The Iron and Steel Industry
The major developments in the modern iron and steel industry took place in the mid-19th century with increased applications for steel, mainly as a result of the development of the railways. The total lack of economic and political stability in Spain at the time led to the overall decline of the country. For example, the first blast furnace was built in Spain in 1832 at the Heredia factory in Malaga, whereas in the
rest of Europe in the 17th century blast furnaces had spread widely, the use of charcoal was replaced with coke, and air was blown in by means of a cylinder-driven machine moved by Watt’s steam blowing mechanism (1760), which made it possible to inject air under much greater pressure. These advances were crucial for the progress of the blast furnace.
Iron and Steel Transformation in Catalonia
In the second half of the 18th century in Catalonia there was not enough charcoal or iron ore to supply the demands of the iron and steel industry, which meant that
charcoal and iron ore had to be imported. Nevertheless, every effort was made to continue the industrialization process.
Catalan industry needed essential production goods (tools, utensils, machines, expensive locomotive engine and ship repairs, etc.) and Catalonia did not have extensive reserves of iron ore or coal. And yet companies that made machinery were set up and continued working despite the lack of a powerful iron and steel industry because they imported their raw materials. As a result the metallurgical industry was not one of production of iron and steel, but transformation.
Smithies
A smithy or ironworks was a workshop where iron ore was worked to convert it into metal. Smithies used more modern systems than Catalan bloomeries to obtain iron.
Whereas bloomeries produced more or less refined iron, a smithy could melt down iron ore once or even twice. The system was known as the blast-furnace method and
produced smelted iron using a reverberatory furnace, a puddling furnace or any other iron-refining method to produce steel, an alloy composed primarily of iron with a very
low carbon content.