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Why is the material stirred during reverberatory tin smelting?
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In the reverberatory furnace process, the furnace feed is heated to temperatures between 1,300 and 1,400 °C (2,375â2,550 °F) for approximately 15 hours. During this time, the material is stirred frequently, particularly in the later stages of the process.
This stirring is essential to facilitate the chemical reduction of tin oxide by carbon, ensuring the efficient production of molten tin while allowing the slagâwhich contains the majority of unwanted impuritiesâto separate and float on top of the metal pool.1