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Ellingham diagram is a plot between Gibbs free energy and temperature. It helps to know the best reducing agent for a particular metal oxide and sulfides.
The primary of those statues was fictionalized by Harold Ellingham in 1944. In metals, the Ellingham diagram is employed to calculate the equilibrium temperature between the metal, its oxide, and oxygen, also because of the interaction between iron and sulfur, nitrogen, and different non-metals.
Diagrams are accustomed to predicting how a metal will regenerate into a containing metal.
The Ellingham diagram is used to forecast the temperature of equilibrium between a metal, its oxide, and oxygen, as well as interactions between a metal and sulphur, nitrogen, and other non-metals.
The diagrams can be used to anticipate how an ore will be converted to its metal. (Ellingham Diagram – Salient Features, Applications and Limitations, n.d.)
Applications of Ellingham Diagram
Few applications of Ellingham diagram are listed below:
- It is used to evaluate the ease of reduction of metal oxides and sulfides.
- In metallurgy it is used to predict the equilibrium temperature between metal, oxide and oxygen. It also predicts the reaction of metals with nitrogen, sulfur and nonmetals.
- By Ellingham diagram we can predict the condition under which an ore can be reduced to its metal.
- It is used for finding the best suitable reducing agent for reduction of metal oxides.
- It is used to find out the feasibility of thermal reduction of an ore.
The Ellingham curve for aluminum lies below most metals such as Fe, Cr etc. which indicates that Al can be used as the reducing agent for oxides of all these metals.
What exactly is this powerful tool, and why is it so crucial in the world of metallurgy?
Reference:
Ellingham Diagram—Salient Features, Applications and Limitations. (n.d.). VEDANTU. Retrieved April 10, 2025, from https://www.vedantu.com/chemistry/ellingham-diagram
