EXTRACTION OF

METALS
CONTENT
S
METAL IN
EVERYDAY
LIFE
Clockwise from top left: steel hammer, wrench, screws, key and
lock, silver cutlery, iron frying pan, aluminum pop can, tin
watering can, brass tap, gold ring, copper tea pot
PROPERTIES OF METAL
POSITION OF METAL
 METAL IN EARTH’S CRUST

LAYERS OF EARTH COMPOSITION OF ELEMENTS IN THE EARTH’S CRUST

Most of the elements are not found in free
state because of their reactive tendencies.

Potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium,

aluminium, zinc, iron, lead etc. are the metals
found in combined state.

But some metals like Ag, Au, Cu, Pt and Hg

exist in free state – least reactive.
 ORES??
Ores are naturally occurring mineral
from which a metal can be extracted.

Bauxite

All ores are minerals, but all

 POLYMETALLIC NODULES (ALSO
KNOWN AS MANGANESE
NODULES)
 Rocks on seabed

 Rich in metals like

manganese, nickel
and cobalt.
 EXTRACTION OF METAL
 Ores - Raw materials for making metals.
Metallurgy, art and science of
extracting metals from their
ores and modifying the metals
for use.
EXTRACTION OF METAL IS BASED ON THE
REACTIVITY SERIES
Metals below carbon can be
extracted from their ores
using reduction with carbon
 WHAT IS REDUCTION?
Metals are often found combined with oxygen as oxides. To
obtain the metal, the oxygen must be removed.
The removal of oxygen from a substance is called
reduction.

metal oxide (in ore) reduction metal

Carbon can be used to extract metals by

reduction.
carbon
lead oxide + carbon  lead + monoxide
PbO + C  Pb + CO
ORES OF
IRON

Iron pyrite-
Fool’s gold
First, geologists test rocks and
analyse the results, to find out how
much hematite there is. If the tests
are satisfactory, mining begins.
Mining of hematite
FLOWCHART FOR EXTRACTION OF
IRON
CONCENTRATION OF IRON
ORES
Concentration of ores- The process of
removing impurities (gangue) from ores.

Concentration of Fe ores: hydraulic washing

and magnetic separation.
EXTRACTION OF IRON FROM
HEMATITE
The raw materials in the blast furnace are

Hematite- iron(III) oxide/(Fe O ) – major ore of Fe, containing more than 60%
2 3

Fe.

Limestone – mineral form of calcium carbonate (CaCO ), removes the main

3

impurity in the iron ore which is silicon dioxide (silicon(IV) oxide).

The impurities associated with ore is called as

gangue
Flux is the cleansing agent to remove the
Other
Coke – form of carbon made by
heating coal, act as fuel (source
of heat) and reducing agent
Hot Air
Blast Furnace
  The blast furnace – steel tower – about 30

meters high.

 The tower is lined by heat resistant bricks of

Magnesium oxide, cooled by water.

Hematite, Limestone and Coke are called as

charge (the mixture of materials fed to a
furnace for obtaining the metal is called
charge).

Reduction of Fe ore into Fe in the blast furnace

 EXTRACTION STEPS IN FURNACE
Furnace is loaded with ‘charge’ of raw materials

The charge is sintered (the ore is heated with coke and limestone)

A blast of hot air enters the furnace through holes near the bottom called as
Tuyeres

Series of reactions takes place to form molten Iron

CHEMICAL REACTION IN
FURNANCE
LABEL ???
Fe obtained is 95% pure
Other impurities: mostly carbon, sulfur, manganese,

silicon and phosphorus

The iron obtained by this process is known as ‘pig’

iron or crude iron.

 Molten iron

Pig iron/crude iron

 Pig iron/crude iron

Cast iron Steel

Percentage of carbon , less than 0.45 %
Carbon Steel
Percentage of carbon , more than 2 %

Percentage of carbon , less than 2 %

Some is run into moulds to make cast iron, hard and brittle.

The cast iron produced by this process has limited use.

Gas cylinders and drain covers are sometimes made of cast

iron.

The majority of the iron produced in the blast furnace is

converted into different steel (alloy of Fe, C and certain metal

elements).
CAST IRON AND CARBON STEEL
STEEL
 STEEL MAKING
BASIC OXYGEN PROCESS

1) Molten pig iron from the blast

furnace, scrap steel (recycling) and 2) A water-cooled ‘lance’ is introduced into
lime (CaO) is poured into the basic the furnace and oxygen at 5–15 atm pressure
oxygen furnace (also called as tilting is blown onto the surface of the molten
furnaces). metal.
 Carbon is oxidised to carbon monoxide
and carbon dioxide, while sulfur is
oxidised to sulfur dioxide. These
escape as gases.
 Silicon and phosphorus are oxidised to
silicon(iv) oxide and phosphorus (v)
pentoxide, which are solid oxides.
 Calcium oxide (lime) removes these
solid oxides as slag.
3) The molten steel and then slag are poured
from the furnace by tilting in different
directions.

The basic oxygen furnace can convert up to 300 tonnes of pig iron to steel per hour
BASIC OXYGEN PROCESS
Corrosion is degradation of metal and
alloys surfaces, chemically attacked by
oxygen, water or any other substances
found in their immediate environment.

