Reducing with carbon
Getting zinc from its oxide.
Zinc oxide and coke
Zinc oxide is heated with carbon, in the form of coke.
What is obtained?
What this lesson covers
The idea
Metal oxides are reduced to the corresponding metals by heating with a suitable reducing agent such as carbon (coke); obtaining metals from their compounds is a reduction process.
Zinc oxide and coke
Zinc oxide is heated with carbon, in the form of coke.
What is obtained?
- Zinc metal
- More zinc oxide
- A different oxide
Carbon takes the oxygen
Press Next step.
Reduction
Metal oxides can be reduced to the metals by heating with a suitable reducing agent. Carbon, in the form of coke, is one. For zinc: ZnO + C gives Zn + CO. Obtaining a metal from its compounds is a reduction process.
Metal oxides are reduced to the corresponding metals by heating with a suitable reducing agent such as carbon (coke); obtaining metals from their compounds is a reduction process.
Notes
Metal oxides are reduced to metals by heating with a reducing agent such as carbon (coke); getting a metal from its compound is reduction.
Check yourself
Heating zinc oxide with carbon gives ...
In ZnO + C gives Zn + CO, the reducing agent is ...
Obtaining metals from their compounds is a ... process.
Which reducing agent is named in the book for metal oxides?
- zinc and carbon dioxide. The book's equation is ZnO + C gives Zn + CO, with carbon monoxide.
- zinc and carbon monoxide — correct. Yes!
- zinc sulphide. No sulphur is present; ZnO + C gives Zn + CO.
- zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is the compound that is reduced to zinc.
- carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a product, not the reducing agent.
- carbon — correct. Yes!
- reduction — correct. Yes!
- roasting. Roasting is heating sulphide ores strongly in excess air.
- galvanising. Galvanising is coating iron or steel with zinc.
- Sulphuric acid. The book names carbon (coke) as the reducing agent here.
- Carbon (coke) — correct. Yes!
- Water. The book names carbon (coke) as the reducing agent here.