Features and Uses of Pig Iron

Posted by Sugandha Das on February 9th, 2017

Pig Iron derives its name from the pig-shaped trough which was used for casting it in the 19th century. It was very commonly used during the years of Industrial Revolution and is still widely used for several applications. Pig Iron is actually a byproduct of iron industry which contains about 90% iron, around 3.5% carbon, and several other compounds, like manganese, phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, and several other impurities.

As Pig Iron is used for intermediary step in manufacturing steel, the increasing popularity of the metal has substantially increased the demand for Pig Iron too. Moreover, Pig Iron manufacturer in India now offers Pig Iron in several different grades, like low phosphorous foundry grade Pig Iron, to ensure that the byproduct can be readily used for several applications.

Features of Pig Iron

• Pig Iron is very brittle, hard, fairly fusible and wear-resistant. Except for some limited applications, it cannot be used directly in the manufacturing process.
• As compared to steel, Pig Iron has a very low melting point of about 1200 degree Celsius.
• The hardness of Pig Iron usually ranges between 250-450 BHN and tensile strength is between 25 and 50 kNs.
• As Pig Iron has a low melting point and higher charge density, the energy requirements is lower and melting time is faster when compared to all steel charge setups.

Common Uses of Pig Iron

In the early days, Pig Iron was worked in wrought iron which was used in the puddling furnaces. For this process, Pig Iron was first melted and agitated or stirred during which strong air currents were directed over it for dissolving the impurities.

Nowadays, Pig Iron is commonly used for manufacturing the steel in electric arc furnaces and induction furnaces. It is also used for producing gray iron for which Pig Iron is first remelted with significant amounts of scrap iron and steel. During the process, undesirable contaminants are removed, alloys are added, and the carbon content in it is adjusted as per the application.

Some of the grades of Pig Iron are also used for producing ductile iron. These grades are usually high-purity grades, and on the basis of the ductile iron which is to be produced, the Pig Iron used can contain lower amounts of manganese, sulfur, phosphorus and silicon. These Pig Iron grades are very effective in diluting all the elements of ductile iron charge that can be very harmful to the production process of ductile iron.

If you are looking for a Pig Iron ore manufacturer, make sure the manufacturer offers quality product and can offer the right product as per the application in your industry.