1. History

Iron and steel have always played a part in the evolution of technology and civilization, making possible the great industrial revolutions that have marked the history of mankind. Historically, iron, steel and cast iron have been manufactured from mined iron ore, carbon-rich fuel and oxygen-containing air. Iron, whose origins date back several millennia, is often described as a by-product of bronze metallurgy; it has been supplanted by steel, which is an iron-based alloy containing between 0.1 and around 1.5% carbon, and which has the advantage of higher mechanical properties thanks to its ability to harden after heating followed by rapid cooling. Until the late Middle Ages, iron was obtained by direct solid-phase reduction of iron ore with charcoal, in furnaces heated to around 900°C. It was at the end of the 14th century that the first furnaces appeared, making...