5 - Metallurgy and

the
Chemistry of Metals
Week 7 – Topic 5
Chemistry for Engineers
Topic Outline
• Occurrence of metals
• Metallurgical processes
• Band Theory of Conductivity
• Periodic trends in metallic properties
• The alkali metals
• The alkaline earth metals
• Aluminum

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 2

Occurrence of Metals
Most metals come from minerals: • Metals exist in various forms
• A mineral is a naturally occurring
• In the Earth’s surface
substance with a range of chemical
composition. • As ions in seawater
• An ore is a mineral deposit concentrated • In the ocean floor
enough to allow economical recovery of a
desired metal.

Native Metals Two groups of metals can also be found in

-any metal that is found in its metallic form in nature:
nature, either pure or as an alloy. Metals that can • The gold group consists of gold, copper,
be found as native deposits singly and/or in lead, aluminum, mercury, and silver.
alloys (a mixture of two or more elements in • The platinum group consists of
solid solution in which the major component is a platinum, iridium, osmium, palladium,
metal). rhodium, and ruthenium.

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 3

Natural sources of common metals

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 4

Metals and their best known minerals

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 5

Metallurgical Processes
• Metallurgy is the science and technology of separating metals from their ores and of compounding alloys.

• An alloy is a solid solution either of two or more metals, or of a metal or metals with one or more nonmetals.

• Extractive metallurgy is the practice of removing valuable metals from an ore and refining the extracted raw metals into purer
form. It is composed of many sub-disciplines, each concerned with various physical and chemical processes that are steps in an
overall process to produce a particular material. These specialties are generically grouped into the categories of mineral processing:

Mineral processing Hydrometallurgy Pyrometallurgy Electrometallurgy

• manipulates the particle Process of extracting metals Involves high temperature Involves metallurgical
size of solid raw materials from ores using aqueous processes where chemical processes that take place in
to separate valuable solutions. reactions take place among some form of electrolytic cell.
materials from materials of gases, solids, and molten
no value. materials.
Common example: leaching Common example: smelting Common examples:
(involves dissolution of valuable (Processes that produce molten electrowinning (an electrolysis
metals into aqueous solutions) products) process used to recover metals
in aqueous solution)
electro-refining (used to
dissolve an impure metallic
anode [typically from a
smelting process] and produce
a high purity cathode.)

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 6

Metallurgical Processes
• Principal steps involved in the recovery of a metal from its ore:

Production

Preparation Purification

Recovery
of metal
from its
ore

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 7

 Preparation of the ore
• Desired mineral is separated from waste materials or gangue (clay and silicate minerals)
• Settling
• Flotation
• Magnetic separation
• Amalgamation

Froth Floatation

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 8

Production of Metal
Metals are extracted from their ores on
the basis of reactivity series. To extract
them from ores, metals are divided into
following three categories.
• Metals found at the bottom of reactivity
series are very less reactive or non-
reactive. These metals found in free state in
the earth's crust.
• Metals found in the middle of reactivity
series are moderately reactive, so they are
mainly found in the form of their oxides,
sulfides or carbonate.
• Metals lies in the top of the reactivity
series are very much reactive. They never
find in nature in free state.

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 9

Production of metal
• Roasting is the heating of ores of metals found in the form of sulfide in the presence of air.
Roasting converts ores in the form of sulfide to the respective oxides.
𝟐𝒁𝒏𝑺(𝒔) + 𝟑𝑶𝟐 (𝒈) — > 𝟐𝒁𝒏𝑶(𝒔) + 𝑺𝑶𝟐 (𝒈)
• Calcination is the process of heating of ores of metals found in the form of carbonate in the
presence of limited air. Calcination of carbonate ores converts them into respective oxides.
𝑪𝒂𝑪𝑶𝟑 𝒔 → 𝑪𝒂𝑶 𝒔 + 𝑪𝑶𝟐 (𝒈)

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 10

Production of metal
• Reduction is the process of converting metal oxides to respective metals by heating. Reduction converts
oxides of metals into respective metals.

