ANDREW CARNEGIE'S STEEL COMPANY REVOLUTIONIZED THE WAY WE PRODUCE STEEL IN THIS COUNTRY AND WAS A MAJOR FACTOR FOR BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE IN THIS COUNTRY, ANDREW CARNEGIE USED HIS INGENUITY AND CHARISMA TO BRING THIS NEW METHOD TO AMERICA AND TO GET HIM OUT OF HIS TROUBLESOME CHILDHOOD.
Forging Our steel
The Carnegie Steel company is able to produce steel at a higher rate and a lower coast. This company use a method similar to that of other steel manufacturers in Great Britain, particularly Sir Henry Bessemer. Bessemer introduced this to Great Britain in 1856, and Carnegie brought it to America.
Before the bessemer process
Before the Bessemer process the only way of producing steel was by using the crucible steel making process. This process involved combining iron, charcoal and a flux, to lower the melting point, in a crucible and heating it until the ingredients melt. Crucible was usually about 30 centimeters wide by 60 centimeters tall, with walls as thick as 7 centimeters. This was a slow process that was very expensive because of all the materials required to keep the heat up for a longer time. Also, the steel produced was of a lower qualtiy with a higher oxygen content causing it to be weaker.
The bessemer process
The Bessemer process was developed by Sir Henry Bessemer and William Kelly as a way to create steel faster, stronger and cheaper. The process was developed in 1847 and first successfully use by William Kelly and was patented in 1856 by Henry Bessemer. This process involved placing the ingredients in cylindrical steel pot about 6 meters tall, almost 20 feet. During the melting stage, hot air was blown in through the bottom of the pot. The air reacted with the carbon in the steel causing it to be able to be removed as slag, and after the blowing was complete a mixture of manganese, carbon and iron were added to bring the carbon level back to what they should be.
The Bessemer process produced steel at $12 per ton in 1890 instead of the $100 per ton in 1873. Also, before the Bessemer process, it took a few days to make 2.5 tons of steel, but with this new process in about 15 to 20 minutes, one Bessemer converter could produce 15 to 18 tons of steel.
