Pig Iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel. Pig iron has a very high Carbon content, typically 3.5–4.5%, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications. Most merchant pig iron is produced through the reduction of iron ore in blast furnaces, using either coke or charcoal as reductant and energy source.