Metals and Metallurgical

Principles:
Characteristics of metals, non-metals and metalloids: Elements are
classified into metals, non-metals and metalloids.

1. Metals: All elements except hydrogen, which form positive ions by

losing electrons during chemical reactions are called metals. Thus
metals are electropositive elements.
They are characterized by bright lustre, hardness, and are excellent
conductors of heat and electricity. Metals are solids under normal
conditions except for Mercury. They are ductile (can be drawn into
wire) and malleable (can be beaten into very thin sheets).
 Contd…

2. Non-metals: Elements that tend to gain electrons to form anions

during chemical reactions are called non-metals. These are
electronegative elements. They are non-lustrous, brittle and poor
conductors of heat and electricity (except graphite). Non-metals can be
gaseous, liquids or solids.

3. Metalloids: Elements that behave like both metals and non-metals

are called metalloids.
 Common metal, non-metals and metalloids:

Metals Non-metals Metalloids

Gold Oxygen Silicon

Silver Carbon Boron

Copper Hydrogen Arsenic

Iron Nitrogen Antimony

Mercury Sulphur Germanium

Zinc Phosphorus
 Minerals and ores:

The natural substances in which the metals or their compounds occur in the earth are
called minerals. Ores are minerals from which metals are conveniently and
economically extracted. All the ores are minerals, but all the minerals are not ores.

For example, iron is found in the crust of the earth as oxides, carbonates and
sulphides. Out of these minerals of iron, oxides of iron are employed in the
extraction of the metal. Thus oxides of iron are called ores of the iron.
 For example, Minerals of Sodium

1. Albite (soda feldspar) -NaAlSi3O8

2. Borax - Na2B2O7.10H2O
3. Glauber's salt- Na2SO4.10H2O
4. Sodium chloride, (common salt) found as rock salt, in sea water and in lakes.
5. Sodium nitrate- (NaNO3) as chile saltpetre.
Out of these minerals only NaCl has been used economically to extract metal and
hence NaCl is an ore of sodium.
 Alloys
• An alloy is a homogeneous mixture of two or more metals or metals and non-
metals.
• An alloy possesses metallic properties and prepared to get a product possessing
desirable properties which the constituents elements do not possess. Some
common examples are
• Brass = copper and zinc
• Bronze = copper and Tin
• German silver = copper, zinc and nickel
• Steel = iron and carbon
• Stainless steel = iron, chromium and carbon
• On the basis of presence of iron alloys can be classified as ferrous and non ferrous
alloys.
Uses of alloys
Alloys are generally made to impart one of the following special properties.
a. To increase hardness
b. To increase the strength
c. To improve colour
d. To lower melting point of metals
e. To resist the corrosion
Amalgams
a homogeneous mixture of metals with mercury is called amalgam. It is also defined
as an alloy containing mercury as one of the constituent. For example Sodium
amalgam (NaHg), Zinc amalgam (ZnHg) etc.
Different process involved in metallurgical process:

The various processes involved in the extraction of metals from their ores and
refining are known as metallurgy.

Different process involved in metallurgical process

The actual process of extraction of a metal from its ore depends upon the nature of
the ore and the metal. There is no universally operational method for the extraction
of metals. Metallurgy is of three types
 Contd…
A. Pyro metallurgy: – It is the method of extraction of metals from the ore by chemical reduction
at very high temperature.
(Ore)Fe2O3 + C → Fe + CO2
B. Electro metallurgy:-It is the method of extraction of metals from the ore by electrolytic
reduction in molten state or in aqueous solution.
(Ore) NaCl(l) → (electrolysis) Na+ + Cl-
At cathode: Na+ + e- → Na
C. Hydrometallurgy: – It is the method of extraction of metals from the ore by dissolving the ore
with suitable aqueous reagent and subsequent precipitation of the metal by other active metal.
Example:
Ag2S + aq. 4NaCN → 2Na[Ag(CN)2] + Na2S
2Na[Ag(CN)2] + Zn → Na2[Zn(CN)4] + Ag
Steps involved in a metallurgical process
The extraction of a metal from its ore involves the following steps:

