Two metals. Two completely different extraction stories. One costs pennies — the other costs a fortune. Why?
🔥 The Blast Furnace — Iron's Fiery Birthplace
Imagine a 30-metre steel tower running at 1500°C. You're not melting iron out — you're stealing the oxygen away from it using carbon monoxide as a molecular pickpocket. The ore goes in the top; liquid iron drips from the bottom.
Step 1
Coke Burns
C + O₂ → CO₂
Coke (carbon) ignites in the hot air blast, releasing enormous heat.
Step 2
CO Forms
C + CO₂ → 2CO
More coke reacts with CO₂ to make CO — the actual reducing agent.
Step 3
Iron Reduced
Fe₂O₃ + 3CO → 2Fe + 3CO₂
CO steals oxygen from the iron ore. Iron is reduced. CO is oxidised to CO₂.
🎯 Examiner Trap: Limestone
Limestone (CaCO₃) is NOT a reducing agent. It decomposes: CaCO₃ → CaO + CO₂. Then CaO reacts with sandy impurities (SiO₂): CaO + SiO₂ → CaSiO₃ (slag). Slag floats on molten iron and is tapped off separately.
🗂️ The Ultimate Sorter
Drag each word into the correct process bucket. Sort all 10 to unlock your score.