Slag
Slag is a partially vitreous by-product of the process of smelting ore, which separates the desired metal fraction from the unwanted fraction. Slag is usually a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides (see also matte) and metal atoms in the elemental form. While slags are generally used to remove waste in metal smelting, they can also serve other purposes, such as assisting in the temperature control of the smelting, and minimizing any re-oxidation of the final liquid metal product before the molten metal is removed from the furnace and used to make solid metal.
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Famous quotes containing the word slag:
“These foliaceous heaps lie along the bank like the slag of a furnace, showing that Nature is “in full blast” within.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“On their slag heap, these children
Wear skins peeped through by bones and spectacles of steel
With mended glass, like bottle bits in slag.”
—Stephen Spender (1909–1995)