Decarbonizing Processes
The Encyclopedia of Founding (1892)
The process of decarbonizing takes place in puddling and boiling furnaces when cast iron is, by heating, deprived of its carbon, and thus made malleable. But there are many special decarbonizing and desulphurizing processes by which these superfluous elements are eliminated from cast iron. See MALLEABLE IRON; PUDDING. Decimals Changed to Parts of a Pound Avoirdupois.--The following table converts each decimal of a pound, of 16 ounces, into ounces and drachms, and is very serviceable when it is desired to change the formulas that are stated in decimal proportion: Decimal. Oz. Dr. .003 1 .007 2 .011 3 .015 4 .019 5 .023 6 .027 7 .031 8 .035 9 .039 10 .043 11 .046 12 .050 13 .054 14 .058 15 .062 1 0 .066 1 1 .070 1 2 .074 1 3 .078 1 4 .082 1 5 .085 1 6 .089 1 7 .093 1 8 .097 1 9 .101 1 10 .105 1 11 .109 1 12 .113 1 13 .117 1 14 .121 1 15 .125 2 0 .128 2 1 .132 2 2 .136 2 3 .140 2 4 .144 2 5 .148 2 6 .152 2 7 .156 2 8 .160 2 9 .164 2 10 .168 2 11 .171 2 12 .175 2 13 .179 2 14 .183 2 15 .187 3 0 .191 3 1 .195 3 2 .199 3 3 .203 3 4 .207 3 5 .210 3 6 .214 3 7 .218 3 8 .222 3 9 .226 3 10 .230 3 11 .234 3 12 .238 3 13 .242 3 14 .246 3 15 .250 4 0 .253 4 1 .257 4 2 .261 4 3 .265 4 4 .269 4 5 .273 4 6 .277 4 7 .281 4 8 .285 4 9 .289 4 10 .293 4 11 .297 4 12 .300 4 13 .304 4 14 .308 4 15 .312 5 0 .316 5 1 .320 5 2 .324 5 3 .328 5 4 .332 5 5 .335 5 6 .339 5 7 .343 5 8 .347 5 9 .351 5 10 .355 5 11 .359 5 12 .363 5 13 .367 5 14 .371 5 15 .375 6 0 .378 6 1 .382 6 2 .386 6 3 .390 6 4 .394 6 5 .398 6 6 .402 6 7 .406 6 8 .410 6 9 .414 6 10 .418 6 11 .421 6 12 .425 6 13 .429 6 14 .433 6 15 .437 7 0 .441 7 1 .445 7 2 .449 7 3 .453 7 4 .457 7 5 .460 7 6 .464 7 7 .468 7 8 .472 7 9 .476 7 10 .480 7 11 .484 7 12 .488 7 13 .492 7 14 .496 7 15 .500 8 0 Decimals of 1, or Unity, Changed to Fractions.--The following table affords a ready reference for obtaining the vulgar equivalents of the decimal fractions of 1, or unity: 1/64 = .015625 1/32 = .03125 1/16 = .0625 1/8 = .125 3/16 = .1875 1/4 = .25 5/16 = .3125 3/8 = .375 7/16 = .4375 1/2 = .5 9/16 = .5625 5/8 = .625 11/16 = .6875 3/4 = .75 13/16 = .8125 7/8 = .875 15/16 = .9375 1 = 1.0000
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When The Encyclopedia of Founding described decarbonizing in 1892, the puddling and boiling furnace was still the workhorse that burned carbon out of cast iron to make it malleable. Puddling died out over the following decades, replaced first by the Bessemer converter and open-hearth furnace and then, from the 1950s, by the basic oxygen process developed at Linz and Donawitz, in which a lance blows pure oxygen into molten iron and cuts the carbon down in about twenty minutes; wrought iron is now made only for restoration and craft work. Malleable cast iron, the other subject the entry points to, was itself largely displaced after ductile (nodular) iron was developed in the 1940s. The word has also shifted underfoot: "decarbonizing" in ordinary modern usage means removing carbon dioxide from an economy rather than carbon from iron, and steelmaking is now one of the industries under that pressure, with hydrogen-based direct reduction plants being built to replace coke.
Written for this edition, 2026.