Infographic - Bessemer Converter (1856)

6 meters tall

HENRY BESSEMER

The main process was done by oxidation with air blown through the molten iron. It would roughly take 30 minutes to process 30 tons of molten iron at a time, at temperatures up to 1,650°C. A difficulty found with this process was that it could only convert pig iron that is low in phosphorus and sulfur as the process allowed steel to be produc- ed without fuel, using the impurities of the ir- on to create the necessary heat. After this, other elements would be added to rein- force the iron into steel alloys, and th- en poured into steel ingot molds.

PROCESS

Bessemer converter (1856)

PRINCIPLE

The main principle of the invention was to remove the impurities from lower quality molten pig iron. It was the first inexpensive industrial process that allowed for the mass production of steel, drastically changing the cost of steel from €75 -90/ton to €8-10/ton. The modern process is named after the inventor Henry Bessemer, who patented it in 1856, which would go ahead to be used until the late 1860s.

Sir Henry Bessemer, born on the 19th of Janua- ry 1813, in London, England, and died on the 15th of March 1898, in London, England, was an English inventor who experimented in the field of metallurgy, mostly with the intention of reducing the cost of steel making for military ordinance. His inventions made steel easier, quicker and cheaper to manufacture and served as a significant inventor of the industrial revolution. He was also responsible for the establishment of Sheffield as a major industrial center in Great Britan. Henry would financially profit from his projects and was recognized for his contribution to science in 1879. In the same year he was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Science.