Why is pig iron produced by blast furnace ironmaking?

The main products of blast furnace ironmaking are molten iron (pig iron), blast furnace gas and blast furnace slag.

pig iron is an iron-carbon alloy with a carbon content of more than 2%. The carbon content of industrial pig iron is generally 2.11%-4.3%, and it contains elements such as C, Si, Mn, S, P, etc. It is a product of smelting iron ore by blast furnace. According to the different forms of carbon in pig iron, it can be divided into steelmaking pig iron, casting pig iron and ductile iron.

pig iron is hard, wear-resistant and castable, but it is brittle and cannot be forged.