Decarburisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of removing carbon from the surface or body of steel or iron, usually to make the metal softer or more workable
2. Taking carbon out of a metal, especially steel, by heating it in an oxidizing environment so that its hardness and brittleness are reduced
3. The act of reducing or eliminating the carbon content of iron or steel, commonly carried out to alter the metal's properties

Etymology: Decarburisation is a plain technical formation: the prefix "de-", meaning "removal of" or "reversal of", attached to "carburisation", the process of adding carbon to iron or steel. Carburisation itself comes from "carburet", a chemical term for a compound of carbon, which derives from French "carbure" and ultimately from Latin "carbo", meaning charcoal or coal. Put together, the word names the removal of carbon from a metal, most often to make iron or steel softer, more ductile or easier to work. The process is the reverse of case-hardening, where carbon is driven into the surface of steel to make it harder. Decarburisation can happen by accident, for instance when steel is heated in an oxygen-rich furnace and carbon at the surface reacts with the air and escapes, leaving a soft outer skin. Metallurgists treat this as a defect to be avoided, though it is sometimes done on purpose, as in the production of low-carbon steels.

Synonyms: decarbonisation, decarburization, decarbonization

Antonyms: carburisation, carburization