44 Lange, Bessemer, Goransson and Miishet. 



produced than in any other previous year, it is also the 

 case that the open-hearth process now takes, by far, the 

 premier position as regards output. 



In 1907, the world's outputs of Bessemer and open- 

 hearth steel were about equal. In 1908, the Bessemer 

 output was about \\ million tons less than that of the 

 open-hearth output ; whilst, in 191 2, the Bessemer output 

 (29,350,000 tons) was about i\\ million tons less than 

 that of the open-hearth output (41,022,000 tons). It will 

 be seen, therefore, that the Bessemer process is fast losing 

 ground in comparison with its newer rival. This is due 

 to two main causes. In the first place, it is due to the 

 gradual exhaustion of suitable ores for the Bessemer pro- 

 cess, and, in the second place, to the great development 

 of the open -hearth process, due to the abundance of 

 suitable material for the same and its advantages in 

 respect of the utilization of the world's ever-increasing 

 supply of scrap iron and steel. 



The introduction of the electric furnace for steel- 

 refining, the most modern of metallurgical developments, 

 appears likel}^ to give renewed vitality to the Bessemer 

 process, experiments which have recently been made in 

 the United States, Germany and French Lorraine, in 

 giving Bessemer steel a short final treatment in the 

 electric furnace, having proved most successful. 



Ernest F. Lange. 



