GNVQ/Vocational Science - Reduction of Copper including methods of extracting metals (copper) in industry

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Unit 3 Portfolio                

Reduction of Copper Carbonate

Introduction

Malachite is a rock, Cu2(CO3)(OH)2, Copper Carbonate Hydroxide and it is found in Shaba, Congo; Tsumeb, Nambia; Ural mountains, Russia; Mexico; several sites in Australia; England and several localities in the Southwestern United States especially in Arizona, USA.

Copper, Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen are the elements that make up malachite.

The copper in Malachite can be extracted through a displacement reaction.

A single-displacement reaction is where one element appears to move out of one compound and into another. This is usually written as:
A + BX → AX + B
This will occur if A is more
 than B.                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                        (Malachite)

Risk Assessment

The open end of the boiling tube should be pointed away from any person so that anything that spits out it does not cause any harm. Wear goggles.

The equipment is going to get very hot so you must be careful not to touch it until it cools.

Method

  1. Put 10 g of malachite powder into a large test tube and heat it gently until it turns black and stops rising in the test tube.
  2. Allow the tube to cool.
  3. Add 1 g of carbon powder and mix well.
  4. Heat the mixture strongly until it turns red.
  5. Let the mixture cool.
  6. Then separate the copper from the waste by half filling the test tube with water and pouring the mixture into a beaker of cold water.
  7. Leave for two minutes and then pour off the dirty water.
  8. Keep adding cold water to the mixture and pouring off the dirty water till you see pink copper at the bottom of the tube.
  9. Put the copper onto filter paper to dry it.  Measure the mass of dried copper - this is your actual yield.

Results

Calculating percentage yield.

Balanced equation for the reaction:

2CuCO3        2CuO + 2CO2         first heating it in air, then

2CuO + C         2Cu + CO2        heating with carbon

Relative Atomic Masses:

Cu        = 63.5

 C        = 12

 O        = 16

Relative Molecular Mass of copper carbonate (CuCO3)         = 63.5 + 12 + (16 x 3) = 123.5        (2CuCO3 = 247)

Relative Atomic Mass of copper (Cu)                        = 63.5                                (2Cu        = 127)

Join now!

Actual mass of copper carbonate used                        = 10g (let this be M)

So the theoretical mass of copper produced = 127 x 10   = 5.14g

                                                          247

Experimental Readings

                        Mass of filter paper                =0.1g

                        Mass of filter paper + copper        =0.1g

Actual yield of Copper produced =<0.1g

Percentage yield        =        actual yield      x 100%

                                 theoretical yield

Evaluation

The percentage yield was not high enough, as only an extremely small amount of copper was gained ...

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