Chemistry - 1.3 - Extracting Metals - Revision Cards in GCSE Chemistry

C1.3.1 - Extracting Metals

Ore - rock containing metal or metal compound, mining ores involves digging up rock - lot is needed so produces lots of waste and effects environment
Unreactive metals - found as the metal and can be separated by physical methods (eg. Gold), most are found as compounds and have to be separated physically
Can be extracted by displacment, using a more reactive metal - less reactive than carbon = heated with carbon -> reduction reaction takes place - carbon removes oxygen from oxide = CO2 and metal

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Ores to make iron contain iron(III) oxide - reduced at high temperatures in blast furnace using carbon - iron produced is ~96% iron - impurities make it hard and brittle = only has a few uses as cast iron - can remove impurities, but becomes very soft
Most iron used to make steel - iron alloys = mixture of iron, carbon and other elements - can be made to have properties for specific uses - amount of carbon and other elements carefully adjusted - stainless steel has higher quantities of other metals so that it resists corrosion

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Aluminium - low density, resistant to corrosion though high in reactivity series, more reactive than carbon - can't be reduced using carbon - extraced through electrolysis - high temeperatures and large amounts of electricity needed = expensive
Pure aluminium = not very strong, aluminium alloys = stronger and harder, with many uses
Titanium - reisistant to corrosion, comparatively low density, reduced by carbon but becomes brittle - extracted through a by sodium or magnesium - theyare extracted by eletrolysis = lots of stages = expensive

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Extracted from copper-rich ores by smelting - heated in a furnace, produces impure copper - purified by electrolysis, needs lots of energy to heat, low in copper-rich ores - scientists developing new ways to extract copper from low-grade ores - less environmental impact
Phytomining - plants absorb copper compounds from the ground, plants are burned and copper can be extracted from ash
Bioleaching - bacteria produce solutions containing copper compounds
Copper compound solutions - > copper - can react with more reactive metal than copper to displace it or use electrolysis

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Transition metals - middle of periodic table, have similar properties, good conductors of heat and electricity, strong but can be bend or hammered into shapes - useful for buildings, vehicles, containers, pipes and wires
Copper - good heat conductor, doesn't react with water, can be bent but hard enough to keep its shape - useful for pipes and tanks in water or heating systems, good electrical conductor - useed for electrical wires
Most metals used aren't pure - pure iron, copper, gold and aluminium are easily bent so often mixed with harder metals to make alloys
Iron -> steel
Gold in jewelley is an alloy
Aluminium in buildings and aircrafts is an alloy
Copper -> bronze and brass

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Mining ores - involves digging up and producing lots rock - makes a lot of waste -> effects large areas of the environment
Recycling saves energy - no need to extract the metal, less ore needs to be mined, no fossils fuels needed to provide energy to extract the metal from it's ore
Advs of using metals in construction - strong, bent into shape, make flexible wires, good electrical conductors
Disadvs of using metal in construction - extracting metal from ores causes pollution and uses limited resources, other materials are cheaper eg. concrete, iron and steel rust

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