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Thomas and George Cranege (also spelled ''Cranage''), who worked in the ironworking industry in England in the 1760s, are notable for introducing a new method of producing wrought iron from pig iron. ==Experiment of 1766== The process of converting pig iron into wrought iron (also known as bar iron) was at that time carried out in a finery forge, which was fuelled by charcoal. Charcoal was a limited resource, but coal, more widely available, could not be used because the sulphur in coal would adversely affect the quality of the wrought iron.〔W. K. V. Gale, ''Ironworking'', Shire Publications.〕 George Cranege worked in Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, at the ironworks established by Abraham Darby I, and his brother Thomas worked at a forge in Bridgnorth in Shropshire. They suggested to Richard Reynolds, manager of the works at Coalbrookdale, that the conversion process could be done in a reverbatory furnace, where the iron did not mix with the coal. Reynolds was sceptical, but authorized the brothers to try out the idea.〔Samuel Smiles, (''Industrial Biography: Iron Workers and Tool Makers'' ), chapters 5 and 7, at Project Gutenberg〕 Richard Reynolds, in a letter dated 25 April 1766 to his colleague Thomas Goldney, described his conversation with the Craneges and the experiment:
A patent for the process, dated 17 June 1766, in the name of the brothers Cranege, was secured. It apparently made little difference to the lives of the brothers. The process was improved soon afterwards, by Peter Onions who received a patent in 1783, and by Henry Cort who received patents in 1783 and 1784 for his improvements.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cranege brothers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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