- Home
- Standard 12
- Chemistry
In the extraction of copper from its sulphide are the metal is formed by the reduction of $Cu_2O$ with :
$FeS$
$CO$
$Cu_2S$
$SO_2$
Solution
In the extraction of copper from its sulphide ore, the metal is formed by reduction of $\mathrm{Cu}_{2} \mathrm{O}$ with $\mathrm{Cu}_{2} \mathrm{S}$
The sulphide ore of copper is heated in air until a part is converted to oxide and then further heating in the absence of air to let the oxide react with unchanged sulphide. Self-reduction of CuS to Cu can be carried out in either Bessemer converter or Pierce-Smith converter.
$2 \mathrm{Cu}_{2} \mathrm{S}+3 \mathrm{O}_{2} \rightarrow 2 \mathrm{Cu}_{2} \mathrm{O}+2 \mathrm{SO}_{2}$
$2 \mathrm{Cu}_{2} \mathrm{O}+\mathrm{Cu}_{2} \mathrm{S} \rightarrow 6 \mathrm{Cu}+\mathrm{SO}_{2}$
