Introduction
The non-renewable energy that has been focused on in this assignment is Bauxite. It is used as the core energy source used in the Bauxite to Alumina refinery process. The finished product of Bauxite to Alumina is a core product used in the Aluminium Smelting Industry making Aluminium ingots. Therefore, Bauxite is a valuable non-renewable energy source servicing two major industries – Alumina refinery and Aluminium Smelting, of which two of these major industries are serviced in Gladstone – Queensland Alumina Ltd and Boyne Smelters Ltd. (…www.qal.com…)
Bauxite is the main raw material used in the commercial production of alumina (Al2O3) and aluminium metal, although some clay and other materials can be utilised to produce alumina. Bauxite is a heterogeneous, naturally occurring material of varying composition that is relatively rich in aluminium. The principal minerals in Bauxite are Gibbsite (Al2O3.3H2O), Boehmite (Al2O3.H2O) and Diaspore, which has the same composition as Boehmite, but is denser and harder. (…www.weipa-bauxite.com…)
Bauxite was first discovered by a French chemist, P. Berthier, in 1821 while investigating specimens found near the town of Les Baux in southern France (…www.historyofbauxite.com…) As well as finding Bauxite in France, Bauxite was also discovered in Weipa, Queensland and 1969 Weipa opened its first major mine. Since then Weipa have produced over 2 million tonnes of bauxite to QAL and other refineries around Australia.
Extraction
Bauxite is very easy to locate by using underground sonar and tunnel explorations. (…www.weipa-bauxite.com...) After bauxite is located and approval is permitted for mining it is blasted then away from the earth is then transported to crushing and washi...
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...sist of China, Japan, Jamaica and Europe. Statistically, on a world-wide average 4 to 5 tonnes of bauxite are needed to produce two tonnes of alumina, from which one tonne of aluminium can be produced. It is an excellent foreign trade commodity as well as its processed chemical – Alumina. Approximately 3 million tons of Alumina are produced annually by QAL and shipped overseas to Russia and China providing a stable income source.
The availability of raw material supplies for the production of aluminium is almost unlimited, considering Australia is the biggest Bauxite source than any other country around the world, this supply will last well over 200 years. Even though this is not a renewable resource there are no critical statistics that state that the supply of Bauxite will not be sustainable into the future.
Works Cited
www.qal.com.au
www.weipa-bauxite.com.au
The Synthesis of Alum from Aluminum lab centralized on the creation of potassium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate from a set amount of aluminum, and using quantitative analysis to then compare the actual yield to the theoretical yield. The synthesis of alum was conducted through a series of steps involving aluminum foil, potassium hydroxide, and sulfuric acid. Given that aluminum is amphoteric, meaning it can dissolve in both strong acids and strong bases, potassium hydroxide and sulfuric acid were both suitable for the dissolution of aluminum. There are multiple applications to synthesizing alum; from eliminating waste in the environment by repurposing, to utilizing alum as a medical treatment, the practicality of alum is immense.
First, the miners blast the taconite. Taconite needs to be blasted by small explosives since it’s such a hard rock (MDNR,). These blasts would be happening at least once a week. Usuall...
Where the minerals that America uses came from? Americans use and waste large amounts of substance and material every day. Most people disregard and ignore the places where this material may come from. Putting little to no time into researching on the subject, makes it difficult to ever figure out and appreciate the stories and history behind our beloved substance and consumption of it. But actually putting the effort of working and looking into it, someone may be pleasantly surprised at the amount of backstory on it, and may find it rather interesting. So if someone were to say, look into the history of the Berkeley pit. They would most likely find plenty of sources explaining how it supplied copper and many minerals for the U.S. for years. Of course anyone who already knew information on the pit could tell you its amazing and introcut stories of how it came to be, and how it has been doing over the years. The pit is a “toxic attraction” in the town of Butte. Being the town’s income and source of tourism. Most people in Butte Montana, the home of the pit, could tell how amazing it is.
A bauxite is a mixture consisting of hydrated aluminum oxide minerals and mineral impurities which are formed by weathered aluminum bearing rocks. In 1891 bauxite was mined in Alabama from the Rock Run. However, mining came to a sudden stop because metallurgical grade bauxite became very hard to obtain. Production started back up in 1927 and has been running on a maintained basis. Due to irregular distributions of bauxite deposits, exploratory test drilling must be conducted before any mining. Alabama bauxite is used in the making of high temperature products, abrasives, and chemicals. (Tew, 6)
The recycling of aluminum saves 95 percent of the energy required to make aluminum cans for sodas as well as other liquids (Ackerman 6). The most recent investment in the paper industry has been in machines and mills designed specifically to handle recycled paper (Ackerman 7). In the United States alone, 67 percent of all steel production is from recycled and recovered steel. For the aluminum industry, 42 percent of all aluminum is recovered or recycled. Each aluminum can, contains about 55 percent recycled content. This is a leading economic success for community recycling projects all over the United States. That accounts for more than $1 billion in recycled aluminum cans (Ackerman 7). The value of materials recycled from solid waste has become a substantial amount. In 1996 this project had a dollar value of $3.6 billion and was projected to be $5.2 billion by 2005. Paper and paperboard were accounted for almost one-third of all recycled materials, in both 1996 and 2005 (Ackerman 8). The other two-thirds were made up of grass clippings, aluminum cans, glass bottles, steel, and other recyclable materials. In recycling these materials, the planet is being saved for the future generations to
Uranium was discovered by Martin Heinrich Klaproth, a German chemist, in the mineral pitchblende (primarily a mix of uranium oxides) in 1789.Klaproth, as well as the rest of the scientific community, believed that the substance he extracted from pitchblende was pure uranium, it was actually uranium dioxide (UO2). After noticing that 'pure' uranium reacted oddly with uranium tetrachloride (UCl4), Radioactivity was first discovered in 1896 when Antoine Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, detected it from a sample of uranium. Today, uranium is obtained from uranium ores such as pitchblende, uraninite , carnotite and autunite as well as from phosphate rock , lignite (brown coal) and monazite sand . Since there is little demand for uranium metal, uranium is usually sold in the form of sodium diuranate , also known as yellow cake, or triuranium octoxide).
