How Is Iron Made Amazing Metal Facts For Kids

Iron is one of the most abundant and known metals on Earth.There is hardly any substance in our vicinity that does not have iron content in it. From tools, building structures and to hemoglobin in the blood of the human body, iron is everywhere.A lot is known in history about the Iron Age. The Iron Age is a period, which lasted from 1200 BC until 600 BC. The Iron Age came after the Stone Age and before the Bronze Age. The advancement in science and technology of man is witnessed by these ages. The Stone Age showcased humans making stone tools and artifacts. With advancement, humans mined iron and then made tools and weapons out of iron. Once humans learned about metallurgy and how to make alloys, which marked the dawn of a new era and thus, the Bronze Age came into existence. The first iron is said to have been smelted by humans a long time ago.If you find our content interesting, then check out how is leather made? And how is copper made?Iron And Its Different KindsIron is one metal that has been of use to man since time immemorial. Be it wrought iron in a blast furnace or pure iron in molten form, or pig iron smelting at the bottom of the furnace, iron has been the most used and dependable metal of amongst all others for man.Available as iron ores on the earth’s crust or as raw materials in a construction site, iron is the most abundantly used metal and the very basic foundation of metallurgy (the study of metals), and the construction is dependent on iron and its various forms. Be it iron products or alloys; iron is omnipresent in metallurgy. That being said, iron itself is an element of the periodic table, and similar to other elements, iron too, has its different types based on its physical structures or chemical reactivities.Iron is not only found on earth but is also discovered in other heavenly objects of the universe, including our very own solar system. In supernova explosions by which stars and planets are formed in our universe, iron is created by the procedure of nuclear fusion, which takes place in the supernova. When the supernova finally explodes, the cosmic clouds and the dust are scattered in the universe, which ultimately cools down, and when the optimal temperatures are reached, iron is formed. Iron is the most abundant metal, which is found on the earth’s crust, and thus it is often called the metal of life. The mineral forms of iron in various compounds are also found all across the globe, occurring naturally as minerals, ores, and salts. The presence of iron can also be traced in metallic alloys that are artificially produced by man. Molten metals are often fused together in blast furnaces and ultimately produce alloys.The Chemistry Of IronThroughout world history and over centuries, iron has been treated simply as metal, or its use has been identified when mixed in an alloy. However, primarily iron should be called an element, and understanding its properties, both chemical and physical, are equally important.Iron is placed in the family of Transitional Metals in the Periodic Table of Elements. Iron has an atomic number 26, which indicates there the element of iron contains 26 electrons as well as 26 protons. Iron is essentially a heavy metal, and that can be understood very well by understanding its atomic mass. 56 is the atomic mass of Iron, which means that the total mass of protons and neutrons of each atom of iron is 56. Since electrons have negligible weight, their mass isn’t taken into account. Out of the atomic mass of 56, 26 is comprised of protons; thus, the remaining 30 units of mass are occupied by neutrons. Though protons and neutrons have almost similar atomic weights, the masses of a neutron slightly edge past that of a proton.Since the number of neutrons (30) is higher in comparison with the protons (26), iron is essentially considered a heavy metal. The electronic configuration of iron is stated as 2,8,14,2. The presence of the d-orbitals makes iron a d-block element, and thus it finds itself in period four and group 8 of the periodic table. There is a special reason as to why iron is placed in the d-block family. Like all transitional metals, the 3d-orbital is not empty. Rather the outer electrons of the d-orbital make this group extremely special. Being an exception to the 4s-orbitals getting filled before 3d-orbitals, the outer electrons of the d-orbitals are loosely bound as well as attracted to the nucleus. As a result, with a sufficient amount of energy, these d-orbitals can easily attain a higher state and jump up. This phenomenon is clearly visible when the salts of these metals undergo the flame test. With the loss of electrons, different bright colors are imparted by the flame.Making Cast IronCast iron is a very common word that is heard quite often when either a construction tool or a culinary dish, or utensil is being referred to. Before we take a look at the procedure in which cast iron is being produced, we need to understand all the intricate details about cast iron.Cast iron is an alloy of iron that is mixed with carbon. The carbon quantity of cast iron is always greater than the threshold of 2%. General characteristics of cast iron show that it is a brittle alloy that is capable of withstanding high amounts of heat and thus effectively finds its way in the culinary and tool manufacturing industry. Since the alloy is hard and brittle, it is not malleable in nature, i.e., the alloy cannot be beaten into sheets as it would break by the application of external pressure and force. Often associated with gray iron, the impurities that are used to make the cast iron includes manganese, silicon, sulfur, and phosphorus.The procedure of making cast iron is highly interesting and involves many important steps. First, the iron ore is collected and smelted in blast furnaces. Ironmaking involves high temperatures, and thus the ore is first placed on top of the furnace followed by placing it at the bottom. Once the melting point is reached, the impurities melt, and pig iron is formed. Then the liquid iron is mixed with raw materials like scrap alloys and elements. Finally, the mixture at such high temperatures is poured into solid casts where the mixture cools down, and thus cast iron is produced.Wrought