Question

What is the actual reducing agent of hematite in the blast furnace?
a.) $C$
b.) $CO$
c.) $C{{O}_{2}}$
d.) None of the above.

Answer 1

Hint: Carbon and carbon monoxide both are reducing agents but carbon monoxide is the much stronger reducing agent than the carbon.

Complete answer:
Hematite is an iron ore and it has a very high content of iron in it that is around 70%. It is present in abundance around various parts of earth. The chemical name of this ore is ferric oxide and has a chemical formula of \[F{{e}_{2}}{{O}_{3}}\] . it is red in color which is the reason behind its name. it got its name from Greek word and Greek word hematite means blood.
Carbon monoxide is a much better reducing agent than carbon and carbon dioxide.
In blast furnaces common ores used to extract iron are hematite and magnetite.
Coke which is an impure form of carbon is burnt in furnaces and produces carbon dioxide which provides heat to the furnace as well as reducing agent. And at high temperatures the carbon dioxide produced by the burning of coke reacts with carbon to form carbon monoxide. And this carbon monoxide acts as a main reducing agent in blast furnaces.
In some parts of the furnaces where temperatures are extremely high carbon itself acts as a reducing agent.
In blast furnaces carbon monoxide is the main reducing agent whereas carbon is a minor reducing agent.

From all the above options, option B is correct.

Note: Blast furnaces are to extract iron from iron ores. Hematite is one of the irons which has 70% iron in it. In furnaces carbon monoxide is used as a reducing agent to extract iron from iron ores.