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Durability: Wrought iron is incredibly strong and durable. It's resistant to wear and tear, making it an excellent choice for long-lasting structures.
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Aesthetic Appeal: It brings a classic, timeless beauty to any space. The intricate designs and elegant appearance can significantly enhance the visual appeal of your home or garden.
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Security: Wrought iron fences and gates provide robust security, deterring intruders while also offering visibility and ventilation.
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Versatility: Whether for fences, gates, furniture, or decorative pieces, wrought iron can be crafted into various shapes and styles, fitting any design preference.
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Low Maintenance: With proper treatment and occasional cleaning, wrought iron can resist rust and maintain its beauty over time.
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Value Addition: Incorporating wrought iron features can increase the overall value of your property, due to its aesthetic and practical benefits.
It’s like giving your home and garden an upgrade with both style and substance.
There's a lot of really fascinating information here about iron and its different forms. To condense it a bit, here are some key points:
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Wrought iron, containing 0.01% to 0.29% carbon, is a tough, malleable product. Handcrafted wrought iron products often use laser cutting and hand welding.
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Iron is the most commonly used metal, comprising 95% of worldwide metal production. Its low cost and high strength are crucial in various applications like automobiles and building structures.
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Forms of Iron:
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Pig iron: 4%-5% carbon, an intermediary in steel production.
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Cast iron: 2%-3.5% carbon, strong but brittle.
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Carbon steel: 0.5%-1.5% carbon, with other elements.
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Wrought iron: less than 0.5% carbon, not as fusible as pig iron.
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Alloy steels: various amounts of carbon and other metals.
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Iron (III) oxides: used in magnetic storage.
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Iron is the most abundant metal on Earth, comprising 34.6% of the planet's mass.
And historically, iron has played a significant role from the ancient civilizations to the Industrial Revolution.
Compounds
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Iron(II) state (Fe²⁺): Previously known as ferrous, it's very common.
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Iron(III) state (Fe³⁺): Previously ferric, also very common, especially in rust.
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Iron(IV) state (Fe⁴⁺): Previously ferryl, found in some enzymes like peroxidases.
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Iron(VI) state (Fe⁶⁺): Rare, but known in potassium ferrate.
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Iron carbide (Fe₃C): Known as cementite.
Occurrence
Iron, making up about 5% of the Earth's crust, is commonly found in iron oxides like hematite, magnetite, and taconite. The Earth's core is believed to be largely composed of a metallic iron-nickel alloy. Industrially, iron is extracted from its ores, principally hematite (Fe₂O₃) and magnetite (Fe₃O₄), by reduction with carbon in a blast furnace at around 2000°C.
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In the furnace, carbon (as coke) reacts with oxygen to produce carbon monoxide:
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Carbon monoxide then reduces iron ore to molten iron, becoming carbon dioxide:
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Fluxes like limestone (CaCO₃) and dolomite are used to melt impurities in the ore, forming slag.
Slag, floating on the denser liquid iron, is drained off, leaving pig iron. The slag can be used in road construction or to improve soils for agriculture. In 2000, approximately 1100 million tons of iron ore were produced worldwide, with a gross market value of about 25 billion US dollars. The top producers were China, Brazil, Australia, Russia, and India.
Biological Role
Iron is essential for most organisms. Animals incorporate iron into the heme complex, an essential component of cytochromes and oxygen-carrying proteins like hemoglobin and myoglobin. Non-heme iron proteins are involved in various functions, including enzymes like methane monooxygenase and ribonucleotide reductase. Iron distribution is heavily regulated in mammals, with dietary sources including meat, fish, poultry, lentils, beans, spinach, tofu, chickpeas, strawberries, and farina.
Isotopes
Iron has four naturally occurring stable isotopes: ⁵⁴Fe, ⁵⁶Fe, ⁵⁷Fe, and ⁵⁸Fe. The isotope ⁵⁶Fe is of particular interest to nuclear scientists as it represents the most stable nucleus possible.
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