Iron Manufacturing ProcessWrought iron is a very useful alloy of iron that is predominantly used in making construction tools, support structures, and other similar assorted structures. Though both wrought and cast iron contain almost similar material constituents, these two are completely different in terms of physical surface aspects as well as chemical components.The carbon content of wrought iron is around 0.08%, which is significantly less than cast iron. The name is quite peculiar and has been given because hammering allows the alloy to be malleable and be beaten into sheets. In the case of cast iron, hammering the alloy would break it into pieces even when the liquid metal is heated at a high temperature. For wrought iron, the molten slag would still be shaped according to preferred choices. Be it mild steel or wrought iron, the low carbon content acts as a boon, and thus the alloy cannot be further hardened by the processes of quenching.The heated materials of the molten body of the wrought iron are one of the most finely refined alloys of the world—these help in excluding out very few byproducts like slag and limestone at the production site. The use of less fuel also helps in less usage of charcoal, coal, and heat as the melting point of the slag could be easily achieved with little heat from fuel, charcoal, and limestone. The procedure of manufacturing the wrought iron is almost similar to that of cast iron. In the next site, the entire body of the iron ore is heated at a very high temperature until the metal attains a molten state. This process is called smelting. The hot temperature remains constant by the occasional entry of oxygen to the burning hot fuel in the form of coal and charcoal. The molten metal is then mixed with other materials and beaten into proper shapes, and the production concludes. This entire process contains the manufacturing of wrought iron.The Process Of Making Steel From IronBefore we understand how steel is made from iron, we need to understand all the intricate details of steel. Steel is a metal alloy of iron and is often mixed with other metals like nickel, carbon, chromium, and other metals.The process of steel or stainless steel making is derived from the original process of iron making. Steel could often be described as the most ideal alloy as it offers all the benefits of the parent metal, i.e., iron, without the drawbacks of the former. It is extremely hard and thus has high tensile strength. The quenching behavior, as well as the need for annealing and high temperance, leads to a very high yield behavior. Different allotropes of iron and carbon help in forming and creating different types of steel. Among all the types of steel that are present on the globe, Stainless steel is the most renowned form of this alloy.Now let us venture into the process of steel making or steel production. The steps are fairly similar to those of wrought iron and that of the cast iron. When the molten iron is smelted in the forages, the carbon content is very high; as a result, many different filtration processes take place to remove the excess carbon. Much like the previous steps mentioned previously, the iron ore is exposed to a very high temperature and pressure conditions in the furnaces. Once the furnaces turn red hot, the molten metal is mixed with other additional materials and then slowly poured into casts.Now, for steel preparation, the carbon quantity is greatly reduced by undergoing numerous filtration processes. Once the desired quantity is achieved, the steel is cooled down, and it turns into solid metal. Finally, tests are conducted to measure the strength, malleability, and other qualities of the steel, and then they are labeled accordingly. Lastly, the steel is rolled and beaten into sheets and again further rolled, and the process continues for a long time until the desired thickness of the steel is achieved. In general, the process of producing steel is extremely difficult and thus requires the very best of specialists to attain the finest quality of steel.Iron Ore And Its TypesAny element, especially metals like iron, are not obtained in their pure metal state on Earth. These metals are found as a mixture of other chemical compounds in rocks and other landforms. These special, naturally occurring composite structures or minerals that contain iron in them are known as ores, or more accurately, they are known as iron ores.A wide range of iron ores is found on the planet from which the mineral, i.e., iron, in this case, can be extracted and used for other purposes. These ores are all different from one another and also differ not only in physical shapes, sizes, and structures but also in the molecular level of chemical composition. The most common types of iron ore that are found on earth are namely magnetite, hematite goethite, limonite, or siderite. The iron content in each of these different types of iron ore is different from one another.Those iron ore from where a greater quantity of iron can be extracted is known as natural ore. In these cases, the ore is directly placed in the blast furnaces, and with the high temperature and pressure of the blast furnaces, the impurities like iron oxide get melted, and the actual pure iron is obtained, which is then smelted to pig iron or cast iron as deemed by the caster. The iron content in magnetite and hematite is the highest, and often more than 60% of pure metal is extracted.Iron ores can also be obtained from meteorites that fall on the surface of the earth. The mining of these ores is equally important, and many important steps and procedures are undertaken to safely mine these minerals. The study of mineralogy is essential for mining and based on the iron ores, magnetite, titanomagnetite, massive hematite, and pisolitic ironstone deposits are the most mined iron deposits. Once the iron ore is mined, it is washed off and then placed at the top of the furnace and then followed by at the bottom of the furnace so that impurities and other unwanted material like iron oxide can be removed.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for why do puppies sleep so much? Then why not take a look at why do dogs dig, or why do dogs smile?

Iron is one of the most abundant and known metals on Earth.