What does decarburise mean?
Decarburise means to remove carbon from a metal, especially steel. It is used in metallurgy and materials science when a metal's carbon content must be reduced, often during heat treatment or in the production of steel with specific mechanical properties. Reducing carbon can make metal softer or more ductile, so decarburisation is an important process in controlling strength, hardness, and workability. The word is chiefly associated with British spelling, although the process itself is used internationally; US English more commonly writes decarbonize. The related verb carburise has the opposite effect, adding carbon to a material, often to harden a steel surface. Although decarburise is a specialised term rather than everyday vocabulary, it names a precise and important industrial operation. It is also part of a productive family including decarbonisation and its inflected forms.
verbTo remove carbon from a metal, especially steel, often by heating it in an oxidizing atmosphere. The process reduces the metal's carbon content and can alter properties such as hardness and ductility.
- To remove carbon from a metal, especially steel, thereby reducing its carbon content.
"The manufacturer decarburised the steel before forming it into precision parts."
"The heat treatment process decarburised the steel and reduced its brittleness."
"Metallurgists decarburise molten metal to achieve the required composition and mechanical properties."
Steelworkers can carburise a surface to increase its hardness or decarburise metal to tune its properties in the opposite direction.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does decarburise come from?
Decarburise is formed with the Latin-derived prefix de-, indicating removal, together with a stem connected to carbon. The word carbon entered English from French carbone, ultimately from the Latin carbo, meaning coal. The paired metallurgical terms carburise and decarburise developed within the vocabulary of carbon treatment in metals.
Related word forms
How decarburise is actually used
This is a technical term used mainly in metallurgy and materials science. It is not common in everyday speech, and US English more often uses the spelling decarbonize.
Easily confused with decarburise
Carburise means to introduce carbon into a metal, whereas decarburise means to remove carbon from it.