Corus The chemistry of steelmaking Notes for...

www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/chemistry/steel/index.html

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CorusThe chemistry of steelmaking

Notes for teachers

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Contents

This electronic resource tells the story of iron and steel manufacture in the UK, and links the industrial production of ferrous metals by Corus with important aspects of secondary school chemistry.

It provides an overview of steel production from raw materials to end products in the following sections:

The Big Picture links the chemical processes used in the iron and steel industry in the UK with the chemistry that students learn about in secondary school.

Making iron describes, illustrates and animates the blast furnace method of iron manufacture, as operated by Corus in its UK iron and steel plants.

What is steel? gives an overview of the nature of steels and of steelmaking methods.

Basic Oxygen Furnace describes, with the help of diagrams and animations, the most important of the methods used by Corus for the manufacture of primary steel.

Secondary steelmaking looks at methods of adjusting the composition of a primary steel to meet the customer’s needs, and of casting secondary steels in the most energy-efficient way.

Electric arc furnace explores another method of steel production and highlights the importance of recycling steel products.

Steel industry developments gives a brief account of alternatives to blast furnace technology that are of growing importance in other parts of the world.

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http://www.sep.org.uk


http://www.schoolscience.co.uk

http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/chemistry/steel/index.html


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Notes for teachers


Curriculum links (using the COL keyword scheme)

Scientific enquiry

Application of science - generallyScience: historical & contemporary examples

Solids, liquids & gases

Properties of materialsDensity

Elements, compounds & mixtures

ElementsTransition metalsSeparation - otherUseful materials & products

Everyday materialsObtaining & using materialsMetals - generallyExtraction of metal from ore

Chemical reactions

Acids, alkalis & basesOxidation & reactionEquations & formulaeExo/endothermic

Web links

Extracting copper from orewww.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/chemistry/cumining/copch2pg1.html

Steel for many purpoiseswww.schoolscience.co.uk/content/5/chemistry/steel/index.html






http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/chemistry/cumining/copch2pg1.html


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Notes for teachers


Using the resource

1 - Extracting iron from iron ore

The extraction of iron from its ore and its conversion into steel can be taught and/or consolidated with the help of this electronic resource. The blast furnace diagram is a particularly useful visual aid for teachers covering the industrial extraction of iron, especially if an interactive whiteboard or similar presentation technology is available in the classroom.

2 - Activities for students

Use the student worksheets to get students to use the electronic resource.

Student worksheet 1

This is a simple focus activity that gives students an opportunity to practise or to reinforce those aspects of iron and steel production included in most KS4 Science courses. This activity can be used as it stands or as a template that may be adapted to suit the requirements of the chosen examination specification.

Student worksheets 2 and 3

These encourage students to explore further aspects of the electronic resource or consider in more depth some of the chemical, physical and economic concepts that are fundamental in the iron and steel industry.

Student worksheet 2

This refers to the Thermite reaction and this provides an opportunity for the teacher to demonstrate the reduction of iron(III) oxide by aluminium. (See CLEAPSS Handbook, Section 13.2.5, for safety advice before carrying out this demonstration.)

Student worksheet 3

Students should be aware of the following key points.

Q1a The charging system is designed to prevent escape of furnace gases to the atmosphere.Q1b The purpose of the downcomer is to collect furnace gas for subsequent re-use as an energy source.Q2b The furnace cannot operate continuously if its internal temperature is less than the melting point of the crude metal.Q2c The temperature of a blast furnace used for making zinc must be greater than the melting point of the metal but less than its boiling point (note that the latter is quite low for zinc).Q3b Sintering increases the porosity of the furnace charge and so improves the ease with which gases





Age 14-16



Student worksheet 1

Iron and steel manufacture

Use the electronic resource,The chemistry of steelmaking, to research and answer the following questions:

Relevant section of resource *

1. What is the name of the chemical compound of iron that is found in iron ore?

The big picture

2. Apart from the ore, what other raw materials are used to make iron?

Making iron

3. Describe some of the factors that would explain why there is a large iron and steelworks in Port Talbot.

Making iron

4. a The following chemical changes take place in a blast furnace.Write a symbol equation for each one:

i) the reaction of iron(III) oxide with carbon monoxide;ii) the reaction of iron(III) oxide with coke.

b Give the chemical term that we use to describe what is happening to iron (III) oxide in these reactions.

