Tags
Chile 8.8 earthquake, Chile and Hait earthquake relief and recovery, cricketdiane, disaster recovery, earthquake resistant buildings, earthquakes, European storms and flooding, international aid, polymer based cement for earthquake resistant masonry and mortars, ranting about Republicans
Haiti’s plea: help us feed 1.5 million
GLENN KESSLER AND WILLIAM BOOTH
January 27, 2010
Earthquake in Haiti
MONTREAL: Haiti has made an emotional appeal for more aid, asking for food to feed 1.5 million people for 15 days, as international donors gathered in Montreal to try to organise an orderly path to recovery for the devastated nation.
”We need your help now,” the Prime Minister, Jean-Max Bellerive, told representatives of about 20 nations and aid organisations. The Haitian President, Rene Preval, said his country needed 36 million emergency daily rations just to get through the next few weeks. It needed 200,000 tents immediately.
New aid efforts are under way or being planned. The US will lease its abandoned embassy near the Port-au-Prince harbour to the Haitian Government for $US1 ($1.11) a year.
In Montreal, foreign donors agreed that any nation seeking to help rebuild Haiti should make a commitment of at least 10 years to the cause.
UN officials in Haiti have talked about the need to rebuild large sections of the capital – to move roads, infrastructure and multistorey buildings away from the active and dangerous fault line that runs across the city.
Mindful of the possible scope of the rebuilding, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said the US would host a donors’ conference in March, to be held at the UN in New York.
[etc.]
(from The Washington Post – January 2010)
http://www.smh.com.au/world/haitis-plea-help-us-feed-15-million-20100126-mwgh.html
***
Haiti rebuilding conference takes place in Montreal
Updated: Mon Jan. 25 2010 6:43:26 PM
Monday morning Foreign Affairs minister Lawrence Cannon congratulated all countries taking part as he started the affair, including the U.S., Dominican Republic, and many EU nations, and said that Haiti must take the lead in the country’s reconstruction.
(etc.)
**
My Note – so why do we still see vast numbers of people in Haiti under makeshift tents sitting in the rain and exposed to the elements which are expected to only grow worse? Can’t they build one good building off the ground, earthquake resistant and hurricane proof that could house these Haitian people through the rainy season and hurricane season that is sure to be dangerous to them? Later, it could be used as a school or make it three buildings with a cafeteria facility which can be a school campus and vocational education resource facility later . . . These have been built quickly in other places and certainly could be done in Haiti, given the amount of money that has been made available (if they’ll get on it immediately and not try to take the next two years studying the hell out of it.)
It is amazing to see the difference between the Hurricane Katrina recovery debacle which yielded pictures of people on bridges dead with the sun’s heat beating down on them waiting for help. Actually, there is a scene that I watched on CNN where a woman who looked to be in her twenties or thirties laying on the bridge in New Orleans where she died while waiting for help and it never should’ve been that way in America. While the Republicans in Washington insisted on every last dot and dash of protocol be followed for requesting help, people died in New Orleans. While the pre-staged supplies stood on standby and news crews and the Salvation Army were able to get into New Orleans and surrounding areas, the Washington bureaucrats with all their aristocratic friends couldn’t get one case of water to people sitting hungry and thirsty in the same areas. I will never understand why it took so long and why so many people died there that were born as equal American citizens as President Bush and all his Washington big business buddies. It hurts to think of an America like that.
It hurts to think of an America that couldn’t do as good as many, many other countries in serving the immediate needs of their citizens during and immediately after a disastrous extreme event. I don’t understand it. In Haiti, we all have watched the same insanity of elitism calling the shots while goods sat on the tarmac and did not get distributed or set up to supply the immediate needs of the people in Haiti while they literally died in buildings where no one came in time to get them out, they literally died in the streets waiting for help, they literally watched their children and families die in the filth of hospital floors where no goods were available to insure their health or well-being or recovery because those things were on “stand-by” through some bureaucratic and aristocratic choice. And even now – what is it to be? Will it be a Haiti with new building methods meant to withstand floods and hurricanes and earthquakes? Probably not.
Just as the Corps of Engineers in New Orleans rebuilt the levees to protect against much lower a storm than what can be expected sooner or later, so too Haiti will likely just keep doing things the same old ways no matter what. They could do something new and vibrant and world-class inspiring. It is in them to do it. It is in the people helping them to do it. Hell, for that matter – it is in the people running Washington to do those same wondrous new ways of doing things – but they aren’t going to do it. The ones that stand in the way are simply buying time and stopping anything effective long enough to get their way back again because they have not – nor will they ever accept that doing it their way resulted in losses of life, losses of prosperity, horrors we never want again, losses of America’s prestige and power, losses of economic stability, losses of America’s reputation as a nation of freedom, prosperity, civil and human rights, democracy and opportunity.
At what point does the fact that historically, aristocracy and tyranny always, always ends badly, mean something to these people who insist on doing it that way – including the Washington bureaucrats and Republican Party leaders, bankers, politicians, lobbyists, corporations and CEOs? When will it become apparent to them that sooner or later, doing it that way will impact them personally and it won’t be good whatever it is.
– cricketdiane
I want to note that the day after the Chile earthquake, there were members of the conservative and Republican Party press in the United States suggesting that the only reason that their recovery efforts were going better was because (according to those biased sources) they went out over the airwaves to say something immediately. Nope – that wasn’t it. Within hours of the event, their government leaders had already met together, put into the necessary actions of their emergency plans all of the actual actions and decisions that needed to be made, and had first-responders out doing rescues, fire-fighting, assessments, getting the next parts of the plan into action, making necessary adjustments to the plan as assessments of needs and damages came in – and on and on and on. That didn’t wait to happen for three days later or three weeks later or when the hell ever later as was the case in hurricanes and floods previously experienced by people in the US. They worked with the resources they had, moved them, flexed with the necessities and limitations of the situation and were letting people know about it as they’ve gone along. And, the leadership in Chile worked together to get the job done without stopping to spend thirty-six hours arguing about differences in opinion about what should be done first and how it needed to get done. Retailers were approached to make a deal with them so that goods from those stores would be given out to the people who needed them and finding new ways to use available resources to meet the needs as quickly as possible.
