Which process is commonly used to extract iron, a metal in the middle of the activity series, from its ore?
Reduction with carbon (coke)
Metals in the middle of the activity series (Zn, Fe, Sn, Pb) are moderately reactive; their oxides can be reduced by carbon at high temperature.
Iron ore, mainly haematite \(Fe_2O_3\), is smelted in a blast furnace with coke and limestone. Coke burns to carbon monoxide, which then reduces the oxide: \(Fe_2O_3 + 3CO \rightarrow 2Fe + 3CO_2\).
Electrolytic reduction is reserved for highly reactive metals (Na, K, Al, Mg) whose oxides carbon cannot reduce economically.
Thermal decomposition alone gives the oxide, not the metal; hydrogen reduction is used only for a few metals like tungsten, not for bulk iron production.
Hence, iron is extracted by reduction with carbon (coke) in a blast furnace.
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