Making iron

5. a Why is limestone used in the blast furnace?

b What waste product of the furnace is produced by limestone?

Making iron

6. In an iron and steelworks, what usually happens to the iron after it is tapped from the blast furnace?

Making iron

7. There are many different types of steel for different jobs.

a What type of steel would be suitable for making:

i) a drinks can; ii) cutlery?

b In each case, explain how the properties of the steel are related to the way it is used.

What is steel?

8. How does the percentage of carbon in the steel affect its properties?

What is steel?

*You can access the relevant section of The chemistry of steelmaking by clicking on:

A the CONTENTS button that appears on every page and then

B the SECTION TITLE that you want.

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Age 14-16



Student worksheet 2

Other methods of making iron

You don’t always need a blast furnace to make iron. In this activity, you can find out more about two different methods of making iron that are often used in industry.

Method 1 - The Thermite reaction

1. Rail track is a steel product. When damaged, it is often repaired with the help of a mixture of iron(III) oxide and aluminium.

a Which of the two metals, iron and aluminium, is more reactive? b What type of reaction would you expect to take place when a mixture of iron(III) oxide and

aluminium is heated strongly? c Name the reaction products.

2. The mixture of iron(III) oxide and aluminium is called a Thermite mixture. On heating it, a strongly exothermic reaction takes place and the temperature rises well above the melting point of iron.

a What is an exothermic reaction? (Find this term in the index of The chemistry of steelmaking if you need help.) b In what state would iron be produced when the Thermite mixture is ignited? c Explain how the rail track can be repaired using this mixture.

3 The production of iron using the Thermite mixture is not a commercial method of making iron. Why would it be unprofitable to make iron on a large scale by this method?

Method 2 - Directly reduced iron (DRI)

It is also possible to reduce iron ore on a commercial scale using a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases. These gases can be derived from crude oil. The iron that is made in this way is called Directly Reduced Iron (DRI) because the process does not need coke to make the reducing gas.

Use The chemistry of steelmaking to find out more about DRI and then try this activity:The chemistry of steelmaking to find out more about DRI and then try this activity:The chemistry of steelmaking

Imagine that you are an industrialist who has decided to set up an iron and steel industry in a country with large oil reserves. You want to ask the government of the country for financial help but you must first present a case to them for the type of iron and steel plant that you intend to build. Would you go for the blast furnace method of iron making or DRI? Present a reasoned argument in support of your building proposals based on what you know about these two methods of iron making.

You may find it helpful to look at the interactive activity in Section 7, Steel industry developments.

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Age 14-16



Student worksheet 3

Blast furnace design

The blast furnace has been in use for hundreds of years. The design of the furnace has improved in many ways in that time to make the furnace more productive and efficient.

1. A modern blast furnace is energy efficient. This means that consumption of the fuel (coke) is kept to a minimum by avoiding energy losses.

Here are two design features that reduce heat losses from the furnace:

a The charging system (used to deliver the raw materials into the furnace);

b The downcomer (the pipe that allows waste gases to escape at the top of the furnace).

Explain how the design of each one of these features helps to reduce heat loss from the furnace.

Hint: Look again in the electronic resource at the section on Making iron or at any good blast furnace diagram to which you have access.

2. Early blast furnaces did not operate continuously and produced iron in batches but in a modern blast furnace the production of iron is continuous during its lifetime.

a Suggest why producing iron continuously is more profitable than its production in batches.

b What is the minimum temperature required for the blast furnace to operate continuously?

Why will the furnace not operate if the temperature falls below this value?

c A blast furnace can be used to produce zinc metal from its ore. Suggest, with a brief

explanation, the temperature range in which the furnace should operate in order to make

zinc continuously.

Hint: You will need melting point and boiling point data in parts (b) and (c) of this question. You can find this in the periodic table at: www.schoolscience.co.uk

3. The raw materials that go into a blast furnace are sintered.

a Explain what happens to the raw materials when they are sintered.

b Suggest why sintering the raw materials helps to improve the efficiency of the furnace.

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Corus The chemistry of steelmaking Notes for...

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