a. Mining of ore:
Most ores generally occur deep inside the Earth. Some may occur only a few metres
under the earth's surface. 'Mining' is the process of taking out the ores from the
mines. When an ore occurs near the surface of the Earth, it can be directly dug out.
b. Crushing of the ore:
Extracted ore often occurs in big lumps. It is essential to break it into smaller pieces.
The lumps are crushed to smaller pieces by hammering in a hammer mill or by help
of a jaw-crusher.
c. Grinding and pulverization of the crushed ore:
The crushed ore is then finally pulverized to fine powder state in a stamp mill or a
pulveriser.
d. Concentration of the ore (ore dressing)

The removal of the undesired foreign impurities i.e., gangue, from the
ore is called concentration of the ore. Either of the following methods
is used for concentrating the ores:
1. Hand picking:
If the impurities present are quite distinct from the ore, and are of large
size, these may be removed by hand picking. This method is slow and is
generally adopted in the initial stages of concentration.
2. Gravity or levigation method:

The gravity separation is based on the difference in the density of the ore and the
impurities. This method of separation is used for the concentration of oxides ores
like bauxite,Al2O3.2H2O, heamatite,Fe2O3etc.

In this process the powdered ore is dropped from the top and washed with upward
stream of running stream of water. The heavy ore particles settle down while lighter
impurities are washed away( as shown in diagram).
Fig. gravity separation method
3. Magnetic separation:

Magnetic separation is done especially in the case of haematite ore,

whereby the powdered ore is dropped on to leather or brass conveyer
belt, which moves over two rollers one of these rollers, is magnetic.
When the ore passes over the magnetic roller, it sticks to the belt due to
the force of attraction and falls nearer due to the force of attraction of
the magnetized roller. The gangue falls over readily, further away. The
ore and the magnetic impurity are collected as two separate heaps.
Fig: - Magnetic separation
 4. Froth flotation process:

This process is used for concentrating sulphide ores, as such ores are preferentially
wetted by oil while the gangue particles are wetted by water.
Powdered ore is mixed with water and a little pine oil and the mixture is vigorously
stirred by passing compressed air. The froth, which is produced rises to the surface
and carries the ore particles along with it. The gangue is left behind
Fig: - The froth flotation process
5. Leaching process:

In this method, the ore is treated chemically with a suitable reagent like
acid, alkali or some other some suitable reagent. The compounds present
in the mineral dissolves while gangue remains unaffected.
For example, bauxite(Al2O3.2H2O) is purified by treating it with sodium
hydroxide. Aluminium oxide present in bauxite dissolves while gangue
remains unaffected.
The solution of NaAlO2 (sodium meta-aluminate) is then treated with
water, while the entire aluminium in the solution gets precipitated as
Al(OH)3

The precipitate of Al(OH)3 is removed, washed and heat to get pure

Al2O3.
∆
2Al(OH)3 → Al2O3 + H2O
e. Calcination:

The concentrated ore is converted into oxide by calcination i.e., heating

it strongly in the absence of air. This helps in removing volatile
impurities like CO2, SO2, organic matter, and moisture from the ore. For
example,
It removes moisture from bauxite.
it removes CO2 from carbonate ores e.g.,
f. Roasting:

In this process the ore (usually sulphide) is heated strongly, in the

presence of excess of air but below its melting temperature. The result is
It removes moisture, CO2, SO2 and organic matter.
The sulphide ore is converted partly into its oxide.
Differences between calcination and roasting
Calcination Roasting

1. It is the process of heating an ore below its 1. It is the process of heating an ore below its
melting point in the absence of air or limited melting point in the presence of excess of air in
supply of air in order to remove volatile impurities order to remove volatile impurities from the ore.
from the ore. (in order to oxidise)

2. Example: already done 2. Example: already done

g. Reduction:

