Extracting metals 2

Extracting Metals

Reactive: Metals Easily take in chemical reactions to make substances. E.g. Magnesium. It ignites when heated.

Unreactive: Metals do not easily take part in chemical reactions. E.g. Platinum. Doesn't react with oxygen.

Reactivity series: Most reactive; Potassium,Sodium,Calcium,Magnesium,AluminiumZinc,Iron,Tin,Lead,Copper,Silver,Gold Least reactive:Platinum

Obtaining metals from metal oxides

Carbon is a non-metal but it is more reactive than some metals. This means that some metals can be extracted from their metal oxides using carbon.

Less reactive metals than carbon can be extracted from their oxides by heating with carbon. In general:

metal oxide + carbon → metal + carbon dioxide

To extract copper, you mix copper oxide powder with carbon powder. You then heat the mixture strongly for a few minutes in a crucible.

After letting the crucible cool down, you tip the mixture into cold water. Pieces of brown copper sink to the bottom, leaving unreacted powder suspended in the water.

These equations represent the reaction:

copper oxide + carbon → copper + carbon dioxide

2CuO + C → 2Cu + CO2

Extracting iron from iron oxide

Iron is less reactive than carbon, so it can be extracted from iron oxide using carbon. This is done on an industrial scale in a huge container called a blast furnace.

Lumps of iron oxide are mixed with carbon and dropped into the top of the blast furnace. Hot air is blasted in at the bottom. The oxygen in the air reacts with the carbon, forming carbon monoxide:

carbon + oxygen → carbon monoxide

2C +O2 → 2CO

It is hot enough in the blast furnace for the carbon monoxide to react with the iron oxide:

iron oxide + carbon monoxide → iron + carbon dioxide

Fe2O3 + 3CO → 2Fe + 3CO2