sponge iron

American  

noun

1. finely divided, porous iron, reduced from an oxide at a temperature below the melting point.

---

Etymology

Origin of sponge iron

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

The bulk of the emission reductions will happen with Midrex's technology when iron ore is reduced to sponge iron, it added.

From Reuters

The process uses coke from fossil fuels to extract oxygen from iron ore pellets, leaving a porous iron pellet called sponge iron.

From Salon

The resulting sponge iron then goes into an electric arc furnace, where it's eventually refined into steel.

From Salon

The $1 billion plant in Corpus Christi opened in October 2016, with an annual capacity of 2 million tonnes of high-quality hot briquetted iron, or sponge iron, a pre-material used in steel production.

From Reuters

It begins with brown-tinged iron ore pellets that react with the hydrogen gas and are reduced to ball-shaped “sponge iron,” which takes it name due to pores left behind following the removal of oxygen.

From Seattle Times