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Chapter 21: Problem 8

Describe the main steps used to purify metals.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The main steps used in metal purification are mining, concentration of ores, extraction of metals and, finally, refining or purification of the metals. Each step gradually removes impurities and increases the concentration of the metal in question, resulting in a pure sample of the metal.

Step by step solution

01

Mining

The first step of purification is actually obtaining the metal ores from the Earth. This process is referred to as mining. So, the metal ore is extracted from the earth's crust using suitable methods like open pit mining or underground mining depending upon the proximity of metal ore to the earth’s surface.
02

Concentration of ores

Once the ores are mined, impurities are removed. This step is called ore dressing or enrichment of ores. Various physical and chemical methods are used to increase the concentration of the ore. These might include washing, gravity separation, magnetic separation or chemical separation using froth flotation
03

Extraction of metals

The concentrated ore is then subjected to create a metal from its ore. This is called extraction of metal. The methods for extracting metals from their ores depend on the nature of the ore - some ores contain the metal in the elemental state, in others, the metal may be an ion in a compound (like a metal oxide), to be extracted using suitable reduction reactions.
04

Refining or Purification of Metals

The final step in metal production involves purifying the metal to remove any remaining impurities that could detrimentally affect the quality of the product. Several methods may be used including distillation, zone refining, and electrolytic refining. This is the most critical step to ensure the produced metal meets the required properties and standards.

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