Ther

mal
deco
mposi
tion
in the
indust
ry
(iron
ore)

2Fe2O3 (s) -> 4Fe (s) + 3O2

(g)

Mette de Haas & Floor

Stultiens
CA3G Table of contents
29-11-2016
Introduction 3
Questions.
4~10
What is thermal decomposition? 4
Balanced reaction equation of iron ore
4
Why is carbon monoxide added during the thermal
decomposition of iron ore? 4
What is cast iron?
4~6
How does the conversation of cast iron to steel contribute
6~7 to an increased greenhouse effect?
Block diagram of the thermal decomposition of iron ore in the
presence of carbon monoxide
7
Conclusion.. 8

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 Introduction
In this report we are going to discuss several questions that have to do
with the combustion of iron ore. We are going to discuss what thermal
decomposition is, show the balanced equation of the thermal
decomposition of iron ore, tell why carbon monoxide is added during the
decomposition of iron ore, what cast iron is, how the conversion of cast
iron to steel contributes to an increased greenhouse effect and at last but
not least, a block diagram of the thermal decomposition of iron ore in the
presence of carbon monoxide.
We hope you like it!

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 Questions
1. What is thermal decomposition?

A thermal decomposition reaction is a

reaction in which a substance is broken down
into at least two products by heat. The
reactant consists of one molecule. The
burning of iron ore is called rusting.
A decomposition reaction is a chemical
reaction in which two or more products are
formed from one reactant. They are almost
always endothermic so energy is needed.

2. Balanced reaction equation of

iron ore
Schematic drawing of thermal
2Fe2O3 (s) -> 4Fe (s) decomposition of iron ore + 3O2 (g)

2Fe2O3 -> iron ore

4Fe -> iron
3O2 -> oxygen

3. Why is carbon monoxide added during the thermal

decomposition of iron ore?

This thermal decomposition reaction of iron is endothermic. A very high reaction

temperature of 3000C is needed to start a reaction. This isnt efficient for
combusting large amounts of iron. Therefore a substance called carbon monoxide
(CO) is added as a reactant to the rustling process. This substance causes the
reaction to happen at a lower reaction temperature. The following equation
belongs to this process:

Fe2O3 (s) + 3CO -> 2Fe (s) + 3CO2 (g)

3CO -> the added carbon monoxide

4. What is cast iron?

Cast iron is a very special kind of iron as it contains a

lot of carbon (C) in comparison to other kinds of iron.
Cast iron contains varying percentages of carbon
greater than 2% whereas carbon steel only contains
0.5%. The additional carbon is a big advantage for
processing cast iron. The carbon in the cast iron
makes the molten iron more fluid and ensures that
casting the iron into complex shapes happens easily.

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Cast iron has a high compression strength. This
means that the maximum pressure the cast iron
Cast iron which is casted into
can bear is very high and so cast iron wont
a complex shape
deform easily when it is being exposed to great
counter pressure. This can be a big advantage for
objects which need to be able to carry a lot of weight.
Cast iron has a low ductility. The ductility of a metal is a measure of the ability of
the metal to cope with tensile stress. A low ductility means cast iron cant handle
tensile stress very well. You can also say cast iron is brittle which means that
when cast iron is exposed to high tensile stress it breaks without much bending
or deformation.
Cast iron also has a low melting point which makes it easier to process cast iron.
There are 4 different types of cast iron:
Grey cast iron
This is the most well-known and widely used type of
cast iron. The carbon in grey cast iron leads to the
formation of graphite flakes. Therefore grey cast iron
has a graphitic microstructure. Graphite is a form of
carbon which is soft, has an iron gray colour and is
shiny. When the grey cast iron breaks, there are
numerous of little cracks formed due to the presence
of the graphite flakes. The fractured cast iron has a
typical grey colour which is why this type of cast iron
is called grey cast iron.
The graphite flakes cause the grey cast iron to
have a low shock resistance, low tensile strength Cracks of fractured grey cast
and make the cast iron less elastic. iron at microscopic level
Grey cast iron also has a lot of advantages. The
graphite flakes for example make the cast iron easy to process and to cast as
well as the graphite flakes cause the grey cast iron to be smooth. Grey cast iron
wont deform easily which makes grey cast iron very useful in many industrial
applications.
Molten grey cast iron has a greater fluidity and it expands very well during the
process of solidification of the cast iron. This makes the grey cast iron very useful
in industry like automobile and textile factories.
White cast iron
White cast iron is hard but brittle. The hardness of the
white cast iron is caused by the presence of carbon.
The carbon in white cast iron forms large particles
which increase the hardness of the white cast iron.
When the white cast iron is broken white cracks are
seen. The white cracks are caused by the presence of
carbide. Carbide in an impure substance which causes
the cracks of white cast iron to be white.
White cast iron also has a relatively low melting
point, high compressive strength and it is very Cracks of fractured white cast
wear resistant. This makes white cast iron very iron at microscopic level
useful in a lot of applications. White cast iron is
mainly used in crushing, grinding and milling applications. Still white cast iron is
limited in application as it isnt very shock resistant and it has difficulties
maintaining the shape and structure in thicker and bigger sections.
Malleable cast iron
Malleable cast iron is cast as white cast iron. By a special heat treatment that the
white cast iron undergoes, the brittle structure is transformed into the malleable