Recycling aluminum is the process by which scrap/ used aluminum can be reused into new and differe...
Previous page, Chalcopyrite ore (sulfide ore) that is made up of copper iron and sulfur (CuFeS2). Source:
In 1886 the world production of aluminum was less than 45 kg (less than 100 lb), and its price was more than $11 per kg (more than $5 per lb). In 1989, by contrast, the estimated world production of primary aluminum was 18 million metric tons and an estimated 4 million metric tons was produced in the United States alone, whereas the price of aluminum was less than $2 per kg. U.S. consumption, by major markets, consisted of containers and packaging, 31 percent; building and construction, 20 percent; transportation, 24 percent; electric equipment, 10 percent; consumer durables, 9 percent; and miscellaneous, 6 percent. In 1989, recycled aluminum accounted for over 20 percent of total aluminum consumption in the United States.
Aluminum is one of a number of soft metals that scientists call "poor" metals. It can be shaped and twisted into any form. It can be rolled into thick plates for armored tanks or into thin foil for chewing gum wrappers. It may be drawn into a wire or made into cans. Aluminum is a generally popular metal because it does not rust and it resists wear from weather and chemicals. (Bowman, 391) Aluminum is an element. Its atomic number is thirteen and its atomic weight is usually twenty-seven. Pure aluminum melts at 660.2ºC and boils at 2500ºC. Its density is 2.7 grams per cube centimeter. Aluminum is never found uncombined in nature. (Bowman, 391) Aluminum is a very useful metal that is light, easy to shape and can be strong. This makes aluminum one of the most used metals in the world, right behind iron and steel. (Geary, 185) In its pure state, aluminum is quite weak compared to the other metals. However, its strength can be greatly increased by adding small amounts of alloying elements, heat-treating, or cold working. Only a small percentage of aluminum is used in its pure form. It is made into such items as electrical conductors, jewelry, and decorative trim for alliances and cars. A combination of the three techniques has produced aluminum alloys that, pound for pound, are stronger than structural steel. Some common metals used in alloys for aluminum are copper, magnesium and zinc.(Walker, 31) The added elements give the aluminum strength and other properties. (Newmark, 41) Aluminum is one of the lightest metals. It weighs about 168.5 pounds per cubic foot, about a third as much as steel which weighs 487 pounds per cubic foot. (Neely, 214) As a result, aluminum has replaced steel for many uses. For example, some ...
Rio Tinto’s diverse portfolio, so that they supply the metals and minerals that help the world to grow. Rio Tinto’s biggest products are aluminium ...
Though it has had many negative impacts on the environment in the past, mining is a vital industry completely necessary to our economy and lives. Nearly every item we use or encounter in our day to day lives is mined or contains mined products. Without the excavation of such materials things like computers, televisions, large building structures, electricity, and cars would not be possible. Virtually every technological and medical advance uses minded materials, without which millions would suffer. Some examples of minerals in the home include the telephone which is made from as many as 42 different minerals, including aluminum, beryllium, coal, copper, gold, iron, silver, and talc. A television requires over 35 different minerals, and more than 30 minerals are needed to make a single personal computer. Without boron, copper, gold and quartz, your digital alarm clock would not work. Every American uses an average 47,000 pounds of newly mined materials each year, which is higher than all other countries with the exception of Japan, which is a staggering figure representative of our dependence and need for mined minerals. Coal makes up more than half of nation’s electricity, and will continue to be the largest electrical supplier into 2020 & accounting for some 95 percent of the nation's fossil energy reserves – nine of every ten short-tons of coal mined in the United States is used for electricity generation. As the population of the world grows more mineral resources must be exploited through mining in order to support the rising demand for such products. Though it may present a hazard to the environment and those physically located nears the mines, the materials extracted from mines...
...it is one of main metals used in the manufacturing of products in high demand by modern society. The process of extracting pure aluminium from mined bauxite is a complicated step-by-step procedure researched and produced by chemists. Aside from aluminium itself, bauxite mines have its disadvantages as well including environmental issues, health related issues, and aesthetical impairments. An example of an environmental issue would be air pollution. Diseases such as silicosis (a respiratory disease) can be induced from the inhalation of mining dust. Bauxite mines are generally found around the equator in tropical regions. To create space for these mines, lush areas of nature would have to be removed. This causes aesthetical impairment for visual enjoyers. As aluminium's demand in society rises, so will its advantages, disadvantages, and scientific research.
Dilley, L.; Earle, J.; Keats, G.; Nxele, A.A. & Ravenscroft, G. (2012) Non-conventional energy sources. Focus Geography Grade 11. 4th edition. Cape Town, South Africa. Maskew Miller Longman. pp. 274-277, p. 280