It was actually pretty disgusting to watch the parade of conservatives and Republicans Party members dismissing those efforts and downgrading how truly amazing it is to see any government leadership doing things that work well to respond in a national emergency situation in an efficient and coordinated manner. The people in Chile are still in a world of mess and disaster and difficulty and danger, there is no doubt about it. But the chances are very good that they will not suffer the secondary humanitarian tragedy of monumental proportions created by the incompetence, negligence, greed, aristocratic mindset, corruption and mind-boggling disorganization that has been the case in Haiti and across the United States during many extreme disasters of the last twenty years. Thank God.
(my note – please forgive my ranting a little bit – I do get tired of hearing stupid from bozos that ought to know better.)
– And, it’s no surprise that during a dramatic Depression economy, that Republican Party members and conservative caucus members would be getting Mr. Bunning in Congress to stop the extension of safety net funds extending unemployment benefits to millions of Americans. They were the same bunch that insisted that single women with young children not be given any help or food or anything else for three months while they and their children starved to death and became homeless in the process. These are the same Congressmen and women in the Republican Party that have given themselves raises that are greater than the total annual income that millions of American women and their children have to supply all of their needs. Most Washington offices have chairs that cost more than they offer to people to live on for an entire year when they are elderly, disabled, homeless, completely impoverished and starving. It is little surprise they are also the same people that took the Small Business Administration and made it a clearing house for loans instead of offering any real start up grants or any real aid to small businesses and individuals who could stand on their own feet by creating their own business. They are no longer mentors and no longer are there grants through the SBA and very few banks even work with the loans they guarantee which have to have collateral and are based on credit ratings in the same way as any other bank loan (in the final analysis no matter what their well-written crap says – ask any woman who has tried to get one of those loans.)
I’ve come to the conclusion that since 90% of Americans are actually Independents – we haven’t been represented since the American Revolution and that is a definite problem. I think most of us agree that we want things to be repaired and I believe most of us agree that the idiots that are so smart in Washington aren’t able to see past the lobbyist at their nose whose hand is putting money in their back pockets when its all said and done. I think we all agree that caste systems and racism are unacceptable whether it is in some remote part of the world or in the United States, in Wall Street, in Washington, in the Halls of Congress or in any city or county or state or school in the US. We don’t tolerate abuses of human rights and civil rights anywhere else, why should we allow it here for any reason? And, we sure don’t want to watch that nor experience that during an emergency, crisis or disaster. We don’t want our money to have no value or for it to take $50,000,000 to buy a loaf of bread, regardless of what the people in Washington and Wall Street can afford to pay for it. We don’t want people in our communities robbing people, why should we put up with bankers and politicians and Wall Street firms doing it?
We don’t want buildings that collapse, bridges that kill people because they weren’t kept repaired and in good condition, nor dams that give way because nobody wanted to be bothered fixing them when it was necessary. We do want the opportunities for prosperity to be available to all and for discrimination and intolerance to be changed into something that works better. The biggest problem is that many people in power don’t want these things and I don’t know how we managed to hire them considering they are like that and I don’t know how we managed to allow them to come to Washington and get that way once they were there even when it was obvious that sooner or later it would turn out badly doing it that way. Surely, the people who go to Washington as leaders and those in corporate leadership have seen some of the History Channel shows or a book or two about what happens when leaders fail to be in touch with those they govern and fail to serve the needs of those they govern while serving only the needs of an elite few at the expense of everyone. Doing it that way has destroyed entire countries, complete generations of people, whole cultures, killed millions of people, caused unnecessary suffering, stilted progress, denigrated potentials of the population as well as of the nation and eventually, destroyed the very people using those means to govern. It has done it every time. But then, maybe they’re different – it looks like none of our aristocracy has been without anything as a result of the bad decisions they made that have affected all of us negatively. Maybe they are invincible and nothing will affect them whether they do anything differently or not, it certainly seems that way right now. It looks like each and every one of us are paying the consequences of their bad decisions while they laugh in their sleeve and mock our concerns.
***
CNN’s coverage of Katrina and the aftermath won a 2006 Peabody Award, the oldest honor in electronic media
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/katrina/
The Coast Guard were remarkable during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina as were the volunteers who worked around the clock getting in their boats to go and rescue people. The days immediately after the hurricane found our President so busy lobbying and arm-twisting around Congress to get his Supreme Court nominee assured that he didn’t have any intention of penciling in a disaster on his roster of things needing the cabinet’s or his attention. That comes of serving the Republican Party and their interests rather than the interests of the people that he and others in Washington were elected to serve.
– my note
***
And now, Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican Party is snickering when told by the other panel member on a Larry King Live discussion of the real physical damages, furloughs and costs to individual families and projects in America by Republican insistence on stopping the extension of unemployment benefits legislation through Mr. Bunning. It isn’t funny and to see Mr. Steele snickering is indicative of the absolute contempt they have for the American people, the existing jobs available to people, the incomes of American families, the foreclosures happening in their lives, the opportunities for people in America to get on their feet and to survive this mess that the Republicans have made. It’s a real shame. And I hate that the Republicans and the conservative caucus are hijacking the Tea Party movement – those people joining into those movements need to look around and see who they’re serving now. I don’t always agree with the Democrats – they’ve done a boatload of stupid and damaging things to serve interests that weren’t the American people, too. But, at least they say they are doing it and invite a range of viewpoints which the Republicans have never done since before the Civil War.
– cricketdiane
***
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/02/earthquake.resistant.building/
In search of an earthquake-proof building
By John D. Sutter, CNN
March 2, 2010 10:44 a.m. EST
(CNN) — It’s a sobering fact: Earthquakes alone don’t kill people; collapsed buildings do.
