also: ずくてつ
pig iron
Technical term for crude iron as produced in a blast furnace, used as a raw material for steelmaking and cast iron.
Pig iron is produced in a blast furnace.
This factory makes steel from pig iron.
Pig iron is produced in a blast furnace and then converted into steel in a converter.
Pig iron is refined to produce steel.
The process of making steel from pig iron is called steelmaking.
Standard kanji form; the reading せんてつ is the most common.
Alternate reading ずくてつ is less common and may be encountered in older or specialized contexts.
The kanji 銑 means 'pig iron' and 鉄 means 'iron'. The reading せんてつ is the standard Sino-Japanese reading; ずくてつ is a native Japanese reading of the same characters, now rare.