ChemistryCode 5070
Extraction of metals
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- Outline how easily a metal can be obtained from its ores, linked to where that metal sits in the reactivity series
- Describe how iron is extracted from hematite in a blast furnace, including a symbol equation for every step, limited to: burning carbon (coke) to give heat and form carbon dioxide; reducing carbon dioxide to form carbon monoxide; reducing iron(III) oxide with carbon monoxide; breaking down calcium carbonate/limestone by heat (thermal decomposition) to give calcium oxide; and the formation of slag
- Describe how purified bauxite/aluminium oxide is used to extract aluminium, including: what cryolite does, why the carbon anodes have to be replaced regularly, and the reactions at each electrode, including ionic half-equations