Extracting Metals
- Created by: adelesimpson
- Created on: 08-05-16 11:21
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- Extracting Metals
- Most metals exist as chemical compounds found in rocks - ores
- Need to be extracted from ores
- Ores must contain enough metal to make it economic to extract
- Ores are mined and may be concentrated before the metal is extracted and purified
- Gold and Platinum are found as pure elements as they've never reacted with other elements like oxygen
- Ores require chemical reaction to extract metals
- Extracted either by heating them with carbon or by electrolysis
- Iron is extracted by heating its ore
- Iron oxide with carbon in the form of coke inside a blast furnace
- Iron is reduced - oxygen is removed, carbon is oxidised in process
- Aluminium is extracted from its ore by electrolysis
- Positive aluminium ions move towards negative electrode
- More expensive method of extraction - requires large amounts of energy
- More reactive metals cost more to extract
- Most metals exist as chemical compounds found in rocks - ores
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