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Most metals are present in the crust as compounds e.g. metal oxides. The metal has to be extracted and refined.
Definition: Rocks which contain enough of a metal compound to be worth extracting the metal, are called ores.
The least reactive metals (Platinum, Gold, Silver) can be found as the native metal, not chemically combined with anything else.
Getting the metal out of the ore requires some chemistry. If the metal is less reactive than carbon, then carbon can be used to displace the metal.
2 PbO + C 2 Pb + CO2
Reduction is a reaction in which oxygen is removed. We say that the lead oxide has been reduced by the carbon. (We can also say that the carbon has been oxidised, since it gained the oxygen) Carbon is used to do these reactions because it is cheap and readily available coke (from coal) is mostly carbon, and charcoal (from wood) can also be used.
In general, any more reactive metal (or carbon) can displace a less reactive metal from its compounds
haematite
Iron ore (haematite) contains iron oxide, from which the iron is extracted. Coke is used as a source of carbon to reduce the iron ore, and limestone is added to remove impurities. A blast of hot air provides the oxygen required. The iron which is made is called cast iron. It is molten, so it can be removed from the bottom of the blast furnace and poured into moulds to solidify.
Molten iron from the blast furnace can be cooled in moulds and solidified. The pig iron is very brittle and not much use. It contains about 4% carbon and 96% iron. Pig iron can be purified to make pure iron. The atoms in pure iron are arranged in regular layers, which can easily slide over each other. This makes the pure iron very soft and easily shaped too soft for most uses. atoms in pure iron To make iron more useful, we add small amounts of other elements. This has the effect of disrupting the regular structure of iron atoms, so the layers cant slide over each other. The resulting material is much stronger.
atoms in an alloy
We call a metal that has had other elements added an alloy Iron that has been alloyed with other elements is called steel.
Properties Low Carbon - Soft, not easily shattered, malleable High Carbon Very strong but brittle
Uses Knives, machinery, ships, containers, structural steel for buildings - Cheap
Mild steel (one type of low carbon steel with less than 0.1% carbon)
very easily pressed into shape Mass production, e.g. making car bodies Cheap
Rusting occurs when iron reacts with oxygen in the air, in the presence of water. Rust is hydrated iron oxide. Many steels (except the most expensive ones) will rust because they contain a high proportion of iron, for example the mild steel used in car bodies.
Rusting can be prevented in two ways: - Providing a protective layer e.g. of paint, or oil over the metal to keep it apart from air, water etc. - Using alloys containing a high proportion of chromium (stainless steels) which makes them resistant to rusting. This spanner wont rust because the steel used is an alloy containing a high proportion of chromium and vanadium
Once the protective paint layer is removed, mild steel rusts readily
Metals or alloys which dont contain iron dont rust. Instead if they are attacked by substances such as oxygen in the air we call this CORROSION.
Iron is not the only metal which is alloyed to give it more useful properties:
Transition Metals
The Transition Metals are a fairly unreactive block of elements in the centre of the Periodic Table. They have typical metal properties, and have a wide range of uses that rely on these properties.
Transition metals are: very good conductors of electricity very good conductors of heat hard, tough strong easily bent or hammered into useful shapes (malleable) able to resist high temperatures (very high melting point) (Mercury, Hg, is a liquid at room temperature)
Co
Cr
Ti
Ni
Fe
Cu
Chromium plating
Copper wiring
The reason copper is used for electrical wiring is not simply because it conducts electricity all metals conduct electricity. It is because it can be drawn out into wires easily (it is ductile), and the wires are fairly resistant to corrosion. Copper has a high melting point so the wires can stand getting hot without melting. Copper does have very good electrical conductivity. Silver or gold would be even better, but they are not used for wires because they are too expensive. The reason copper is used for plumbing pipes is because copper can be bent and shaped easily (malleable). Copper doesnt react with water, and resists corrosion fairly well. It can be used to carry hot liquids because its melting point is high.
a copper mine
Electrolysis uses huge amounts of electricity, and costs a lot. The heat required for smelting also requires a lot of energy and this process is therefore expensive.
Phytomining
In the future we will need to extract copper from very lowgrade ores (containing only a little copper). Scientists are developing ways of using plants to extract the copper. This could be a lot cheaper and a lot greener. Plants take up the copper from the soil which contains the metal ore, through their roots. When fully grown, the plant material containing the copper is burnt, and the ash produced is smelted to yield the metal.
Bioleaching
Bacteria can also be used to extract metals from low-grade ores. The bacteria feed on the ore, releasing the metal ions into a leachate solution from which they can be collected and extracted by electrolysis.
Titanium is not particularly reactive, so we could displace it from its ore using
carbon. However carbon reacts with the titanium, making it brittle. Instead we obtain titanium from its ore by displacing it using a more reactive metal, such as sodium. We get the sodium metal using electrolysis.
Titanium also forms an oxide layer which protects it, like aluminium. This makes it resistant to corrosion. Remember ! Electrolysis is expensive because we need to use high temperatures to melt the ores, and a great deal of electricity.
Al
Aluminium and Titanium are used when we need metals or alloys which are strong but light, and do not corrode Note: Aluminium is NOT a transition metal !
Ti
Aluminium very light (low density) excellent conductor protective oxide layer (resistant to corrosion) not very strong BUT alloys are rigid and strong
Titanium very strong very resistant to corrosion protective oxide layer denser than aluminium BUT less dense than most transition metals extremely high melting point
Uses: Cans, cooking foil, pans High voltage cables Aeroplanes and space vehicles
Uses: High performance aircraft bodies Racing bikes Jet engine parts High temp. pipes e.g. nuclear reactors Alloys for artificial hip joints
Al
always cheaper for us to recycle metals than to extract new metals from their ores especially when we need to use large amounts of energy to extract them, such as for aluminium.
Recycling metal conserves resources of metal ores. Because less energy is required, it also saves on the use of fuels (conserving crude oil or coal reserves) and reduces the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (helping to limit Global Warming).