Reduction processes for some common metals

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 11

Metallurgy of Iron
• The overall reaction for the
production of iron in a blast
furnace is:

Blast furnace
• a vertical shaft furnace that
produces liquid metals by the
reaction of a flow of air introduced
under pressure into the bottom of
the furnace with a mixture of
metallic ore, coke, and flux fed into
the top. Blast furnaces are used to
produce pig iron from iron ore for
subsequent processing into steel,
and they are also employed in
processing lead, copper, and other
metals. Rapid combustion is
maintained by the current of air
under pressure.

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 12

Metallurgy of Steel
Steel

• is an alloy of iron with typically a few percent

of carbon to improve its strength and fracture
resistance compared to iron. Other elements may also
be present or added.

• Stainless steels that are corrosion and oxidation

resistant need typically an additional 11% chromium
Secondary steelmaking performed
• Steel is used in buildings, infrastructures, tools, in ladles (shown above)
transportation, machineries, electrical appliances, etc.
because of its high tensile strength and low cost
Electric arc furnace

Basic Oxygen Process (Linz-Donawitz

steelmaking or oxygen converter process) Hisarna steelmaking process
Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 13
Types of Steel
Types of steel

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 14

Purification of Metals
• Refining is the process of separating metals from impurities
Distillation Liquation
Process of vaporizing something, and Similar to distillation, except the impure metal
then allowing it to condense back in a is melted instead of vaporized. When the other
separate location. Can be used in zinc impurities have a much higher melting point,
and mercury they will remain solid and can be removed from
the pure liquid metal. Can be used in metals
Poling with low melting point such as lead and tin.
Used to purify metals that have
oxidized impurities. Uses a log of wood Electrolysis
that is still green to stir the liquid metal. uses currents to give the energy needed to help a
The hydrocarbons in the green wood chemical reaction occur to break apart chemical
can reduce the metal, and the oxygen bonds between metals and impurities. Used to
leaves as CO2 gas. separate tin and zinc from its salts. It is also used
Typically used to purify metals like for purifying aluminum.
copper or tin that are in the impure
form of copper oxide or tin oxide. Zone refining
Works by crystallizing the metal. Since impurities
don't crystallize, they will fall out of the matrix.
This is often used for semiconductor metals such
as silicon and germanium.
Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 15
Band Theory of Metals
• Band Theory Comparison: conductors, semiconductors, insulators
• Model used to describe conductivity in
metals
• Delocalized electrons move freely through
“bands” formed by overlapping molecular
orbitals

• Valence band (lower energy)

• Metals are conductors and there is no band gap.
• Conduction band (higher energy) • Semiconductors have small band gap that electrons can jump
from the valence band to the conduction band, but not as easily
• Bands are separated by an amount of as in conductors
energy called the band gap. • Insulators have very high band gap that electrons do not have
the energy needed to overcome the energy needed to jump
between the valence band and conduction band.

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 16

Doping
• Doping is the process of adding impurity to
the lattice to change the electrical conductivity
of the lattice which also changes the efficiency
of a semiconductor

• P-type semiconductor (positive charge doped)

• A dopant is added to decrease the number
of electrons in the valence band, without
promoting electrons across the band gap.
• Dopant must have less than 4 valence
electrons

• n-type semiconductor (negative charge dope)

• Holes are generated without promoting the
electrons to the conduction band by adding
a dopant.
• Dopant must have greater than 4 valence
electron

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 17

Periodic trends in metallic properties
• Metals are generally
• Lustrous in appearance Metals in the periodic table
• Solid at room temperature (with the exception
of mercury)
• Good conductors of heat
• Good conductors of electricity
• Malleable (can be hammered flat)
• Ductile (can be drawn into wires)
• Classified as representative (A Groups) or
transition (B Groups) based on position on the
periodic table

• Periodic trends
• Electronegativity increases left to right across a
period and up a column
• Metallic character decreases left to right across
a period and up a column
• Form positive ions or cations
• Have positive oxidation numbers

