Linnenkamp, Prof. Ernst ~ On the Converter Platform

An Englishman, Henry Bessemer, developed a process of blowing air through molten iron in a crucible. This greatly increased the exposure of the iron to air and accelerated the oxidation of the carbon to produce steel. Thus, an iron batch that required 24 hours in a conventional puddling furnace would be treated in 20 minutes in the Bessemer process. Animation created by Keith Polecastro