The furnace lining in steel manufacture consists of : — Metallurgy and Isolation of Elements Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Step 1: The given reactions describe a self-reduction (or auto-reduction) process, where a metal oxide and metal sulfide react to produce the elemental metal. Step 2: Self-reduction occurs spontaneously for less reactive metals like Mercury (Hg) and Lead (Pb), but not for more reactive metals like Zinc (Zn). Step 3: Zinc oxide (ZnO) is highly stable and requires carbon reduction at high temperatures. Thus, 'X' cannot be Zinc, which matches option (c).