In this process the metal oxide obtained from roasting or calcination is turned into
free metal by the reduction with different reagents according to the nature of the ore.
1. Carbon reduction (smelting) : It is a process in which carbon used for the
reduction of fused metal oxide into free metals. This method is used for the
extraction of metals like iron, copper, zinc, tin. In this process roasted or
calcined ore is mixed with suitable quantity of coke (carbon) and heated to a
very high temperature. This method is also called as smelting. This process is
carried mainly out in a blast furnace in a controlled supply of air.
ZnO +C Zn + CO
Fe2O3 + C 2Fe + 3CO
ZnO + C → Zn + CO
SnO2 + 2C → Sn + 2CO
PbO + C → Pb + CO
Fe2O3 + 3C → 2Fe + 3CO
During reduction, an additional reagent is also added to the ore to
remove the impurities still present in the ore. This additional reagent is
called flux. Flux combines with the impurities to form a fusible product
called slag.
Flux + Impurities → Slag
The selection of flux depends upon the nature of impurities. If
impurities are acidic in nature, the flux is basic, lime (CaO). On the
other hand, for basic impurities, are acidic flux such as silica (SiO2) is
used.
CaO + SiO2 → CaSiO3
 Differences between flux and slag

flux slag

1. Flux is a chemical substance that is added 1. Slag is a chemical substance that

along with carbon during smelting to is formed by the combination of
remove infusible impurities in order to the infusible impurities present in
form the fusible mass. the ore and a flux which is lighter
than molten metal.
2. It may be acidic or basic.
2. It is neutral compound.
3. Example of flux are CaO , FeO , SiO2
3. Example of flux are CaSiO3 ,
FeSiO3 .
3. Alumino thermite process:
The process of reduction of a metal oxide to the metal with the help of
aluminium powder as the reducing agent is called (aluminothermy or
Goldschmidt) thermite process. Aluminium is used as a reducing agent
for the extraction of chromium, manganese from their respective
oxides because aluminium is more electro positive then chromium and
manganese.
2Al + Cr2O3 → Al2O3 + 2Cr
8Al + 3Mn3O4 → Al2O3 + 9Mn
h. Refining of metals:
Purification of the metal is the last step in metallurgy.
Refining is based on the difference between the properties of metals
and their impurities.
i. Liquation
This method is used for refining metals having a low melting point.
e.g., tin, lead, bismuth
Process:
1. The metal to be refined is placed over the sloping hearth of a
furnace
2. The temperature of the furnace is maintained slightly above the
melting point of the metal
3. Pure metal melt and flow down
4. Impurities, having higher melting point, are left behind
ii.Distillation: This method is used for volatile metals having boiling
points lower than their impurities. e.g., zinc, mercury.

Process
1. The metal to be refined is heated above its boiling point
2. Impurities do not vaporise
3. Pure metal vaporises and is condensed
4. Impurities are left behind
iii. Poling:
Oxide impurity of impure metals can be purified by this method. Poles
of green wood are used to stir the molten crude metal sample. The
hydrocarbon organic matter in the poles acts as a reducing agent and
reduces the oxide impurities. This method is used for refining copper.
4Cu2O + CH4 → 8Cu + CO2 + 2H2O
iv. Electrolytic method:
A large number of metals e.g., copper, silver, gold, nickel etc. are
refined by this method. In an electrolytic cell the impure metal is made
anode and a thin strip of pure metal is made cathode. A solution of a
suitable salt of the concerned metal is used to fill the electrolytic cell.
On passing electricity, the anode undergoes dissolution while the pure
metal gets deposited at cathode. Insoluble impurities fall below the
anode in the form of anode mud.
Fig: - Electrolytic purification of a metal
Zone refining method:
When metals are required in a high degree of pure state, the zone
refining method is used. It is a technique for the purification of a
crystalline material and especially a metal in which a molten region
travels through the material to be refined, picks up impurities at its
advancing edge, and then allows the purified part to recrystallize at its
opposite edge.
Fig: zone refining