Research_on_the_Properties_of_Metals

Part B: Research Titanium, Tungsten, Molybdenum and Niobium Uses and their relevant properties: |Metal |Main uses |Relevant Properties | |Titanium |About 95% of titanium ore is refined into |This is because titanium dioxide has an | | |titanium dioxide (TiO2), used in paints, |intensely white pigment. | | |paper, toothpaste, and plastics. |Titanium has the highest strength to weight| | |Used in things such as racquets, bicycle |ratio of any metal which makes it very | | |shafts and aviation. |appropriate for aviation. | | |Used in boating and other water related |This is because of its high resistance to | | |uses. |corrosion, even from chlorine gas. | |Tungsten |Traditionally used in the filaments of old |This is because Tungsten has the highest | | |style light bulbs. |melting point of all metals. | | |Tungsten Carbide (WC or W2C) is used in |It’s used in drill bits because of its | | |high quality drill bits and heavy metal |extreme hardness and its high resistance to| | |alloys. |heat. | |Molybdenum |Molybdenum is used in stainless steels. |Resistance to corrosion from various | | |It is also used in many construction |substances. | | |steels. |High strength and very high melting point. | |Niobium |Niobium is often mixed with carbon. |When mixed with carbon it becomes extremely| | |It is also mixed to make stainless steels |hard, heat resistant and corrosion | | |which is very good for pipelines and |resistant. | | |automobile frames. |When mixed with steel it increases strength| | | |and resistance. | Cost and abundance of these metals: |Metal |Cost in AUD$ |Abundance in the Earth’s crust (Parts per | | | |billion by weight) | |Titanium |9 per kilo |6600000 | |Tungsten |34 per kilo |1100 | |Molybdenum |36.8 per kilo |1100 | |Niobium |25 per kilo |17000 | Iron, Copper, Aluminium and Zinc Location of mines: Locations of Processing Plants: [pic] Extraction of Iron and Aluminium Iron: The extraction of iron from its ore is pretty complex. Two of iron’s most common ores are both oxides, haematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4), which are usually used as the ore. The coke (essentially impure carbon) burns in the blast of hot air to form carbon dioxide - a strongly exothermic reaction. This reaction is the main source of heat in the furnace. [pic] The hot waste gases from this reaction are then used to heat the hot air blown into the bottom of the furnace. The reduction of the ore At the high temperature at the bottom of the furnace, carbon dioxide reacts with carbon to produce carbon monoxide. [pic][pic] It is the carbon monoxide which is the main reducing agent in the furnace. [pic][pic] In the hotter parts of the furnace, the carbon itself also acts as a reducing agent. Notice that at these temperatures, the other product of the reaction is carbon monoxide, not carbon dioxide. [pic][pic] The temperature of the furnace is hot enough to melt the iron which trickles down to the bottom where it can be tapped off. The blast furnace generally looks something like this: Aluminium: The extraction of aluminium is quite different to iron in that it is done by electrolysis instead of using high temperatures in a blast furnace. The main ore used to extract Aluminium from this process is aluminium oxide (Al2O3) The aluminium oxide is added to a reaction cell filled with molten cryolite. The purpose of the cryolite is to lower the melting point of aluminium oxide, thus saving energy. A voltage is applied to the electrodes in the reaction cell. The cathode forms part of the cell wall while set carbon anodes are immersed in the mixture of molten cryolite and aluminium oxide. The electrode reactions For chemistry purposes at this level, they are always simplified. This is the simplification: Aluminium is released at the cathode. Aluminium ions are reduced by gaining 3 electrons. [pic][pic] Oxygen is produced initially at the anode. [pic][pic] However, at the temperature of the cell, the carbon anodes burn in this oxygen to give carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Continual replacement of the anodes is a major expense. The reaction cell generally looks something like this: [pic] Relating cost to abundance and extraction: |Metal |Cost per tonne |Abundance |Cost of extraction | |Iron |67000 USD |5% of earth’s crust |Approx. 53600 USD per tonne | |Aluminium |1955.56 USD |8.1% of earth’s crust |Approx. 1560 USD per tonne | Recycling Aluminum Recycling Method: Once the aluminum cans are collected at a recycling plant, they are separated using an ‘eddy current’ which repels the cans into a holding bay. Once sorted, the cans are crushed into bales for transportation to the reprocessing facilities. At the reprocessing facilities, the cans are melted at 700°C in a rotary furnace. They are then cast into ingots which are either used directly in the production of industrial products (such as alloy gear boxes and engine blocks) or converted into aluminium sheets. Sheet aluminium is then used to produce new aluminium cans, house siding, roof guttering or even aircraft skins. One tonne of recycled aluminium cans will make one tonne of new aluminium; there is NO waste material. The recycling of aluminium is critical to conserving mineral resources, reducing energy consumption from mining and transportation and reducing waste to landfill. Aluminium recycling makes economic and environmental sense as pure metals and many alloys need far less energy and money to recycle than to mine, extract and smelt.20 aluminium cans could be recycled with the same amount of energy as it takes to make one new can from raw materials. This therefore saves a lot of money. Bibliography: 1. “Titanium Statistics and Information” by U.S. Geological Survey http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/titanium/ (website) Accessed on 30/05/10 2. “Titanium Alchemy” by Web-o-rama http://web-o-rama.net/titanium/1properties.html (website) Accessed on 30/05/10 3. “Tungsten Element Facts” by ChemiCool http://www.chemicool.com/elements/tungsten.html (website) Accessed on 30/05/10 4. “Uses of New Molybdenum” by International Molybdenum Association http://www.imoa.info/moly_uses/molybdenum_uses.html (website) Accessed on 30/05/10 5. “Molybdenum Metal Properties” by Molybdenum Powder.com http://www.molybdenumpowder.com/molybdenummetalproperties.htm Accessed on 30/05/10 6. “Uses for Niobium” by an eHow contributing writer http://www.ehow.com/about_5031761_uses-niobium.html (website) Accessed on 30/05/10 7. “Commodity Mine” by Global Info Mine http://www.infomine.com/commodities/ (website) Accessed 31/05/10 8. “Abundance in Earth’s Crust” by Webelements http://www.webelements.com/periodicity/abundance_crust/ (website) Accessed on 30/05/10 9. “Rock Files” by Geoscience Australia http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/education/rock_files/ (website) Accessed on 31/05/10 10. Details of mineral processing plants in Australia http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/mapping/files/processing_plants.xls (excel spreadsheet) Accessed on 10/06/10 11. “Iron and Steel” written by Jim Clark http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/extraction/iron.html (website) Accessed on 16/06/10 12. “Electrolysis of Aluminium Oxide” by Lawrie Ryan http://www.absorblearning.com/media/item.action'quick=u8 (animation) Accessed on 16/06/10 13. “Aluminium” written by Jim Clark http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/extraction/aluminium.html (website) Accessed on 16/06/10 14. Picture http://kerala.skoool.in/malayalam/uploadedImages/Coord11.4_extraction%20of%20aluminium_v2.gif Accessed on 16/06/10 15. “London Metal Exchange” http://www.lme.com/aluminium.asp (website) Accessed on 17/06/10 16. “Aluminium Recycling” http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/3A540E77-8FC7-4E1A-8FB8-C04D56E1A271/0/aluminiumrecycling.pdf (PDF) Accessed on 17/06/10