Most of the metals corrode

Corrosion of iron and steel is called

known rusting.
•Rusting is a chemical reaction between iron, water and oxygen to
form hydrated iron(III)oxide.
•Oxygen and water must be present for rusting to occur
•Rusting is a redox process and it occurs faster in salty water since
the presence of sodium chloride speeds up the reaction
Iron + Water + Oxygen → Hydrated Iron(III) Oxide
4Fe (s) + 3O2 (g) + xH2O (l) → 2Fe2O3.xH2O (s)
Why Aluminium being more
reactive, does not corrode in
the damaging way, that
iron does?
 Rust formed in flakes

Iron
 RUST PREVENTION
S. Methods Where?
No.
1 Painting Ships, lorries, cars, bridges and many
other iron and steel structures are
painted to prevent rusting.
2 Oiling and greasing The iron and steel in the moving parts of
machinery are coated with oil to prevent
them from coming into contact with air or
moisture.
3 Plastic coatings The exteriors of refrigerators, freezers
and many other items are coated with
plastic, such as PVC, to prevent the steel
structure rusting
S. No. Methods

4 Electroplating
5 Galvanising
6 Sacrificial protection
Electroplating is a process of electrolysis
where the surface of one metal is plated
with a layer of a different metal.

 The metal being used to coat is a less

reactive metal than the one it is covering
 The anode is made from the pure metal used
to coat
 The cathode is the object to be
electroplated
 The electrolyte is an aqueous solution of a
soluble salt of the metal.
ELECTROPLATING OF METAL USING COPPER

CuSO4

CuSO4= Copper
sulphate
 USES OF ELECTROPLATING
•Electroplating is done to make metals
more resistant to corrosion or damage, e.g:
chromium, tin and nickel plating.
•It is also done to improve the appearance of
metals, e.g: silver plating cutlery
 Sacrificial protection
Sacrificial protection is the protection of iron or steel against
corrosion by using a more reactive metal.
Pieces of zinc or magnesium alloy are attached to pump bodies, oil
rigs and ship hulls.
The magnesium or zinc will donate its electrons to the iron
preventing it from rusting.
Iron which is oxidises will immediately be reduced back to iron.
The protected metal becomes the cathode and does not corrode.
The anode corrodes, providing the desired sacrificial protection.
Sacrificial protection
galvanising
 Zinc Extraction

The most common zinc

ore is sphalerite (zinc
blende), a zinc sulfide
mineral.

Sphalerite (zinc blende)

FLOWCHART FOR EXTRACTION OF
ZINC
Concentration of ZnS (Froth flotation)

The crushed ore is fed into tanks of water containing

a chemical frothing agent.
Air is blown through so that the whole mixture froths
up.
The rock particles become soaked with water and sink
to the bottom of the tank.
The zinc sulfide particles are wetted with pine oil and
carried to the top of the tank by the froth bubbles
and are skimmed off and dried.
This ore now contains 55–75% of zinc sulphide.
Concentration of ZnS (Froth flotation)
 Roasting
The zinc blende is first converted to zinc oxide by heating
strongly with air (Roasting)
2ZnS (s) + 3O2 (g) → 2ZnO (s) + 2SO2 (g)

REDUCTION
Zinc oxide is heated at 1400 °C in blast furnace with coke
(reducing agent)
ZnO (s) + C (s) → Zn (g) + CO (g)
Zinc produced is in
the gaseous state

This passes out of the

furnace and is cooled
and condensed in a tray
placed at the top of the
furnace

BLAST
FURNACE
 USES OF ZINC
•Zinc is used in galvanising, the process of
coating a metal such as iron or steel with a
protective coating of zinc to prevent corrosion
or rusting
•Electrodes in batteries
•Zinc is also used to make an alloy called brass
•Brass contains 70% copper and 30% zinc
•The addition of zinc makes the alloy
much harder and more corrosion resistant than
copper alone
 ELECTROLYSI
S
Electrolysis: The breakdown of an ionic compound,
molten or in aqueous solution, by the passage of
electricity.

Covalent compounds cannot conduct electricity hence

they do not undergo electrolysis

Ionic compounds in the solid state cannot conduct

electricity either since they have no free ions that
can move and carry the charge.
 KEY TERMS
Electrode is a rod of metal or graphite through which an electric
current flows into or out of an electrolyte
Electrolyte is the ionic compound in molten or dissolved solution
that conducts the electricity
Anode is the positive electrode of an electrolysis cell
Anion is a negatively charged ion which is attracted to the anode
Cathode is the negative electrode of an electrolysis cell
Cation is a positively charged ion which is attracted to the cathode
Half reaction Half reaction
for oxidation for reduction

Electrolytic cell
Electrolysis of molten Lead bromide
 Reaction at electrodes
Solution Product at anode Product at cathode

Lead (II) Bromide 2Br- Br2 + 2e- Pb2+ + 2e- Pb

(PbBr2)

Bromine Lead atoms get

vapors/Bromine gas deposited on cathode
 From rocks to rocketsc
 Aluminium is the most abundant metal in
the Earth’s crust.

 Its main ore is bauxite, which is aluminium

oxide or alumina (Al2O3), with impurities
such as sand and iron oxide.

 The iron oxide gives it red-brown color.

Bauxite
FLOWCHART FOR EXTRACTION OF
ALUMINIUM
 Hall-Heroult Process
 The bauxite is treated with NaOH to obtain pure aluminium
oxide or alumina.

 Aluminium oxide is insoluble in water and melts at high

temperature (2045 °C).

 The alumina is dissolved in molten cryolite, or sodium aluminium

fluoride (Na3AlF6), to lower the operating temperature of the
electrolytic cell (reduced to 900-1000 0C).

 Molten mixture of Al2O3 and cryolite is electrolysed in a cell

fitted with graphite electrodes.
CHEMISTRY OF Hall-Heroult Process
Molten aluminium from the tank is run into these moulds, to make blocks
WHY EXTRACTION OF ALUMINIUM IS
EXPENSIVE?