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form. This special heat treatment includes 2 days of heating and 2 days of
cooling. During this process the carbide in the white cast iron becomes graphite.
The malleable cast iron has properties from both grey
and white cast iron. Because of the slow process, the
graphite structure is formed into irregular rounded
particles (spheroidal particles) instead of flakes which is
the case in grey cast iron. The spheroidal particles are
quite far away from each other and are easy to recognize
as they have rounded boundaries. The size of a part
which can be casted in malleable is limited, as it is
made from white cast iron which has difficulties Structure of malleable cast
maintaining its shape when the parts of the white iron at microscopic level
cast iron are very big.
Ductile cast iron
Ductile cast iron is another type of cast iron. Ductile
cast iron is produced when a small amount of
magnesium is added to molten cast iron. The molten
cast iron contains oxygen (O) and sulphur (S). When
this reacts with magnesium, nodule shaped graphite is
formed. This is why ductile cast iron is also called
nodular cast iron.
The nodular shaped graphite cause the iron to be less
brittle than the other types of cast iron. In comparison
to the other types of cast iron, ductile cast iron has a high tensile strength and a
high shock resistance which is also caused by the
nodular shaped graphite. Ductile cast iron can be Structure of ductile cast iron
casted into large and complex shapes. Therefore at microscopic level
ductile cast iron is mainly used in water and
sewage pipes. It is also very useful in automotive components like diesel trucks,
agricultural tractors, oil pumps and in the structural parts like machine frames in
wind mills.

5. How does the conversion of cast iron to steel contribute to an

increased greenhouse effect?

First of all what is the greenhouse effect? The greenhouse effect is the process in
which radiation from a planets atmosphere warms the planets surface to a
temperature above what it would be without its atmosphere.
The light from the sun contains warmth and this keeps our planet warm. In total
the sun emits 100% light to earth. Almost 30 % of the sunlight is directly
reflected back into space by clouds, ice, snow, sand and other reflective surfaces.
The other 70% of the sunlight is absorbed by oceans, land and the atmosphere.
100% Total amount sunlight emitted to earth
30% Sunlight that is directly reflected back
into space
70% Absorbed by things on earth
Table about the division of the emitted sunlight
The sunlight that reaches the Earths surface can be used for different purposes.
The most important way it is used is by plants in the process of photosynthesis.
During a day the Earths surface warms up and during the night the surface cools
down. During this process heat is released in the form of infrared radiation (IR)
out of the atmosphere into space. But the infrared radiation is absorbed by
greenhouse gases (GHGs) present in the atmosphere, before escaping into

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space. The absorption of the radiation by greenhouse gases make it possible for
our planet to be warm. Without the greenhouse gases it would be too cold to
survive.
The major greenhouse gases responsible for the greenhouse effect are:
Water vapor
Carbon dioxide
Methane
Ozone
You could compare these gases to a very big blanket which keeps the earth
warm. The greenhouse effect isnt bad at all as it is just a natural process
designed by nature that keeps the earth warm and helps us to survive.
Some of the heat is send into space, some of it burns along the atmosphere and
some of the heat is found between the lower atmosphere and the Earths surface.
Because we are emitting more and more of those greenhouse gases by for
example burning fossil fuels and deforestation, more warmth it kept in the
atmosphere. So the increase in the number of greenhouse gases leads to an
increase in the Earths surface temperature which leads to global warming.

The two figures on the other page shows the conversion form iron ore to steel
schematically. As you can see, during the conversion of iron ore into steel waste
gases are produced. Carbon dioxide is an example of these waste products
(Fe2O3 (iron ore) + 3 CO (carbon monoxide) -> 2Fe(iron) + 3 CO2 (carbon
dioxide). Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases. As said before, the
increase in the greenhouse gases causes the greenhouse effect. Because carbon
dioxide is released during the conversion of iron ore into steel, it also contributes
to an increase in the greenhouse effect.

But this isnt the only way the conversion of iron

ore into steel contributes to an increase in the
greenhouse effect.
All the steel that had been made, also has to be
transported. Ships and lorries also emit
greenhouse gases. Like the conversion of iron ore
into steel, ships and lorries also emit carbon
dioxide. But on top of that they also emit water
vapor which also is one of the greenhouse gases
and so also increase the greenhouse effect.

Converting iron ore into steel also has other

consequences besides contributing to the
greenhouse effect:
First of all there can be a loss of nature areas because of mining the iron ore,
coke and limestone. The chemical plants also need a big area to be built on.
Besides that, the exhaust gasses cause a lot of air pollution and the production of
steel causes a lot of noise.

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 Secondly the chemical plants emit a lot of waste products, the
remains of the conversion process. These waste
products are very bad for the environment. Waste products
produced during the conversion of iron ore into steel are
air emissions, wastewater contaminants, hazardous
wastes and solid wastes. Most of the time these materials
are just dumped or thrown away. That can be very bad for
the environment. Hazardous materials can enter several
food chains which will cause a disorder in the lives of
animals.
And finally the water that is used in this process, is difficult to
reuse. This is because of the coke and other compounds
which are added during the conversion of cast iron into steel.
The products mix with the water during this process. These are
difficult to separate again from the water. Therefore a lot of
water is used every time steel has to be made of cast
iron.

6. Block diagram

Substances: Storag Prepr Reaction:

Fe2O3 (s) + e o- Fe2O3 (s) + 3CO -> 2Fe (s) +
3CO cessin 3CO2 (g)

Separati
Product is iron
ore:
2 Fe
Conclusion Waste is
In the beginning of this report we didnt really like it. Wecarbon
werent interested
and motivated. But when we started writing the reportmonoxide:
we found out that
iron ore is quite interesting. Finding the answers to the questions was
sometimes difficult as we could find a lot of information but the
information wasnt always the same. We picked the most reliable websites.
We liked doing the project and we learned a lot from it. The co-operation
was very well and we finished everything in time.
Thank you for reading!

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