Download Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe (L

Extraction of iron ore
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe (L.: Ferrum)
and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4
metal. Iron is notable for being the final element produced
by stellar nucleosynthesis, and thus the heaviest element
which does not require a supernova or similarly cataclysmic
event for its formation. It is therefore the most abundant
heavy metal in the universe.
Notable characteristics
Iron is the most abundant metal on Earth, and is believed to
be the tenth most abundant element in the universe. Iron is
also the second most abundant element by mass, making up
34% of the mass of the Earth; the concentration of iron in
the various layers of the Earth ranges from high at the inner
core to about 5% in the outer crust. It is possible the Earth's
inner core consists of a single iron crystal, although it is
more likely to be a mixture of iron and nickel. The large
amount of iron in
the Earth is thought to create its magnetic field.
Iron is a metal extracted from iron ore, and is almost never
found in the free elemental state. In order to obtain
elemental iron, the impurities must be removed by chemical
reduction. Iron is used in the production of steel, an alloy or
solid solution of different metals, and some non-metals,
particularly carbon.
Nuclei of iron have some of the highest binding energies per
nucleon, surpassed only by the nickel isotope 62Ni. The
universally most abundant of the highly stable nucleides is,
however, 56Fe. This is formed by nuclear fusion in the stars.
Although a further tiny energy gain could be extracted by
synthesizing 62Ni, conditions in stars are not right for this
process to be favoured. [citation needed] When a very large star
contracts at the end of its life, internal pressure and
temperature rise, allowing the star to produce progressively
heavier elements, despite these being less stable than the
elements around mass number 60, known as the "iron
group". This leads to a supernova.
Some cosmological models with an open universe predict
that there will be a phase where as a result of slow fusion
and fission reactions, everything will become iron.
↑
Fe
↓
Ru
Applications
Iron is the most used of all the metals, comprising 95 percent of all the metal
tonnage produced worldwide. Its combination of low cost and high strength mak
indispensable, especially in applications like automobiles, the hulls of large ship
structural components for buildings. Steel is the best known alloy of iron, and s
of the forms that iron can take include:


Pig iron has 4% – 5% carbon and contains varying amounts of contamin
such as sulfur, silicon and phosphorus. Its only significance is that of an
intermediate step on the way from iron ore to cast iron and steel.
Cast iron contains 2% – 4.0% carbon , 1% – 6% silicon , and small amo
of manganese. Contaminants present in pig iron that negatively affect th
material properties, such as sulfur and phosphorus, have been reduced t
acceptable level. It has a melting point in the range of 1420–1470 K, wh
lower than either of its two main components, and makes it the first prod
to be melted when carbon and iron are heated together. Its mechanical
properties vary greatly, dependent upon the form carbon takes in the all
'White' cast irons contain their carbon in the form of cementite, or iron
carbide. This hard, brittle compound dominates the mechanical propertie
white cast irons, rendering them hard, but unresistant to shock. The bro
surface of a white cast iron is full of fine facets of the broken carbide, a v
pale, silvery, shiny material, hence the appellation. In grey iron, the carb
exists free as fine flakes of graphite , and also, renders the material britt
due to the stress-raising nature of the sharp edged flakes of graphite. A
variant of grey iron, referred to as ductile iron is specially treated with tr
amounts of magnesium to alter the shape of graphite to sheroids, or nod
vastly increasing the toughness and strength of the material.
period
Extraction of Iron.
Iron is extracted from its ore in the blast furnace.
The main iron ore is called hematite. Hematite is iron(III) oxide - Fe2O3.
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.
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
Source of information. From Internet