But can people engineer buildings that wouldn’t crumble when subjected to the rumblings of the Earth?
In the wake of the Haiti and Chile earthquakes, such a question has more importance now than any time in recent memory.
The simple answer is yes. The technology exists to make buildings nearly earthquake-proof today. However, installing those safer buildings all over the world isn’t so simple. Neither is figuring out who will pay.
In a handful of interviews, engineers who work on earthquake-resistant buildings said current technologies prevent well-designed buildings from cracking when the ground shakes beneath them.
As the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile show so graphically, the real issue may be that adoption of these building technologies — many of which require only simple changes to building materials or composition — is far from equitable.
“Most disasters are created by human beings. It’s how we build and where we build that creates the hazard, the disaster,” said Michael Armstrong, senior vice president of the International Code Council, a nonprofit group that develops building codes for countries to adopt. “Earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, floods are going to occur, but there are ways in terms of where we build and how we build that can reduce the impact.”
(etc. – lots of good information here)
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/02/earthquake.resistant.building/
***
Chile’s earthquake was horrible – but it could have been so much worse
Chile is one of South America’s richest, best-organised countries and many of its homes and offices were built to be earthquake resistant
The Guardian, Monday 1 March 2010
Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent
Chile‘s earthquake was many times more powerful than the one that devastated Haiti earlier this year but caused only a small fraction of the casualties, thanks to geological luck and the country’s preparation for such a disaster.
Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude quake was a “megathrust” which unleashed about 50 gigatons of energy, but it was centered offshore and about 21 miles underground, dissipating its force by the time it reached towns and cities.
[ . . . ]
In contrast, the 7-magnitude quake that struck Port-au-Prince on January 12 was much shallower – about eight miles deep – and right on the edge of a city where 3 million people lived.
Eight Haitian towns and cities suffered “violent” to “extreme” shaking, whereas Chilean urban areas did not suffer more than “severe” shaking: still horrible, but a let-off.
The other reason Chile was counting its dead in the hundreds rather than hundreds of thousand was that this is one of South America’s richest, best-organised countries. It has long experience of dealing with earthquakes.
Seismic activity is common along its Andean ridge. In 1960 it suffered one of the strongest quakes on record. Saturday’s was the third with a magnitude greater than 8.7.
Homes and offices are built to sway with seismic waves rather than resist them. “When you look at the architecture in Chile, you see buildings that have damage, but not the complete pancaking that you’ve got in Haiti,” said Cameron Sinclair, executive director of Architecture for Humanity.
Sinclair said Chilean architects have built thousands of low-income houses to be earthquake resistant. It is required by blueprints and building codes.
Chileans may still ask themselves if they did enough to prepare. In Concepcion, one of the hardest hit places, many houses made of adobe crumbled, as did a recent 15-storey apartment block. The university caught fire and gas and power lines snapped. Many streets were littered with rubble and, just as in Port-au-Prince, inmates escaped from a damaged prison.
In Santiago, the capital, large sections of the renovated airport’s roof caved in. About 1.5 million Chileans were affected and 500,000 homes severely damaged. In some places rescuers complained of lack of fuel for equipment.
Even with damage estimated at $15bn-$30bn (£9.8-19.6bn), and airports, motorways and bridges shut, the state responded swiftly. “The fact that the president [Michelle Bachelet] was out giving minute-to-minute reports a few hours after the quake in the middle of the night gives you an indication of their disaster response,” said Sinclair.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/01/chile-earthquake-resistant-design
**
Chile earthquake: drills and building regulations helped keep casualties relatively low
From an early age, Chileans learn to deal with the risks of earthquakes.
By Harriet Alexander, and Andrew Hough
Published: 6:42PM GMT 28 Feb 2010
The major quake lasted one minute and was swiftly followed by a series of aftershocks ranging from 5.6 to 6.9 on the magnitude scale (Photo caption)
Schoolchildren since 1977 have practised earthquake drills three times a year in what is known as Operación DEYSE (Evacuation and School Safety), lining up when the alarm sounds and filing into the designated open space.
Every workplace is required to have an earthquake emergency procedure, and any Chilean can tell you take cover under a table or seek refuge under the main door frame of the house.
Everyone knows which are the structural walls of their house, as these are the least likely to collapse.
Chilean architect Monica Jarpa explained: “All buildings have to comply with very strict building regulations so that the structures can withstand earthquakes.
“Our architects have to be real experts in building earthquake-resistant buildings.
“An understanding of earthquakes ingrained into our culture.”
Jose Larrea, who owns a construction company in the city of Chillán, said: “We are used to building with earthquakes in mind.
[ . . . ]
Sound architectural structures coupled with Chilean understanding of earthquakes prevented this quake from becoming a disaster rivalling Haiti’s tragedy.
Dr Roger Musson, head of seismology hazard at the British Geological Survey, said the death toll in the Chile earthquake had been lower than Haiti as the earthquake was deeper and buildings were better constructed.
“In Haiti the quality of the buildings was appalling, they were not designed with earthquakes in mind,” he said.
“The vast majority of earthquake casualties are caused by bad buildings or by buildings collapsing.”
[etc.]
**
(From CNN Story about the earthquake recovery efforts in Chile currently underway – )
Paul Simons, U.S. ambassador to Chile, said that the international community and Chilean government have realized in the past two days “that the magnitude of this earthquake is very, very substantial.”
“Chile is a country that’s not really used to asking for outside help,” Simons said in Santiago. “Quite frankly, it’s been a donor country.”
Simons said field hospitals are among Chile’s greatest need, given its loss of 19 hospitals, representing more than 4,000 beds.
“The doctors are fine, but they need places to operate,” Simons said.
The nation’s ambassador to the United States, Jose Goni, listed Chile’s top priorities Monday afternoon.
“After a detailed assessment of the situation,” Goni said, “the Chilean government has requested aid from the U.S. government consisting essentially of field hospitals, power generators, water-purification plants, rescue teams, medical crews, tents, satellite telephones, temporary infrastructure for people in need and dialysis autonomous systems.”
