 |
| Pig Iron, named after a sow feeding her piglets |
My goal in this post is to point
out how the making of pig iron, a component in high demand by transnationals in
the manufacture of universal consumables, is negatively impacting the natural
environment, and how to reverse the negative impact in the quest to attain a
clean and balanced natural environment sustainably.
The strategy to tackle the topic
is to indicate what pig iron is, how it is processed, how the end product of
steel has become an integral part of our everyday lives, the role of transnationals
in the process, and the negative environmental impact the process leaves in its
trail, and proffer solutions.
PIG IRON
Pig iron is molten iron ore taken
from blast furnace and molded in casts. The cast has a shape like piglets
sucking the breast of a sow (female pigs), hence the name pig iron. The molten
iron ore when cast as such becomes a brittle substance called pig iron. Iron ore is therefore the material from which pig iron is made. Iron ores are found
in minerals and rocks from which one can get metallic iron. The ores contain iron oxides of varying
colors. The iron comes in various forms such as magnetite (72.4% iron), hematite
(69.9% iron), siderite (48.2% iron) etc.
The
world’s leading producers of iron ore are:
China-
1.3 billion tons in 2012
Australia-
519 million tons in 2012
Brazil-
400 million tons in 2012
India-
144 million tons in 2012
Materials used in the production
of pig iron are fuel (coke or charcoal), iron ore, limestone (a cleaning agent)
and hot blast of air- air heated before it is blown into a furnace. Limestone
is calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is made up of skeletal remains of marine
organisms.
The furnace is the medium used in
smelting the ore. In smelting, fuel, ore and the cleaning agent are supplied
from the top of the furnace while the hot blast of air is supplied at the lower
part of the furnace. The result of this process is molten metal among others. In
the chemistry that takes place during smelting, carbon monoxide reacts with
iron oxide from the iron ore to create liquid iron from which pig iron is cast.
Pig iron is constituted as
follows:
Iron- 92%
The remaining 8% covers the
following:
Carbon
Silicon
Manganese
Sulfur
Phosphorus
Pig iron produced by blast
furnace has high carbon content. The pig iron so produced has little immediate
use- it is used in making cast iron. Greater quantity of the pig iron needs to
be processed further to reduce the carbon content in it to become useful for
the production of steel. The use of pig iron which has undergone such further
processing is in the production of various grades of steel. This is the steel being
used for construction materials, ships, automobiles etc.
The world’s top pig iron producers are as follows:
China- 600,000 metric tons (2010)
Japan- 82,000 metric tons (2010)
Russia- 47,000 metric tons (2010)
India- 39,000 metric tons (2010)
Brazil- 32,000 metric tons (2010)
In our everyday lives steel is everywhere,
adding strength to the things we use- kitchen, bridges, stadia, highrises,
shopping malls, schools, offices, oil rigs, yacht, hospitals, oil refineries,
ships, automobiles, harbors, railways, skeleton for structures, sculpture, statues,
bolts, nuts, cutlery etc.
TRANSNATIONALS
In this post transnationals means
multinational corporations. Who are behind the production of pig iron from
which we get iron and steel for our everyday needs? What is the driving
philosophies behind the production of pig iron? Are they profit and unbridled
consumerism?
The top ten steel-producing
transnationals for 2015 are as follows:
|
NO
|
TRANSNATIONAL
|
COUNTRY
|
OUTPUT
(MILLIONS OF TONS)
|
|
01
|
AccerloMittal
|
Luxembourg
|
97.136
|
|
02
|
Hesteel Group
|
China
|
47.745
|
|
03
|
Nippon Steel
and Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC)
|
Japan
|
46.374
|
|
04
|
POSCO
|
South Korea
|
41.975
|
|
05
|
Baosteel
Group
|
China
|
34.938
|
|
06
|
Shagang Group
|
China
|
34.214
|
|
07
|
Ansteel Group
(Anshan Iron
and Steel Group)
|
China
|
32.502
|
|
08
|
JFE Steel
Corporation
|
Japan
|
29.825
|
|
09
|
Shougang
Group
|
China
|
28.553
|
|
10
|
Tata Steel
Group
|
India
|
26.314
|
A simple sequence from the
processes crystalizes as follows: iron ore→ pig iron→ steel→ cutlery (spoon,
fork, knife, etc.)
ENVIRONMENT
The processing of pig iron takes
us from the smelting of iron ore as raw material to liquid iron which is cast
to get pig iron, which is further processed to get, mainly steel. From steel we
get many useful things in our everyday lives as indicated. The knife, spoon,
fork, buckets, plates, bowls etc. are steel products. On these steel products
there are the inscription “stainless steel”. At the back of watches there are
the same inscription “stainless steel”.
How is the environment impacted
negatively? To answer the question I should touch on three areas. The areas
are: extraction of iron ore, smelting of the iron ore, processing of pig iron.
Extraction of Iron Ore
Some negative impacts are:
- Soil erosion
- Disruption and loss of biodiversity
- Contamination of soil
- Release of chemicals into surface water and groundwater, poisoning source of water for the local people.
- Creating holes in the ground as a result of loss of surface layer
- Releasing waste (tailings) into rivers, killing aquatic life.
Smelting of Iron Ore
Some negatives smelting leaves in
its trail:
- The use of charcoal as fuel for smelting involves the cutting of trees in the forest (i.e. Brazil) to make the charcoal. The cutting of the trees results in deforestation, loss of biodiversity etc.
- The use of coke in smelting releases carbon monoxide into the air which is not good for the health of people living around the plant.
- In the smelting of the iron ore nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the air. These gases cause asthma, skin disease, eye injury etc.
- Noise and vibration caused by machinery can cause hearing problems for workers and those living nearby.
- Gases released into the air can cause respiratory problems for factory workers.
Processing of Pig Iron
Some negative impacts:
- Carbon dioxide emissions occur when pig iron is being processed into steel. Carbon dioxide is an anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) causing global warming.
- Air emissions like sulfur and coke dust are released from coke oven into the air.
- Polluted water is released from the plant- water used in the processing of pig iron into steel.
PARTING SHOT
- Make no mistake about it the role of transnationals in the process of converting pig iron into steel products that we consume in our everyday lives is pivotal. The transnationals are driven by profit, and consumers by consumerism. Many transnationals do not believe changes now occurring in the climate is caused by human activities, one of which has been named in this post. The desire for consumption by consumers is unbridle. The transnational, fired by profit and unbridled consumption goes all out to extract from the environment iron ore for processing, leaving in its trail negative impacts resulting in a dirty and an imbalanced natural environment.
- It behoove each and every one of us to contribute to the reversal of the negative impact of the environment for a clean and balanced natural environment conducive to our wellbeing. You may tweet your contribution. You may Instagram your contribution. You may put it on Facebook. By all means voice your contribution for a clean and balanced environment. Consumers should tamper their desire to consume with temperance.
- Of course some efforts are being made to mitigate the negative environmental effects resulting from the activities of the transnationals. Some of these efforts are made by associations formed by the transnationals themselves.
- Transnationals should consider clean technologies.
- National environmental agencies and environmental pressure groups ought to step up their activities in their role as watchdogs.
- Nations should readily ratify UN environmental protocols geared towards a clean and balanced natural environment, sustainably.
- All hands should be on deck.
Reference:
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=images+of+piglet&qpvt=images+of+piglet&qpvt=images+of+piglet&qpvt=images+of+piglet&FORM=IGRE
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