answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Pig iron is cast iron with a very high carbon content: 4% by weight or more. Cast iron has at least 2% carbon by weight. Less than that, and it's steel. Cast iron and pig iron are not called steel, despite being iron carbides, because they lack the structural strength of steel and are extremely brittle. In terms of the microstructure, cast iron and pig iron contain no cementite, austenite, or martensite.

Historically, "pig iron" refers to cast iron made by a particular process: the high-carbon molten iron made in a blast furnace was poured into moulds made of sand, which had a particular shape. Narrow trenches would run down the edge of the mould, and then branching off of them there would be the actual ingots. The whole setup looked to the ironworkers like a sow suckling piglets, so the product became known as pig iron.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What is the difference between pig iron and cast iron?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Engineering

What is the difference between mild steel and galvanised steel?

The difference is percentage of carbon, the main alloy element. Those irons containing less than 2% carbon are known as steels while those containing more than 2% carbon are known as pig iron. Pig iron is obtained from iron ore by processing it with coke in a blast furnace. This pig iron is then further processed to reduce the carbon content in different furnaces to obtain steels. These steels can be then further processed to obtain alloy steels, stainless steels by adding elements such as silicon, manganese, chromium, nickel, etc.


Why is pig iron called pig iron?

Definition of Pig Iron: The term was derived from the method of casting the bars of iron in depressions or moulds formed in the sand floor adjacent to a furnace. These were connected to a runner (known as a sow) and when filled with metal the runner and the numerous smaller moulds were supposed to resemble a litter of suckling pigs, hence the term pig iron.pig iron is called pig iron because due to it shape and molds. When the iron come out from its mold due to it contain % of carbon and it look black pigs, when it come out of it mold it look like pigs standing in a group so it is called pig iron. answered by vsp the king


What is added to pig iron to convert it into steel-?

The pig iron is converted into steel through a process called the basic oxygen steel making.


What is pig iron?

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal andanthracite have also been used as fuel. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 3.5-4.5%, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications.The traditional shape of the molds used for these ingots was a branching structure formed in sand, with many individual ingots at right angles to a central channel or runner. Such a configuration is similar in appearance to a litter of piglets suckling on a sow.When the metal had cooled and hardened, the smaller ingots (the pigs) were simply broken from the much thinner runner (the sow), hence the name pig iron. As pig iron is intended for remelting, the uneven size of the ingots and inclusion of small amounts of sand was insignificant compared to the ease of casting and of handling.Other Answers:Pig iron is called pig iron because due to it shape and molds. When the iron come out from its mold due to it contain % of carbon and it look black pigs, when it come out of it mold it look like pigs standing in a group so it is called pig iron.____________________Definition of Pig Iron: The term was derived from the method of casting the bars of iron in depressions or moulds formed in the sand floor adjacent to a furnace. These were connected to a runner (known as a sow) and when filled with metal the runner and the numerous smaller moulds were supposed to resemble a litter of suckling pigs, hence the term pig iron.____________________Wrought Iron is Pig Iron.____________________It was Abraham Darby II (1711-63) who improved the quality of coke-smelted pig iron and made it suitable for forging into wrought iron. Wrought iron was the result of forging pig iron by continued hammering and reheating in order to produce a material which was supple enough to be made into tools and implements.iron ore.___________________


Why is pig iron not useful?

Pig Iron is a very low grade of Iron, often mixed with scrap metals in the smelting process, that is much less sturdy that normal steel. Making it useless for most tasks one would use Steel for.

Related questions

What is the difference between Sponge iron and pig iron and their application?

pig iron is intermediate product of smelting of iron ore sponge iron is product of direct reduction of iron ore in solid state


Why pig iron essential while melting of cast iron?

During the manufacture of Cast Iron, an intermediate product is Pig Iron. Further processing results in Cast Iron.


What is the difference between pig iron and steel?

simply put: pig iron has around 3.5% to 4.5% carbon. whereas, steel has from 0.2% to 2% or 2.1% carbon.


Difference between pig iron and sponge iron?

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559225/iron_and_steel_manufacture.html Provides the answer. basic summary: 1. Pig Iron and Sponge Iron are the result of different production processes 2. Which results in different purities. Pig Iron has a lower purity than Sponge Iron.


How is cast iron made?

When Pig Iron is melted and recooled it is called Cast Iron


Can cast iron is used in place of Pig Iron?

yes it is!


How many types of iron are there what are their names?

cast iron, stainless steel, wrout iron, pig iron


What is the type of cast iron used to manufacture cast soil pipe?

Pig Iron it is called in the trade


What is a cast iron made of?

Various metals as CI is sometimes call pig iron


What is the impurity difference between pig iron and cast iron?

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559225/iron_and_steel_manufacture.html Provides the answer. basic summary: 1. Pig Iron and Sponge Iron are the result of different production processes 2. Which results in different purities. Pig Iron has a lower purity than Sponge Iron.


What is the difference between a piglet and a pig?

A piglet is a baby pig. A pig is an adult pig.


Which is purer wrought or pig iron?

Pig iron is generally an intermediate product of the wrought iron and steel making process. Pig iron is virtually useless due to the very high impurity content. "Pure" is a strange quantification of the comparison between pig iron and wrought iron. Pig iron is pure pig iron and wrought iron is pure wrought iron if there is a "standard" for the respective materials. I'm guessing that the answer you want is that wrought iron is "more pure."