Decarburising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of reducing or removing carbon content from the surface of a metal ; chemically or physically altering the composition to decrease carbon concentration ; a metallurgical technique used to soften or prepare metals by extracting excess carbon
2. The act of extracting carbon atoms from a metal's outer layers ; modifying metallic properties by lowering the carbon proportion ; a method in materials science aimed at producing less brittle metal by carbon depletion
3. Removing carbon from the surface of an alloy through chemical reactions or heat treatment ; changing the carbon balance to alter metal characteristics ; a treatment used in metalworking to enhance ductility by carbon elimination from surfaces

Etymology: Decarburising is the present participle of "decarburise," which means to remove carbon from something, most often iron or steel. The verb is built from the prefix "de-," meaning "removing or reversing," attached to "carburise," which in turn comes from "carbure," the French-derived form of "carbon." Carbon itself takes its name from the Latin "carbo," meaning charcoal or coal, the material that was long the most familiar source of the element. The logic of the word is simple once the parts are visible. Carburising means adding carbon to iron to turn it into steel, a process that goes back centuries, while decarburising runs the operation in reverse, drawing carbon out so that the metal becomes softer and more workable. Ironworkers and steelmakers used it to control the hardness of a finished piece.

Synonyms: decarburizing, carbon removal