Prologue1. Raw Materials.1.1. Introduction: iron and steel in the history.1.2. Steel and materials science.1.3. Coking coal.1.4. Iron ore.1.4.1. Iron ore to produce materials with structural applications.1.4.2. Iron oxides to produce materials with functional applications.1.5. Slag-forming agents and fluxes.1.6. Scrap. Recycled steel.1.7. Ferroalloys.1.8. Pre-reduced materials.1.9. References.2. Sintering.2.1. Introduction.2.2. Thermodynamic aspects of the process and the product.2.3. Solid-gas kinetics in porous particles.2.4. Solved exercises.2.5. References.3. Pelletizing.3.1. Introduction.3.2. Thermodynamic considerations about the process and the product.3.3. Solid-gas kinetics in dense solids. Unreacted core model.3.4. Solved exercises.3.5. References.4. Ironmaking Coke.4.1. Introduction.4.2. Coking process.4.3. Coke Reactivity: Thermodynamic and Kinetic Aspects.4.4. Solved Exercises.4.5. References.5. Production of Iron by Reduction with Gas.5.1. Introduction.5.2. Midrex process.5.3. HYL-III process.5.4. Finmet process.5.5. Fastmet process.5.6. Iron Carbide process.5.7. Solved exercises.5.8. References.6. Production of Iron in the Blast Furnace.6.1. Introduction.6.2. General characteristics of the blast furnace.26.3. Reactions in the blast furnace.6.3.1. Iron ores reduction.6.3.2. Reduction of metallic oxides. Equilibrium metal-slag.6.3.3. Dissolution in the pig iron.6.3.4. Solved exercises: introductory exercises.6.4. Mass and energy balances. Operating diagram.6.4.1. Solved exercises: operation line.6.5. Pretreatment of the pig iron.6.5.1. Sulphur removal.6.5.2. Phosphorus removal.6.5.3. Solved exercises: metal-slag equilibrium.6.6. Alternative processes to the blast furnace.6.6.1. Corex process.6.6.2. DIOS process.6.7. Solved exercises: application of the CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 ternary diagramand physical-chemical properties of the slags.6.8. References.7. Strengths and Uncertainties of the Iron Metallurgy.7.1. Introduction.7.2. Aspects that favor the production of iron.7.3. Aspects that influence negatively in the production of iron.7.4. References.Appendix 1Appendix 2Appendix 3
About the Author:

José Ignacio Verdeja González received his Bachelor of Engineering from the School of Mines (Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain) in 1968, and his Master of Science degrees in Metallurgy and Physics of the Solid State from the University of Paris in 1971/72. He holds Ph.D. degrees from the University of Oviedo (1974) and the University of Paris (1978). He was appointed as Assistant Professor (1978) and Professor of Physical Metallurgy (1983) at the Oviedo School of Mines (Oviedo, Asturias, Spain). He became the first Head of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Oviedo (1987-1991), and he worked closely with Professor José Antonio Pero-Sanz Elorz throughout his professional career (1974-2012). He is author or co-author of more than 120 papers on solidification and processes, metallography-metallographic properties relationships, sheet forming, thixoforming, superplasticity and textures of metals and alloys. Since 1976, he has been a member of ASM International. His current activities focus on broadening and strengthening the academic programs at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Oviedo.

Daniel Fernández González received his Bachelor of Engineering and Master's in Mining Engineering (Oviedo School of Mines, University of Oviedo, Spain) in 2013 and his Master's in Materials Science and Technology from the same university in 2014. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Oviedo (granted by the Spanish Government) in 2019 with a dissertation on the utilization of concentrated solar energy in metallurgy and materials. He was awarded a prize for the best end of degree project in the environmental field gas natural fenosa. He is the author of more than 20 articles in indexed journals, and he has published the books: Materiales para Ingeniería. Fundiciones Férreas (Pedeca Press Publicaciones S. L. U., Madrid, 2018), Physical Metallurgy of Cast Irons (Springer International Publishing, Cham (Switzerland), 2018) and Structural Materials: Properties and Selection (Springer International Publishing, Cham (Switzerland), 2019). He has participated in several research projects in cooperation with industrial companies.

Luis Felipe Verdeja González holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences from the University of Oviedo, where he is a Professor of Materials Science and Head of the Siderurgy, Metals and Materials Group (Sid-Met-Mat) and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Oviedo. His research focuses on the application, maintenance, and wear of refractory linings in blast furnaces and other metal and steel production processes. He has published over 100 articles and 9 books, and has participated in more than 40 research projects (public and private).