ABSTRACT
Pyro metallurgy is that branch of extractive metallurgy which deals with chemical reactions at high temperatures commonly attained by the burning of carbonaceous fuel. It is by far the most important of all extractive processes and ranges from a preliminary roasting treatment as employed with lead and zinc ores to the high temperature required in the smelting of iron and copper. During the past hundred years the pyrometallurgy of most metals has been subject to many changes, and even where the fundamental processes themselves are unchanged, design and construction of machinery and appliances in general have been revolutionized. Use of basic refractories dates back to the invention of the basic-lined Bessemer converter in 1877 by Gilchrist and Thomas who used rammed dolomite linings to remove phosphorus from molten steel. The use of oxygen in open hearth furnaces has caused the adoption of chrome-magnesite bricks in place of the conventional silica roof.
