Question

Common impurities present in bauxite are ____________.
(i) CuO
(ii) ZnO
(iii) Fe2O3
(iv) SiO2


NCERT Class XII
Chemistry - Exemplar Problems

Chapter 6. General Principles and Processes of Isolation of Elements

Answer 1

The major and common impurity in bauxite is (iii) Fe2O3 is correct option.
Howere bauxite has a number of impurities in it including iron oxides(hematite and goethite), Fe2O3, the sand silicon dioxide SiO2, the clay mineral Kaolinite and a small amount of TiO2 known as Anatase.

Answer 2

Bauxite ore as a mineral, is the major source of aluminium in the world. The aluminium is found in this ore in different forms such as  gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(OH)).

The main form of impurity in the bauxite ore are the iron oxides and hydroxides found mixed together with this ore which include include Hematite (Iron Oxide; Fe2O3) and Goethite (Iron Hydroxy-oxide; FeOOH).