Extracting metals Flashcards
What happens to ores
They are mined and may be concentrated before the metal is extracted and purified
What do most metals that are found as compounds require
Chemical reactions to extract the metal
How can metals less reactive than carbon be extracted from their oxides
By reduction with carbon
Give an example of this
Iron oxide is reduced in the blast furnace to make iron
How are metals that are more reactive than carbon such as aluminium extracted
By electrolysis of molten compounds
Use large amounts of energy so expensive
How can copper be extracted from copper rich ores
By heating the ores in a furnace
Smelting
Copper purified by electrolysis
What is bio leaching
Used bacteria to procure leachate solutions that contain metal compounds
What is phitomining
Using plants to absorb metal compounds you then burn the plants to produce ash which contains metal compounds
How do you get copper from solutions of copper salts
By displacement using scrap iron
Why recycle metals?
Mining uses lots of fossil fuels
Current methods of extracting aluminium and titanium from their oxides are expensive why?
Many stages in process
Large amounts of energy needed
How much iron from the blast furnace contains iron
96%
Impurities make it brittle So it has limited uses
What are steels
Alloys since they are mixtures of iron with carbon
Properties of low carbon steel
Easily shaped
Used in carbides
Properties of high carbon steel
Hard and flexible
Used in things needing stability (bridge)