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 18

Alkali Metals
• Group 1A on the periodic table Properties of alkali metals
• Common properties of the
alkali metals
• Common oxidation state +1
• Do not occur free in nature, are
combined in halides, sulfates,
carbonates and silicates
• Found dissolved in seawater due to
geologic erosion of minerals

• Some compounds of alkali

metals
• Sodium carbonate (soda ash)-
important in industrial processes
such as manufacture of soap,
detergents, medicine, and food
additives. Produced in Solvay process
• Sodium and potassium hydroxide-
strong bases
• Potassium nitrate

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 19

 Properties of alkaline earth metals
Alkaline Earth Metals
• Group 2 A on the periodic table

• Common properties (Except for Be which

resembles 3A elements)
• Somewhat less electropositive than alkali
metals
• Less reactive than the alkali metals.
• M2+ ions attain the stable electron
configuration of the preceding noble gas
• Oxidation number is commonly +2
• All isotopes of radium are radioactive

• Magnesium
• Sixth most abundant element on Earth’s crust
(~2.5%) Calcium
• Principal ores (brucite [Mg(OH)2], dolomite • Earth’s crust contains about 3.4 percent calcium by mass.
(CaCO3.MgCO3) and epsomite (MgSO4 . • Calcium occurs in limestone, calcite, chalk, and marble as CaCO3; in dolomite
7H2O).)
as CaCO3.MgCO3, gypsum as CaSO4 . 2H2O; and in fluorite as CaF2
• Seawater is a source of magnesium—there are • Metallic calcium is best prepared by the electrolysis of molten calciu chloride
about 1.3 g of magnesium in each kilogram of
seawater. (CaCl2).
• Metallic magnesium is obtained through
electrolysis from it molten chloride, MgCl2

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 20

Aluminum
• Most abundant metal and the third Preparation – Hall Process
most plentiful element in Earth’s
crust (7.5 percent by mass).
• Elemental form does not occur in
nature
• Principal ore is bauxite (Al2O3 .
2H2O)
• Other minerals containing aluminum
are orthoclase (KAlSi3O8), beryl
(Be3Al2Si6O18), cryolite (Na3AlF6), and
corundum (Al2O3)
• Aluminum used to be considered a
precious metal until Hall developed a
method of aluminum production.

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 21

Aluminum’s corrosion resistance
• Aluminum is used in a wide variety of applications due to its corrosion resistance. Why does it have high
resistance to corrosion?
• Aluminum readily oxidizes with air to form aluminum oxide (Al2O3). This aluminum oxide forms at the surface of
the metal (~7 nm thick) and serves as a protective layer for the aluminum and prevents further corrosion.

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 22

References
• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/introchem/chapter/metallurgy/

• http://10upon10.com/10thscience-metals-non-metals-9.html

• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-chemistry/chapter/metallurgic-processes/#:~:text=Ore%20Preparation,further%20separation%20methods%20are%20required.

• https://byjus.com/chemistry/calcination-and-roasting/

• https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General_Chemistry/Book%3A_Chemistry_(Averill_and_Eldredge)/23%3A_The_d-Block_Elements/23.3%3A_Metallurgy

• https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General_Chemistry/Map%3A_General_Chemistry_(Petrucci_et_al.)/23%3A_The_Transition_Elements/23.3%3A_Metallurgy_of_Iron_and_Stee
l#:~:text=The%20first%20step%20in%20the,and%20converting%20sulfides%20into%20oxides.&text=They%20collect%20in%20layers%20at,and%20protects%20it%20from%20oxidation.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steelmaking#:~:text=open-hearth%20furnace.-,Modern%20processes,in%20an%20electric%20arc%20furnace.

• https://www.britannica.com/technology/blast-furnace

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel

• https://www.steel-360.com/technology-next/hisarna-process-for-ironmaking

• https://study.com/academy/lesson/refining-crude-metals-methods-examples.html

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 23

 Thank you!
Keep safe and wash your hands!

Week 7 - Topic 5: Metallurgy and Chemistry of Metals Chemistry for Engineers 24