Cementation Process

Cementation Process, a process used for the conversion of wrought iron into steel. The iron is placed in the form of straight bars in the part of the furnace known as the "converting box," and surrounded completely by charcoal, the whole being plastered over. It is then heated strongly for from seven to ten days, until the carbonisation of the iron has proceeded sufficiently. The bars are then reforged. The action seems to be due to carbonic oxide formed, and not to the direct union of the carbon and iron. The process has been known from very early times, but is now, however, completely supplanted by the Bessemer process.