My Element - Iron

Friday, February 7, 2016                                                                                  Daman Preet Dhillon                                                                                                          

My Element: Iron (Fe)

Although we use and come across the 26th element on the periodic table which is iron, on a daily basis in our everyday lives, individuals like myself may still lack the sufficient level of it that one’s body needs. Fortunately enough, beginning about 1200 BC the Iron Age emerged and humans discovered the metal. Iron is the most used and important transition metals today and it is irreplaceable, but there are other transition metals as well which makeup the groups 3 to 12 on the periodic table.

Symbol: Fe

Atomic Number: 26

Atomic Mass: 55.85

Family: Group 8 – Transition metal

Physical Properties:

• Silvery white, or greyish metal
• Ductile
• Malleable
• Melting point - 1,536°C (2,797°F)
• Boiling point - 3,000°C (5,400°F)
• Density - 7.87 grams per cubic centimeter

Chemical Properties:

• Active metal
• Combines with oxygen in moist air
• Dissolves in most acids
• Turns into hydrogen gas with very hot water and steam

Where/how is it found (naturally)? 

Iron is not found free in nature, but instead in ores which are “a naturally occurring solid material from which a metal or valuable mineral can be profitably extracted” (according to dictionary.reference.com). Iron can be found all over the world in rocks, minerals, crust of the earth, core of the earth, even the hemoglobin in one’s red blood cells, along with the outside of the solar system consisting the stars and the sun; the countries where the most production of iron takes place are Russia, Brazil, China, Australia, India and the USA.

How abundant is it?  

The occurrence of Iron in nature is very high, in fact Iron is considered the fourth most abundant element in Earth’s crust and the most abundant metal amongst others. This elements abundancy level in Earth’s crust (mg/kg) is 5.63×104, in Earth’s ocean (mg/L) is 2.0×10-3 , and in the human body (%) is 0.006.

• Abundance in earth’s crust: 5.6 % weight, 2.1 % by moles
• Abundance in solar system: 1000 parts per million by weight, 30 parts per million by moles

How is Iron Extracted?

Iron is extracted by using a blast furnace which is a furnace which comes in the shape of a tower and hot compressed air can be taken in by the furnace through the bottom. The oxygen has to be removed using iron oxides, thus the coke will be formed using carbon (coke is cheap, it provides the reducing agent needed to get to the end product which is the reaction – process of getting rid of the oxygen, and is also the heat source). Next the reduction of the ores takes place which is the process of reduction, in other words the oxygen is extracted from the element to get the final product. For example, if copper oxide is reduced you will then have copper. You may think this is the end but it is not that simple because iron contains rocky material which will not melt in the furnace at the temperature it will be set at, so limestone is added to the solution to create a cause and effect situation so it will melt. The molten iron that comes from this is called cast iron and is the minimal beginning of what is used in our modern day. This is used for things such as manhole covers, guttering, drainpipes, etc. However, this is not the end hence the steel-making process would still continue on to form a different type of iron with different capabilities and characteristics.