The United Nations also said Monday that Chile had requested international assistance and indicated it is ready to help.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Santiago for a brief visit Tuesday on a previously scheduled trip through Latin America. She had originally been scheduled to arrive Monday.
Clinton brought with her 20 satellite phones and a technician, part of the aid the United States will provide to Chile.
Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez ticked through a list of promised international aid: from Canada, 150 portable houses; China, $1 million and a field hospital; South Korea, a planeload of medical equipment; Cuba, a portable hospital equipped with a surgical suite and 25 doctors; Indonesia, $1 million; the European Union, $4 million; Spain, rescue teams, including structural engineers and search dogs; Japan, $3 million and emergency materials; the United Nations, health aid.
Other promised aid, according to Fernandez: from Argentina, three portable hospitals; Peru, one portable hospital and 25 doctors; France, a team of 15 structural engineers; the Organization of American States, 20 satellite phones; the United States, 60 satellite phones; Switzerland, a team of engineers; Russia, 100 portable houses and seven tons of food; Uruguay, two water-purification plants.
Saturday’s earthquake is tied for the fifth-strongest since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Another 8.8 quake struck off the coast of Ecuador in 1906.
[ etc.]
CNN’s Ana Maria Luengo-Romero, Sara Sidner and Soledad O’Brien contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/02/chile.earthquake/index.html?hpt=Sbin
**
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/02/clinton.chile/index.html
Clinton promises solidarity, supplies for quake-damaged Chile
// <![CDATA[// -1) {document.write(‘March 2, 2010 — Updated 2031 GMT (0431 HKT)’);} else {document.write(‘March 2, 2010 3:31 p.m. EST’);}
// ]]>March 2, 2010 3:31 p.m. EST
**
Organizations
Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization A Andean Community of Nations A Association of Caribbean States A Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas A Caribbean Community A Central American Integration System A Latin American Integration Association A Latin American Economic System A Mercosur A Organization of American States A Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States A Organization of Ibero-American States A Petrocaribe A Rio Group A Union of South American Nations
Projects
Andean passport A CARICOM Single Market and Economy A CARICOM passport A Eastern Caribbean Currency Union A Initiative for Infrastructure Integration of South America A Interoceanic Highway A SUCRE (currency)
Institutions
Andean Development Corporation A Bank of the South A Caribbean Court of Justice A Caribbean Development Bank A Inter-American Development Bank A Latin American Parliament A Mercosur Parliament A South American Parliament
FTAs
Caribbean Free Trade Association A Dominican Republic – Central America FTA A Free Trade Area of the Americas A G3 Free Trade Agreement A North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Caribbean_States
**
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrocaribe
**
Here is a great place to find what the minerals are in a country or territory, region, state or wherever and a tremendous amount of information about minerals, rocks, gemstones and other geological goodies, mines and other natural elements. (my note)
Localities for Anatase
[Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia] [Volodarsk-Volynskii (Volodars’k-Volyns’kyy; Wolodarsk-Wolynskii), Zhytomyr Oblast’ (Zhitomir Oblast’), Ukraine] [Kovdor Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast’, Northern Region, Russia] [Yukspor Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast’, Northern Region, Russia] [Saranovskii Mine (Saranovskoe), Saranovskaya (Sarany) Village, Gorozavodskii area, Permskaya Oblast’, Middle Urals, Urals Region, Russia] [Maicuru alkaline complex, Maicuru range, Monte Alegre, Pará, North Region, Brazil] [Maraconai deposit, Maraconai range, Almerim, Pará, North Region, Brazil] [Tundulu Complex, Phalombe District, Malawi] [Slyudorudnik Mine, Kyshtym (Kychtym; Kishtim), Chelyabinsk Oblast’, Southern Urals, Urals Region, Russia] [Yubileinoye Au-Cu deposit, Emba, Aqtöbe Oblysy (Aktubinsk [Aktyubinsk; Aktubinskaya] Oblast’), Kazakhstan]
Terms of Use
Map
Satellite
Hybrid
Terrain
USA Topo
5000 mi
5000 km
Show Locality List (1422 Items)
The map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the symbol to view information about a locality. The symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.
Mineral and/or Locality
www.mindat.org Web
from: Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau 1993-2010. Site Map. Locality, mineral & photograph data are the copyright of the individuals who submitted them.Further information contact the webmaster Site hosted & developed by Jolyon Ralph. Mindat.org is an online information resource dedicated to providing free mineralogical information to all. Mindat relies on the contributions of hundreds of members and supporters. If you would like to add information to improve the quality of our database, then click here to register. Current server date and time: 2nd Jan 2010 19:56:26
http://www.mindat.org/min-213.html
**
Memé Mine, Terre Neuve district, L’Artibonite Department, Haiti
Mining Information about Haiti –
StandardDetailedBy ChemistryMapsSearch GoogleMineral Search
Skarn and porphyry copper deposit.
References:
– Econ. Geol. (1986) 81:1801-1807.
– Evans, A.M. (1997): An Introduction to Economic Geology and its Environmental Impact. Blackwell Science Ltd (Oxford), 370 pp.
– Singer, D.A., Berger, V.I., and Moring, B.C. (2008): Porphyry copper deposits of the world: Database and grade and tonnage models, 2008. US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1155.
Map data 2009 LeadDog Consulting, Europa Technologies
Map Reference: 19E31’N , 72E42’W
This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
Group 2 – Sulphides and Sulfosalts
#
Bornite 2.BA.15
Cu5FeS4
#
Chalcocite 2.BA.05
Cu2S
#
Chalcopyrite 2.CB.10a
CuFeS2
#
Digenite 2.BA.10
Cu9S5
#
Molybdenite 2.EA.30
MoS2
#
Pyrite 2.EB.05a
FeS2
Group 4 – Oxides and Hydroxides
#
Hematite 4.CB.05
Fe2O3
#
Magnetite 4.BB.05
Fe2+Fe23+O4
Group 9 – Silicates
#
Epidote 9.BG.05a
{Ca2}{Al2Fe3+}[O|OH|SiO4|Si2O7]
Unclassified Minerals
#
‘Garnet Group’ –
X3Z2(TO4)3(X = Ca, Fe, etcA, Z = Al, Cr, etcA, T = Si, As, V)
10 entries listed. 9 valid minerals.
