Deoxidization

Deoxidization is a method used in metallurgy to remove the oxygen content during steel manufacturing. In contrast, antioxidants are used for stabilization, such as in the storage of food. Deoxidation is important in the steelmaking process as oxygen is often detrimental to the quality of steel produced. Deoxidization is mainly achieved by adding a separate chemical species to neutralize the effects of oxygen or by directly removing the oxygen.

Oxidation

Oxidation is the process of an element losing electrons. For example, iron will transfer two of its electrons to oxygen, forming an oxide. This occurs all throughout as an unintended part of the steelmaking process.

Oxygen blowing is a method of steelmaking where oxygen is blown through pig iron to lower the carbon content. Oxygen forms oxides with the unwanted elements, such as carbon, silicon, phosphorus, and manganese, which appear from various states of the manufacturing process. These oxides will float to the top of the steel pool and remove themselves from the pig iron. However, some of the oxygen will also react with the iron itself.