Page "Industrial Revolution" Paragraph 32

The major change in the metal industries during the era of the Industrial Revolution was the replacement of organic fuels based on wood with fossil fuel based on coal.

Much of this happened somewhat before the Industrial Revolution, based on innovations by Sir Clement Clerke and others from 1678, using coal reverberatory furnaces known as cupolas.

These were operated by the flames, which contained carbon monoxide, playing on the ore and reducing the oxide to metal.

This has the advantage that impurities ( such as sulphur ) in the coal do not migrate into the metal.

This technology was applied to lead from 1678 and to copper from 1687.

It was also applied to iron foundry work in the 1690s, but in this case the reverberatory furnace was known as an air furnace.

The foundry cupola is a different ( and later ) innovation.