The above list contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database!
This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to find out how you can sponsor this page.
http://www.mindat.org/loc.php?loc=205537&ob=1
&******&
http://www.mindat.org/loc.php?loc=205537&ob=1
http://www.mindat.org/loc-14477.html
**
An independent research effort of AEA Technology to identify critical issues for the cement industry today concluded the most important environment, health and safety performance issues facing the cement industry are atmospheric releases (including greenhouse gas emissions, dioxin, NOx, SO2, and particulates), accidents and worker exposure to dust. [8]
The CO2 associated with Portland cement manufacture falls into 3 categories:
* CO2 derived from decarbonation of limestone,
* CO2 from kiln fuel combustion,
* CO2 produced by vehicles in cement plants and distribution.
Source 1 is fairly constant: minimum around 0.47 kg CO2 per kg of cement, maximum 0.54, typical value around 0.50 worldwide. Source 2 varies with plant efficiency: efficient precalciner plant 0.24 kg CO2 per kg cement, low-efficiency wet process as high as 0.65, typical modern practices (e.g. UK) averaging around 0.30. Source 3 is almost insignificant at 0.002-0.005. So typical total CO2 is around 0.80 kg CO2 per kg finished cement. This leaves aside the CO2 associated with electric power consumption, since this varies according to the local generation type and efficiency. Typical electrical energy consumption is of the order of 90-150 kWh per tonne cement, equivalent to 0.09-0.15 kg CO2 per kg finished cement if the electricity is coal-generated.
Overall, with nuclear- or hydroelectric power and efficient manufacturing, CO2 generation can be as little as 0.7 kg per kg cement, but can be as high as twice this amount. The thrust of innovation for the future is to reduce sources 1 and 2 by modification of the chemistry of cement, by the use of wastes, and by adopting more efficient processes. Although cement manufacturing is clearly a very large CO2 emitter, concrete (of which cement makes up about 15%) compares quite favorably with other building systems in this regard.
Portland cement manufacture can cause environmental impacts at all stages of the process. These include emissions of airborne pollution in the form of dust, gases, noise and vibration when operating machinery and during blasting in quarries, consumption of large quantities of fuel during manufacture, release of CO2 from the raw materials during manufacture, and damage to countryside from quarrying. Equipment to reduce dust emissions during quarrying and manufacture of cement is widely used, and equipment to trap and separate exhaust gases are coming into increased use. Environmental protection also includes the re-integration of quarries into the countryside after they have been closed down by returning them to nature or re-cultivating them.
In Scandinavia, France and the UK, the level of chromium(VI), which is thought to be toxic and a major skin irritant, may not exceed 2 ppm (parts per million).
Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Sulfur Dioxide Exposure in Portland Cement Plants, from the Centers for Disease Control, states “Workers at Portland cement facilities, particularly those burning fuel containing sulfur, should be aware of the acute and chronic effects of exposure to SO2 [sulfur dioxide], and peak and full-shift concentrations of SO2 should be periodically measured.”
—[5]
“The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality was informed this week that the Arizona Portland Cement Co. failed a second round of testing for emissions of hazardous air pollutants at the company’s Rillito plant near Tucson. The latest round of testing, performed in January 2003 by the company, is designed to ensure that the facility complies with federal standards governing the emissions of dioxins and furans, which are byproducts of the manufacturing process.” [6] Cement Reviews’ “Environmental News” web page details case after case of environmental problems with cement manufacturing. [7]
(from Portland cement article on Wikipedia – entry below)
My Note –
This is some of the information I’ve been viewing to find alternatives for Portland cement to be used as mortar between bricks, rocks and concrete blocks in building for more earthquake resistant structures. There are some polymers and alternatives but they are not used extensively. The main disintegration point in structures made from bricks, rocks, earthen adobe bricks, mud bricks and concrete blocks happens where the mortar has been used. During extreme events such as earthquakes, these are the weakest points which give way and cause the most damage to human life, causing severe injuries and deaths.
– cricketdiane
**
A photocatalytic cement that uses titanium dioxide as a primary component, produced by Italcementi Group, was included in Time’s Top 50 Inventions of 2008.[22]
(from Wikipedia entry below)
200px-Titanium(IV)_oxide.jpg
200px-Rutile-unit-cell-3D-balls.png
180px-TiO2nanotube.jpg
180px-TiO2fiber.jpg
180px-TiO2crystals.JPG
Titanium dioxide
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Titanium dioxide
Titanium(IV) oxide
The unit cell of rutile
IUPAC name[hide]
Titanium dioxide
Titanium(IV) oxide
other names[hide]
Titania
Rutile
Anatase
Brookite
Identifiers
CAS number 13463-67-7 Yes check.svgY
PubChem 26042
RTECS number XR2775000
Properties
Molecular formula TiO2
Molar mass 79.866 g/mol
Appearance White solid
Density 4.23 g/cm3
Melting point
1843 EC
Boiling point
2972 EC
Refractive index (nD) 2.488 (anatase)
2.583 (brooklite)
2.609 (rutile)
Hazards
MSDS ICSC 0338
EU classification Not listed
NFPA 704
NFPA 704.svg
0
1
0
Flash point Non-flammable
Related compounds
Other cations Zirconium dioxide
Hafnium dioxide
Related titanium oxides Titanium(II) oxide
Titanium(III) oxide
Titanium(III,IV) oxide
Related compounds Titanic acid
Yes check.svgY (what is this?) (verify)
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 EC, 100 kPa)
Infobox references
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO2. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6, or CI 77891. It is noteworthy for its wide range of applications, from paint to sunscreen to food colouring, for which it was given E number E171.
