The Foundations of Chemistry

22-8 Copper 913

Oxygen gun

Escaping

gases

Steel shell

CaO

wall lining

Water-cooled

hood

Oxygen

Iron ore,

scrap steel,

and molten iron

Figure 22-9 A representation of the basic oxygen process furnace. Much of the steel
manufactured today is refined by blowing oxygen through a furnace that is charged with
scrap and molten iron from a blast furnace. After the refined iron is withdrawn into a ladle,
alloying elements are added to produce the desired steel. The steel industry is one of the
nation’s largest consumers of oxygen.

Figure 22-10 An open-pit copper mine near Bagdad, Arizona.