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"Bessemer Converting Vessel. Bessemer Steel is steel made direct from pig iron by a process patented in 1855, and subsequently, by Henry Bessemer. This process, as now worked, is briefly as follows: The pig iron is remelted in a cupola, and poured into a large vessel called a converter, lined with fire bricks and capable of revolving upon horizontal trunnions." -Vaughan, 1906

Bessemer Converting Vessel

"Bessemer Converting Vessel. Bessemer Steel is steel made direct from pig iron by a process patented…

An illustration of the exterior of the Bessemer converter. The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly. The process had also been used outside of Europe for hundreds of years, but not on an industrial scale. 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.

Bessemer Converter (Exterior)

An illustration of the exterior of the Bessemer converter. The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive…

An illustration of the interior of the Bessemer converter. The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly. The process had also been used outside of Europe for hundreds of years, but not on an industrial scale. 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.

Bessemer Converter (Interior)

An illustration of the interior of the Bessemer converter. The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive…

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically four percent, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications.

Pig Iron Manufacturing Apparatus

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with coke, usually with limestone as a flux.…