Occurrence
Titanium dioxide occurs in nature as well-known minerals rutile, anatase and brookite, and additionally as two high pressure forms, a monoclinic baddeleyite-like form and an orthorhombic ?-PbO2-like form, both found recently at the Ries crater in Bavaria.[1][2] The most common form is rutile,[3] which is also the most stable form. Anatase and brookite both convert to rutile upon heating.[3] Rutile, anatase and brookite all contain six coordinated titanium.
Titanium dioxide has eight modifications – in addition to rutile, anatase and brookite there are three metastable forms produced synthetically (monoclinic, tetragonal and orthorombic), and five high pressure forms (?-PbO2-like, baddeleyite-like and cotunnite-like):
Form Crystal system Synthesis
rutile tetragonal
anatase tetragonal
brookite orthorhombic
TiO2(B)[4] monoclinic Hydrolysis of K2Ti4O9 followed by heating
TiO2(H), hollandite-like form [5] tetragonal Oxidation of the related potassium titanate bronze, K0.25TiO2
TiO2(R), ramsdellite-like form [6] orthorhombic Oxidation of the related lithium titanate bronze Li0.5TiO2
TiO2(II)-(?-PbO2-like form) [7] orthorhombic
baddeleyite-like form, (7 coordinated Ti)[8] monoclinic
TiO2 -OI[9] orthorhombic
cubic form [10] cubic
TiO2 -OII, cotunnite(PbCl2)-like [11] orthorhombic
The naturally occurring oxides can be mined and serve as a source for commercial titanium. The metal can also be mined from other minerals such as ilmenite or leucoxene ores, or one of the purest forms, rutile beach sand. Star sapphires and rubies get their asterism from rutile impurities present in them.[12]
Titanium dioxide (B) is found as a mineral in weathering rims on tektites and perovskite and as lamellae in anatase from hydrothermal veins and has a relatively low density.[13]
Spectral lines from titanium oxide are prominent in class M stars, which are cool enough to allow molecules of this chemical to form.
Production
Crude titanium dioxide is purified via converting to titanium tetrachloride in the chloride process. In this process, the crude ore (containing at least 70% TiO2) is reduced with carbon, oxidized with chlorine to give titanium tetrachloride. This titanium tetrachloride is distilled, and re-oxidized with oxygen to give pure titanium dioxide while also regenerating chlorine.[14]
Another widely used process utilizes ilmenite as the titanium dioxide source, which is digested in sulfuric acid. The by-product iron(II) sulfate is crystallized and filtered-off to yield only the titanium salt in the digestion solution, which is processed further to give pure titanium dioxide. Another method for upgrading ilmenite is called the Becher Process. One method for the production of titanium dioxide with relevance to nanotechnology is solvothermal Synthesis of titanium dioxide.
Titanium oxide nanotubes, SEM image.
In the laboratory, anatase can be converted in a hydrothermal synthesis to TiO2(B) nanotubes and nanowires which are of potential interest as catalytic supports and photocatalysts. For this to happen, anatase is mixed with 15M sodium hydroxide and heated at 150 EC for 72 hours. The reaction product is washed with dilute hydrochloric acid and heated at 400 EC for another 15 hours. the yield of nanotubes is quantitative and the tubes have an outer diameter of 10 to 20 nanometers and an inner diameter of 5 to 8 nanometers and have a length of 1 micron. A higher reaction temperature (170 EC) and less reaction volume gives the corresponding nanowires.[15]
Applications
Pigment
Titanium dioxide is the most widely used white pigment because of its brightness and very high refractive index (n = 2.7), in which it is surpassed only by a few other materials. Approximately 4 million tons of pigmentary TiO2 are consumed annually worldwide. When deposited as a thin film, its refractive index and colour make it an excellent reflective optical coating for dielectric mirrors and some gemstones like “mystic fire topaz”. TiO2 is also an effective opacifier in powder form, where it is employed as a pigment to provide whiteness and opacity to products such as paints, coatings, plastics, papers, inks, foods, medicines (i.e. pills and tablets) as well as most toothpastes. Opacity is improved by optimal sizing of the titanium dioxide particles.
Used as a white food colouring, it has E number E171. Titanium dioxide is often used to whiten skimmed milk; this has been shown statistically to increase skimmed milk’s palatability.[16]
In cosmetic and skin care products, titanium dioxide is used both as a pigment and a thickener. It is also used as a tattoo pigment and in styptic pencils.
This pigment is used extensively in plastics and other applications for its UV resistant properties where it acts as a UV absorber, efficiently transforming destructive UV light energy into heat.
In ceramic glazes titanium dioxide acts as an opacifier and seeds crystal formation.
Titanium dioxide is found in almost every sunscreen with a physical blocker because of its high refractive index, its strong UV light absorbing capabilities and its resistance to discolouration under ultraviolet light. This advantage enhances its stability and ability to protect the skin from ultraviolet light. Sunscreens designed for infants or people with sensitive skin are often based on titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide, as these mineral UV blockers are believed to cause less skin irritation than chemical UV absorber ingredients. The titanium dioxide particles used in sunscreens have to be coated with silica or alumina, because titanium dioxide creates radicals in the photocatalytic reaction. These radicals are carcinogenic, and could damage the skin.
Titanium dioxide is used to mark the white lines on the tennis courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, best known as the venue for the annual grand slam tennis tournament The Championships, Wimbledon.[17]
As a photocatalyst
TiO fibers and spirals.
Titanium dioxide, particularly in the anatase form, is a photocatalyst under ultraviolet light. Recently it has been found that titanium dioxide, when spiked with nitrogen ions or doped with metal oxide like tungsten trioxide, is also a photocatalyst under visible and UV light. The strong oxidative potential of the positive holes oxidizes water to create hydroxyl radicals. It can also oxidize oxygen or organic materials directly. Titanium dioxide is thus added to paints, cements, windows, tiles, or other products for its sterilizing, deodorizing and anti-fouling properties and is used as a hydrolysis catalyst. It is also used in the Graetzel cell, a type of chemical solar cell.
The photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide were discovered by Akira Fujishima in 1967[18] and published in 1972.[19] The process on the surface of the titanium dioxide was called the Honda-Fujishima effect.[18] Titanium dioxide has potential for use in energy production: as a photocatalyst, it can
* carry out hydrolysis; i.e., break water into hydrogen and oxygen. Were the hydrogen collected, it could be used as a fuel. The efficiency of this process can be greatly improved by doping the oxide with carbon.[20].
* Titanium dioxide can also produce electricity when in nanoparticle form. Research suggests that by using these nanoparticles to form the pixels of a screen, they generate electricity when transparent and under the influence of light. If subjected to electricity on the other hand, the nanoparticles blacken, forming the basic characteristics of a LCD screen. According to creator Zoran Radivojevic, Nokia has already built a functional 200-by-200-pixel monochromatic screen which is energetically self-sufficient.
In 1995 Fujishima and his group discovered the superhydrophilicity phenomenon for titanium dioxide coated glass exposed to sun light.[18] This resulted in the development of self-cleaning glass and anti-fogging coatings.
TiO2 incorporated into outdoor building materials, such as paving stones in noxer blocks or paints, can substantially reduce concentrations of airborne pollutants such as volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides.[21]
A photocatalytic cement that uses titanium dioxide as a primary component, produced by Italcementi Group, was included in Time’s Top 50 Inventions of 2008.[22]
TiO2 offers great potential as an industrial technology for detoxification or remediation of wastewater due to several factors.
1. The process occurs under ambient conditions very slowly; direct UV light exposure increases the rate of reaction.
2. The formation of photocyclized intermediate products, unlike direct photolysis techniques, is avoided.
3. Oxidation of the substrates to CO2 is complete.
4. The photocatalyst is inexpensive and has a high turnover.
5. TiO2 can be supported on suitable reactor substrates.
Other applications
Synthetic single crystals of TiO2
It is also used in resistance-type lambda probes (a type of oxygen sensor).
Titanium dioxide is what allows osseointegration between an artificial medical implant and bone.
Titanium dioxide in solution or suspension can be used to cleave protein that contains the amino acid proline at the site where proline is present. This breakthrough in cost-effective protein splitting took place at Arizona State University in 2006.[23]
Titanium dioxide on silica is being developed as a form of odor control in cat litter. The photocatalyst is vastly cheaper than silica beads per usage and effectively eliminates odor for longer.
Titanium dioxide is also used as a material in the memristor, a new electronic circuit element. It can be employed for solar energy conversion based on dye, polymer, or quantum dot sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cells using conjugated polymers as solid electrolytes.[24]
It has also been recently incorporated as a photocatalyst into dental bleaching products. It allows the use of decreased concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in the bleaching agent, thus claimed to achieve similar bleaching effects with fewer side effects (e.g. transient sensitivity, change in tooth surface topography, etc.)
It is also used by film and television companies as a substitute for snow when filming scenes which require a winter setting.
Synthetic single crystals and films of TiO2 are used as a semiconductor,[25] and also in Bragg-stack style dielectric mirrors due to the high refractive index of TiO2 (2.5 – 2.9).[26][27]
Health and safety
Titanium dioxide is incompatible with strong oxidizers and strong acids.[28] Violent or incandescent reactions may occur with metals (e.g. aluminium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc and lithium).[29]
Titanium dioxide dust, when inhaled, has recently been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as an IARC Group 2B carcinogen possibly carcinogenic to humans.[30] Titanium dioxide accounts for 70% of the total production volume of pigments worldwide. It is widely used to provide whiteness and opacity to products such as paints, plastics, papers, inks, foods, and toothpastes. It is also used in cosmetic and skin care products, and it is present in almost every sunblock, where it helps protect the skin from ultraviolet light.
The findings of the IARC are based on the discovery that high concentrations of pigment-grade (powdered) and ultrafine titanium dioxide dust caused respiratory tract cancer in rats exposed by inhalation and intratracheal instillation.[31] The series of biological events or steps that produce the rat lung cancers (e.g. particle deposition, impaired lung clearance, cell injury, fibrosis, mutations and ultimately cancer) have also been seen in people working in dusty environments. Therefore, the observations of cancer in animals were considered, by IARC, as relevant to people doing jobs with exposures to titanium dioxide dust. For example, titanium dioxide production workers may be exposed to high dust concentrations during packing, milling, site cleaning and maintenance, if there are insufficient dust control measures in place. However, it should be noted that the human studies conducted so far do not suggest an association between occupational exposure to titanium dioxide and an increased risk for cancer. The safety of the use of these nanoparticles, which can penetrate the body and reach internal organs, has been criticized.[32] Studies have also found that titanium dioxide nanoparticles cause genetic damage in mice, suggesting that humans may be at risk of cancer or genetic disorders resulting from exposure.[33]
See also
* Dye-sensitized solar cell
* Noxer, a building material incorporating TiO2.
* Timeline of hydrogen technologies
References
1. ^ El, Goresy; Chen, M; Dubrovinsky, L; Gillet, P; Graup, G (2001). “An ultradense polymorph of rutile with seven-coordinated titanium from the Ries crater.”. Science 293 (5534): 1467–70. doi:10.1126/science.1062342. PMID 11520981.
2. ^ El Goresy, Ahmed (2001). “A natural shock-induced dense polymorph of rutile with ?-PbO2 structure in the suevite from the Ries crater in Germany”. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 192: 485. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(01)00480-0.
3. ^ a b Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, A. (1984), Chemistry of the Elements, Oxford: Pergamon, pp. 1117–19, ISBN 0-08-022057-6
4. ^ Marchand R., Brohan L., Tournoux M. (1980). “A new form of titanium dioxide and the potassium octatitanate K2Ti8O17”. Materials Research Bulletin 15 (8): 1129–1133. doi:10.1016/0025-5408(80)90076-8.
