Mercury is the only metal that exists in a liquid state at room temperature.
- In which form is mercury extracted from its ore?
- If it produced as a solid, how and when is it turned into a liquid?
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$\begingroup$ There are many solid compounds that include mercury as one of their constituents. But, pure mercury at room temperature is a liquid as you point out. $\endgroup$– Jon CusterCommented Feb 3, 2017 at 14:05
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$\begingroup$ tell me ik at room temperature it is liquid tell me in which state we get it from its ore.... that's my question $\endgroup$– user39224Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 14:10
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1$\begingroup$ The classic way is to roast the ore, with the mercury coming off as a vapor that is readily condensed. Note that vaporized mercury is easily taken up by humans and damages the central nervous system. $\endgroup$– Jon CusterCommented Feb 3, 2017 at 14:13
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1$\begingroup$ I'll point out that most Hg now recovered in the US is as a byproduct to prevent pollution rather than being mined for the Hg itself. archive.epa.gov/mercury/archive/web/pdf/… $\endgroup$– MaxWCommented Feb 3, 2017 at 16:27
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2 Answers
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Most commonly, mercury $\ce{Hg}$ is separated from its ore $\ce{HgS}$, known as cinnabar. The process used is roasting; this entails heating the raw material in oxygen.
$$\ce{HgS(l) + O2(g) ->[700-800\ ^\circ \mathrm{C}] Hg(g) + SO2(g)}$$
Mercury is extracted here in the gaseous state. Note that the product is elemental mercury, not an oxide. This is because the oxides decompose at or below $500\ ^\circ \mathrm{C}$: $$\ce{Hg2O -> HgO + Hg,\\ HgO -> Hg + O2}.$$
The mercury vapor is then purified in multiple steps which depend on the required degree of purity. Usually the gaseous mercury is first cleansed from dust, then condensed (bp $356.6\ ^\circ \mathrm{C}$). At this stage, an $80\%$ yield is observed.
The condensed mass is filtered further, washed with bases and acids, and destilled. For ultrapure mercury (less than $10^{-6}\%$ of impurities), electrochemical refinement using mercury electrodes follows.
Hergi Karik, Kalle Truus. ($2003$). Elementide keemia. (pp 331$-$332, 334)
answered Feb 3, 2017 at 14:25
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$\begingroup$ it means cinnabar exist in liquid state so how it is extracted from earth $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 14:44
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$\begingroup$ @Utsavpandey No, cinnabar is a solid ore at standard conditions. The states are written in accordance with the reaction; the sulfide simply melts before $700-800\ ^\circ \mathrm{C}$. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 14:53
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Mercury is extracted from its ore, cinnabar($\ce{HgS}$). According to wikipedia:
Mercury is extracted by heating cinnabar in a current of air and condensing the vapor. The equation for this extraction is
$$\ce{HgS + O2 → Hg + SO2}$$
In 2005, China was the top producer of mercury with almost two-thirds global share followed by Kyrgyzstan. Several other countries are believed to have unrecorded production of mercury from copper electrowinning processes and by recovery from effluents.
answered Feb 3, 2017 at 15:18