GCSE Chemistry · Edexcel 1CH0 · Topic 4B
Extracting and recycling metals
Key points
- Unreactive metals such as gold are found native (uncombined). Most metals are found in ores as compounds.
- Metals below carbon (e.g. iron) are extracted by heating the oxide with carbon, which reduces it. Metals above carbon (e.g. aluminium) must be extracted by electrolysis, which uses much more energy and costs more.
- Higher tier: phytoextraction (plants absorb metal compounds from soil, then are burned) and bioleaching (bacteria produce solutions of metal compounds) extract metals from low-grade ores.
- Recycling metals saves ores, energy and landfill space, but collecting and sorting costs money.
- A life-cycle assessment looks at the impact of a product at each stage: raw materials, manufacture, use and disposal.
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Metals are vital, but getting them from rocks costs energy and damages the environment. These notes cover ores, how a metal's reactivity decides its extraction method, biological methods (Higher tier), recycling and life-cycle assessments.
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