How is iron extracted from its ore?
A. via Blast Furnace Common iron ores are hematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4). Since, iron is below carbon in the reactivity series, iron in the ore is reduced to iron metal by heating with carbon (coke). It is actually carbon monoxide which does the reducing in the blast furnace. Iron ore is reduced to iron by heating them with coke (a form of carbon) in blast furnace. The iron ore contains impurities, mainly silica (silicon dioxide). Limestone (calcium carbonate) is added to the iron ore which reacts with the silica to form molten calcium silicate in the blast furnace. The calcium silicate (called slag) floats on the liquid iron. The air blown into the bottom of the blast furnace is heated using the hot waste gases from the top. Heat energy is valuable, and it is important to conserve heat energy. The coke (produced by heating coal in the absence of air) burns in the blast of hot air to form carbon dioxide; exothermic reaction releases heat. This reaction is the main source of hea
