page_title: Low Moor Ironworks
section_title: Process
hierarchical_section_title: Low Moor Ironworks / Process
context_page_description: The Low Moor Ironworks was a wrought iron foundry established in 1791 in the village of Low Moor about 3 miles south of Bradford in Yorkshire, England. The works were built to exploit the high-quality iron ore and low-sulphur coal found in the area. Low Moor made wrought iron products from 1801 until 1957 for export around the world. At one time it was the largest ironworks in Yorkshire, a major complex of mines, piles of coal and ore, kilns, blast furnaces, forges and slag heaps connected by railway lines. The surrounding countryside was littered with waste, and smoke from the furnaces and machinery blackened the sky. Today Low Moor is still industrial, but the pollution has been mostly eliminated.
context_section_description: The process to convert ore into pig iron and then into wrought iron involved first converting the coal to coke to remove water and sulphur, a process that took 48 hours if done in piles in the yard, or 24 hours if done in ovens. 
  About 32% of the better bed coal would be lost in coking.
  The ironstone was allowed to weather for some time to free it from shale. Limestone was brought from Skipton to help separate clay from the iron ore.
  In 1832 it took 9,750 pounds (4,420 kg) of coal, 2,800 pounds (1,300 kg) of limestone and 8,500 pounds (3,900 kg) of ironstone to make 2,240 pounds (1,020 kg) of pig iron.
  The ironstone was baked with coke and limestone in a kiln, then emptied into a furnace, from which it came out as ore. 
  This was cast into pigs with crystalline or granular structure, and then refined by cold blast, coming out flaky. There were four blast furnaces, with the air delivered by powerful steam engines.
  The iron was then puddled, becoming granular and malleable. The steam hammers forged the glowing iron into malleable slabs, which were rolled into wrought iron plates.
  Large quantities of slag from the blast furnaces were sold for use in road-making.
caption: Puddling furnace (1881 illustration)
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