Extraction of Metals

... IRON AND STEEL Extracting iron from iron ore using a Blast Furnace Introduction> The common ores of iron are both iron oxides, and these can be reduced to iron by heating them with carbon in the form of coke. Coke is produced by heating coal in the absence of air.> Coke is cheap and provides both the reducing agent for the reaction and also the heat source. Iron ores> The most commonly used iron ores are haematite, Fe2O3, and magnetite, Fe3O4. The Blast Furnace The heat source> The air blown into the bottom of the furnace is heated using the hot waste gases from the top. Heat energy is valuable, and it is important not to waste any.> The coke (essentially impure carbon) burns in the blast of hot air to form carbon dioxide - a strongly exothermic reaction. This reaction is the main source of heat in the furnace. The reduction of the ore> At

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