Iron is extracted from its ore haematite (\(Fe_2O_3\)) by :
Reduction with coke (carbon) in a blast furnace
Iron is a moderately reactive metal, so unlike highly reactive metals such as aluminium or sodium, it does not require electrolysis for extraction. Simply heating the ore alone, without a reducing agent, will not remove the oxygen bonded to iron, and dissolving it in dilute acid is not an industrial extraction method.
Instead, haematite (\(Fe_2O_3\)) is heated in a blast furnace with coke, which acts as the reducing agent. The carbon (and the carbon monoxide it forms) reduces the iron oxide, removing the oxygen and leaving behind molten iron, following the reaction \(Fe_2O_3 + 3CO \rightarrow 2Fe + 3CO_2\).
Therefore, iron is extracted by reduction with coke (carbon) in a blast furnace.
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