Ironmaking equipment — product of a blast furnace A blast furnace is primarily used to produce which product?

Introduction / Context:
The blast furnace is the centerpiece of traditional integrated iron and steel works. It chemically reduces iron ore to molten iron using coke and fluxes under a hot blast of air. Knowing what product emerges directly from the blast furnace clarifies downstream processing steps in steelmaking flowsheets.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Burden: iron ore (e.g., sinter, pellets), coke, and limestone/dolomite.
• Hot blast air injected through tuyeres sustains combustion and reduction reactions.
• Molten products tapped: hot metal (pig iron) and slag.

Concept / Approach:
The blast furnace outputs hot metal commonly called pig iron when cast into “pigs.” It is high in carbon (about 3–4.5%) and contains Si, Mn, P, and S. This hot metal is subsequently refined in a basic oxygen furnace (BOF) or other steelmaking unit to become steel. Cast iron, wrought iron, and steel are not produced directly in the blast furnace; DRI is produced in shaft furnaces using reducing gases, not in a blast furnace.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify the unit operation: blast furnace reduction of ore to hot metal.Recognize the molten iron product: pig iron/hot metal.Exclude downstream products like steel and finished castings.Therefore, the correct answer is pig iron.

Verification / Alternative check:
Plant flow diagrams show blast furnace → basic oxygen furnace → continuous casting; DRI processes (Midrex, HYL) are separate direct-reduction routes.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Cast iron refers to final cast products made by remelting and casting; wrought iron is low-carbon iron produced by puddling (historic); steel requires refining the carbon-rich hot metal.

Common Pitfalls:
Conflating “cast iron” with “pig iron” because both are high in carbon; the former is a product class made in foundries, not the direct blast furnace output.

Final Answer:
Pig iron