The molten lead obtained from the blast furnace contains 0.1% of silver dissolved as an impurity. The silver is removed by:
-adding zinc to the mixture of molten lead and silver at 350'C and removing the mixture of molten zinc and silver that forms on top of the molten lead
-heating the mixture of molten zinc and silver until the zinc boils of as a gas, leaving almost pure solid silver behind.
i) what can you deduce about the relative solubility of silver and zinc and lead?
Is it possible that in a solute of lead, silver and zinc are not very soluble
Based on the given information, we can deduce the relative solubility of silver, zinc, and lead.
Since the silver is dissolved as an impurity in the molten lead obtained from the blast furnace, it suggests that silver has a higher solubility in molten lead compared to zinc.
Furthermore, the process of removing the silver involves adding zinc to the mixture and heating it. The fact that the mixture of molten zinc and silver forms on top of the molten lead indicates that zinc has a lower density than lead and does not mix well with it. This suggests that zinc is less soluble in lead compared to silver.
Therefore, we can conclude that silver has higher solubility in molten lead, while zinc has lower solubility in molten lead.
To deduce the relative solubility of silver, zinc, and lead, we need to consider the given information and the processes involved in removing silver impurity from molten lead.
In the first method, zinc is added to the mixture of molten lead and silver at 350°C. If the mixture of molten zinc and silver forms on top of the molten lead, it suggests that silver is less soluble in zinc compared to lead. This process is known as liquation.
In the second method, the mixture of molten zinc and silver is heated until the zinc boils off as a gas, leaving behind almost pure solid silver. This indicates that zinc is more volatile (boils off easily) than silver or lead. The process used here is known as distillation.
Based on these two processes, we can deduce the following about the relative solubility of silver, zinc, and lead:
1. Silver is less soluble in zinc compared to lead.
2. Zinc is more volatile (boils off easily) than silver or lead.
Therefore, we can conclude that zinc is more reactive or soluble with silver, and less reactive or soluble with lead.