction furnaces. There are several different types of furnaces used in metallurgy to work with specific metal and ores.
Smelting furnaces
Smelting furnaces are used in smelting to extract metal from ore. Smelting furnaces include:
The blast furnace, used to reduce iron ore to pig iron
Cold blast
Hot blast
Steelmaking furnaces, including: Puddling furnace Reverberatory furnace
Open hearth furnace
Basic oxygen furnace
Electric arc furnace
Electric induction furnace
Various smelting furnaces called converters for converting (metallurgy): A Bessemer converter for the Bessemer process A Manhès–David converter for the Manhès–David process
Other furnaces
Furnaces used to remelt metal in foundries. Furnaces used to reheat and heat treat metal for use in: Rolling mills, including tinplate works and slitting mills. Forges Open hearth furnace Electric arc furnace Furnaces used in heat treating include vacuum furnaces and others