Welcome to Rouge Blast Furnace        How a Blast Furnace Works The purpose of a blast furnace is to chemically reduce and physically convert iron oxides into liquid iron called "hot metal".  The blast furnace is a huge steel stack lined with refractory brick.  Iron ore, coke, and limestone are dumped into the top, preheated air is blown into the bottom. The raw materials require 6 to 8 hours to descend to the bottom of the furnace where they become the final product of liquid slag and liquid iron.  These liquid products are drained from the furnace at regular intervals.  The hot air that was blown into the bottom of the furnace ascends to the top in 6 to 8 seconds after going through numerous chemical reactions.  Once a blast furnace is started it will continuously run for four to ten years with only short stops to perform planned maintenance.     'C' Furnace Blow Down, preparation for 100 day outage at the Rouge. The shutdown is in full swing.  The downcomer, hoist house, and furnace top have been removed. Downcomer coming off. Furnace Top on the ground. 'B' Furnace is still pouring liquid iron into bottle cars during 'C' Furnace shutdown. Demolition of the casthouse. Be sure to check out more pics by clicking the "News and Pics" menu button. PLEASE VISIT MICHIGAN ELECTRICIANS OR IBEW ELECTRICIANS FOR MORE INFO AND LINKS.