Iron ore, limestone and coke are the three components that are melted in a blast furnace to make iron, a key ingredient in steel making. A skip hoist raises the materials to the top of the furnace and are then dumped or charged into the furnace. Hot air is blown to the blast furnace by a turbo blower, through large donut shaped bustle pipe and through tuyeres into the sides of the furnace. As the iron ore is melted, it sinks to the bottom of the furnace. Once the liquid metal builds up at the bottom of the furnace, the blast furnace is tapped. The furnace is tapped through the tap holes by drilling out the clay plug with a tap hole drill. Once tapped, the hot metal follows a refractory lined trough to a hot metal car where it is transported to the BOF for conversion into steel. Mud guns are used to spray a clay mixture into the tap hole to seal the hole. The melting cycle continues. Contact Casey Equipment for a quote on used blast furnaces for sale.