How is iron extracted from iron ore?

Answer 1

In order to obtain elemental iron, the impurities must be removed by chemical reduction.

Industrially, iron is extracted from its ores, principally hematite (nominally Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4) by a carbothermic reaction (reduction with carbon) in a blast furnace at temperatures of about 2000°C. In a blast furnace, iron ore, carbon in the form of coke, and a flux such as limestone are fed into the top of the furnace, while a blast of heated air is forced into the furnace at the bottom.

In the furnace, the coke reacts with oxygen in the air blast to produce carbon monoxide:

6 C + 3 O2 â†' 6 CO

The carbon monoxide reduces the iron ore (in the chemical equation below, hematite) to molten iron, becoming carbon dioxide in the process:

6 CO + 2 Fe2O3 â†' 4 Fe + 6 CO2

The flux is present to melt impurities in the ore, principally silicon dioxide sand and other silicates. Common fluxes include limestone (principally calcium carbonate) and dolomite (magnesium carbonate). Other fluxes may be used depending on the impurities that need to be removed from the ore. In the heat of the furnace the limestone flux decomposes to calcium oxide (quicklime):

CaCO3 â†' CaO + CO2

Then calcium oxide combines with silicon dioxide to form a slag.

CaO + SiO2 â†' CaSiO3

The slag melts in the heat of the furnace, which silicon dioxide would not have. In the bottom of the furnace, the molten slag floats on top of the more dense liquid iron, and spouts in the side of the furnace may be opened to drain off either the iron or the slag. The iron, once cooled, is called pig iron, while the slag can be used as a material in road construction or to improve mineral-poor soils for agriculture.

Answer 2

Iron is produced in a cupola furnace.Iron ore ,furnace coak scrap iron and limestone are put into the furnace in layers. The furnace is lit and when it gets to roughly 1750 degrees the cast iron is tapped out and put into moulds or ingots depending on what type of industry the iron is made for.There are a few different grades of iron adding carbon gives a better grade. I worked in an iron foundry for 31 years. Good luck

Answer 3

Iron ore consists of oxygen and iron atoms bonded together into molecules. To create pure iron, the ore must be smelted to remove the oxygen. Oxygen-iron bonds are strong, and to remove the iron from the oxygen, a stronger elemental bond must be presented to attach to the oxygen. Carbon is used, because the strength of a carbon-oxygen bond is greater than that of the iron-oxygen bond, at high temperatures. Thus, the iron ore must be powdered and mixed with coke, to be burnt in the smelting process

Answer 4

unlike the person above I'll give the simple version.

Iron ore, limestone and coke all get put in the top of a blast furnace, the pig iron is removed from the bottom and so is the iron.
tada!

Answer 5

Iron when found is in it`s impure state , to get pure iron it needs to be purified , this is done in a huge furnsed to maise where the temperture is increased to a very high degree thats melt the iron , to a liguid state , this liguid state iron is then flowed to molds where it is cooled , the rest ( byproduct ) is burned or used to make other things , normaly a catilist is used in this kind of furnist so the temperture can be increased in a short time and using less fuel ..

Answer 6

Working flow of iron ore processing
Before we talk about designing of iron ore processing plant, we need learn the working flow of iron ore processing first. Raw iron ore will be sent to primary crushing equipment first. In primary crushing equipment, we can crush them into small particles. After primary crushing, the secondary and tertiary crushing equipment will crush iron ores into the finesse size which is below 12mm. These relatively small iron ore particles enter ball mill for grinding through the elevator and vibrating feeder. After ball mill grinding, the milled ore gets the next procedure: classification. As different proportion of solid particles in the liquid precipitation at different speeds of the principle, so we can make use of flotation machine to get iron ore concentrates. Otherwise, in modern iron ore mining industry, making use of magnetic separation is the most widely used method.
Iron ore crushing plant
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Iron ore mining process
http://www.oregrinder.com/knowledge/iron-ore-mining-process.html
Ore beneficiation plant for iron
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http://www.millmaker.com/news/iron-ore-processing-plant-design.html

Answer 7

Heating with carbon (coke). Air is blown through the mixture to increase the temperature by burning some of the carbon.

Answer 8

Using a blast furnace, in the presence of carbon and limestone.