Extracting iron

The blast furnace

Iron is extracted from iron ore in a huge container called a blast furnace. It is a steel tower about 30 metres
high and lined with refractory bricks.
Raw materials for the reaction

Raw material Contains Function

Iron ore
(haematite) Iron(III) oxide A compound that contains iron

Burns in air to produce heat, and reacts to form carbon

Coke Carbon monoxide (needed to reduce the iron oxide)

Calcium Helps to remove acidic impurities from the iron by reacting

Limestone carbonate with them to form molten slag

Air Oxygen Allows the coke to burn, and so produces heat

Charging of the furnace

The furnace is loaded with the “charge”, which consists of iron ore, coke and lime stone.

Formation of reducing agent ( CO )

Blast of hot air is sent in through holes near the bottom of the furnace. The carbon burns in the hot air to form
carbon dioxide. This reaction is exothermic. The heat released helps heat the furnace.
C + O2 → CO2
The carbon dioxide reacts with the coke to form carbon monoxide. It is an endothermic reaction.
CO2 + C → 2 CO

Reduction of iron ore

Iron ores such as haematite contain iron(III) oxide, Fe2O3. The oxygen must be removed from the iron(III)
oxide in order to leave the iron behind. Reactions in which oxygen is removed are called reduction reactions.
Carbon is more reactive than iron, so it can displace iron from iron(III) oxide.
However,
In the blast furnace, it is so hot that carbon monoxide can be used, in place of carbon, to reduce the iron(III)
oxide:
iron(III) oxide + carbon monoxide → iron + carbon dioxide
Fe2O3(s) + 3CO(s) → 2Fe(l) + 3CO2(g)
Iron produced flows to the bottom of the furnace where it can be “tapped off “ because the temperature at
the bottom of the furnace is higher than the melting point of iron.

Removing impurities
The calcium carbonate in the limestone thermally decomposes to form calcium oxide.
calcium carbonate → calcium oxide + carbon dioxide
CaCO3(s) → CaO(s) + CO2(g)

The calcium oxide then reacts with silica (sand) impurities in the haematite, to produce slag - which is calcium
silicate.

calcium oxide + silica → calcium silicate

CaO(s) + SiO2(s) → CaSiO3(l)
This reaction is a neutralisation reaction. Calcium oxide is basic (as it is a metal oxide) and silica is acidic (as it is
a non-metal oxide).

A molten slag forms a layer on top of the iron. It does not mix with the iron because it is less dense. Molten
slag is tapped off separately. When solidified, it is used by builders and road makers.

The hot waste gases escape from the top of the furnace. They are used in heat exchangers to heat the
incoming air. This help to reduce the energy costs of the process.