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Showing posts from January 21, 2023

How are copper, bronze and iron smelted?

 Copper, bronze, and iron are typically smelted using a process called pyrometallurgy. This involves heating the ore in a furnace, typically fueled by coke or charcoal, to a high temperature where the metal is separated from the impurities. The metal then collects at the bottom of the furnace and can be poured into molds to create ingots. For copper, the process starts with crushing the ore and then heating it to a high temperature in a furnace called a smelter. The copper will melt and separate from the impurities, and then collected at the bottom of the furnace. Bronze is made by mixing copper with tin. The process of making bronze is similar to that of copper, where the copper and tin ores are heated together in a furnace, and the bronze will melt and separate from the impurities. Iron is smelted using a process called a blast furnace. Iron ore, coke, and limestone are placed in the top of the furnace and heated to a high temperature. The coke acts as a fuel and the limestone helps