Question

What is the actual reducing agent of hematite in the blast furnace?
A) ${\text{CO}}$
B) $C{O_2}$
C) ${O_2}$
D) None of these

Answer 1

The reducing agent means which reduces other material and gets oxidized itself during a chemical reaction. In a blast furnace, one can think about the reducing agent which is strong enough to reduce the hematite and choose the correct option.

Complete step by step answer:

1. First of all we will learn what hematite is, where hematite is an iron metal and it has an exceptionally high substance of iron in it that is around $70\%$ . It is available in plenty around different pieces of earth. The synthetic name of this metal is ferric oxide and has a compound recipe $F{e_2}{O_3}$. It is red in shading which is the explanation for its name. it got its name from the Greek word and Greek word hematite implies blood.
2. The carbon monoxide is a greatly improved reducing agent than carbon and carbon dioxide. In impact heaters, regular minerals used to separate iron are hematite and magnetite. Coke which is a tainted type of carbon is heated and burnt in heaters and produces carbon dioxide which gives warmth to the heater just as the reducing agent.
3. Now let us see the reaction of reduction of hematite in the blast furnace as follows,
   $2FeO + {O_2}\xrightarrow{{}}2F{e_2}{O_3}$
   The monoxide acts as a reducing agent in the next steps,
   $F{e_2}{O_3} + CO\xrightarrow{{}}2F{e_3}{O_4} + C{O_2}$
   $F{e_2}{O_3} + CO\xrightarrow{{}}FeO + C{O_2}$
   $FeO + CO\xrightarrow{{}}Fe + C{O_2}$
4. Therefore, the actual reducing agent of hematite in the blast furnace is carbon monoxide $(CO)$

So, the correct answer is Option A .

Note:
The hematite is reduced in blast furnaces to extract iron from iron ores which are naturally present. Hematite consists of $70\%$ iron composition in it. In the blast furnaces, the carbon dioxide formed as a byproduct gives the warmth needed in the furnace and the carbon monoxide is the actual reducing agent.