5. ^ Latroche, M; Brohan, L; Marchand, R; Tournoux, (1989). “New hollandite oxides: TiO2(H) and K0.06TiO2”. Journal of Solid State Chemistry 81 (1): 78–82. doi:10.1016/0022-4596(89)90204-1.
6. ^ J. Akimoto, Y. Gotoh, Y. Oosawa, N. Nonose, T. Kumagai, K. Aoki, H. Takei (1994). “Topotactic Oxidation of Ramsdellite-Type Li0.5TiO2, a New Polymorph of Titanium Dioxide: TiO2(R)”. Journal of Solid State Chemistry 113 (1): 27–36. doi:10.1006/jssc.1994.1337.
7. ^ P. Y. Simons, F. Dachille (1967). “The structure of TiO2II, a high-pressure phase of TiO2”. Acta Crystallographica 23 (2): 334–336. doi:10.1107/S0365110X67002713.
8. ^ Sato H. , Endo S, Sugiyama M, Kikegawa T, Shimomura O, Kusaba K (1991). “Baddeleyite-Type High-Pressure Phase of TiO2”. Science 251 (4995): 786 – 788. doi:10.1126/science.251.4995.786. PMID 17775458.
9. ^ Dubrovinskaia N A, Dubrovinsky L S., Ahuja R, Prokopenko V B., Dmitriev V., Weber H.-P., Osorio-Guillen J. M., Johansson B (2001). “Experimental and Theoretical Identification of a New High-Pressure TiO2 Polymorph.”. Phys. Rev. Lett. 87: 275501. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.275501.
10. ^ Mattesini M, de Almeida J. S., Dubrovinsky L., Dubrovinskaia L, Johansson B., Ahuja R. (2004). “High-pressure and high-temperature synthesis of the cubic TiO2 polymorph”. Phys. Rev. B 70: 212101. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.70.212101.
11. ^ Dubrovinsky, LS; Dubrovinskaia, NA; Swamy, V; Muscat, J; Harrison, NM; Ahuja, R; Holm, B; Johansson, B (2001). “Materials science: The hardest known oxide”. Nature 410 (6829): 653–654. doi:10.1038/35070650. PMID 11287944.
12. ^ Emsley, John (2001). Nature’s Building Blocks: An A–Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 451–53. ISBN 0-19-850341-5.
13. ^ Banfield, J. F., Veblen, D. R., and Smith, D. J. (1991). “The identification of naturally occurring TiO2 (B) by structure determination using high-resolution electron microscopy, image simulation, and distance–least–squares refinement”. American Mineralogist 76: 343.
14. ^ “Titanium Dioxide Manufacturing Processes”. Millennium Inorganic Chemicals. http://www.millenniumchem.com/Products+and+Services/Products+by+Type/Titanium+Dioxide+-+Paint+and+Coatings/r_TiO2+Fundamentals/Titanium+Dioxide+Manufacturing+Processes_EN.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
15. ^ Graham Armstrong, A. Robert Armstrong, Jesús Canales and Peter G. Bruce (2005). “Nanotubes with the TiO2-B structure”. Chemical Communications: 2454. http://www.rsc.org/publishing/journals/CC/article.asp?doi=b501883h.
16. ^ Lance G. Phillips and David M. Barbano. “The Influence of Fat Substitutes Based on Protein and Titanium Dioxide on the Sensory Properties of Lowfat Milk”. Journal of Dairy Science 80 (11): 2726. http://jds.fass.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/11/2726.
17. ^ “Light spells doom for bacteria”. http://www.photonics.com/Content/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=35722.
18. ^ a b c “Japan Nanonet Bulletin – 44th Issue – May 12, 2005: Discovery and applications of photocatalysis —Creating a comfortable future by making use of light energy”
19. ^ Fujishima, AKIRA (1972). “Electrochemical Photolysis of Water at a Semiconductor Electrode”. Nature 238: 37. doi:10.1038/238037a0.
20. ^ Carbon-doped titanium dioxide is an effective photocatalyst
21. ^ “Smog-busting paint soaks up noxious gases”, Jenny Hogan, ‘newscientist.com, February 4, 2004
22. ^ TIME’s Best Inventions of 2008, October 31, 2008
23. ^ Jones, BJ; Vergne, MJ; Bunk, DM; Locascio, LE; Hayes, MA (2007). “Cleavage of Peptides and Proteins Using Light-Generated Radicals from Titanium Dioxide”. Anal. Chem. 79 (4): 1327–1332. doi:10.1021/ac0613737. PMID 17297930.
24. ^ Lewis, Nathan. “Nanocrystalline TiO2”. Research. California Institute of Technology. http://nsl.caltech.edu/research.nt.html. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
25. ^ M. D. Earle (1942). “The Electrical Conductivity of Titanium Dioxide”. Physical Review 61 (1-2): 56. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.61.56.
26. ^ Paschotta, Rüdiger. “Bragg Mirrors”. Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology. RP Photonics. http://www.rp-photonics.com/bragg_mirrors.html. Retrieved May 1, 2009.
27. ^ Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (89 ed.). 2008–2009.
28. ^ Occupational Health Services, Inc. (31 May 1988). “Hazardline” (Electronic Bulletin). New York: Occupational Health Services, Inc..
29. ^ Sax, N.I.; Richard J. Lewis, Sr. (2000). Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. III (10th ed.). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 3279. ISBN 978-0471354079.
30. ^ “Titanium dioxide”. International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2006. http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Meetings/93-titaniumdioxide.pdf.
31. ^ Kutal, C., Serpone, N. (1993). Photosensitive Metal Organic Systems: Mechanistic Principles and Applications. American Chemical Society, Washington D.C.
32. ^ “Suncream may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease, say experts”. 24th August 2009. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1208720/Suncream-linked-Alzheimers-disease-say-experts.html. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
33. ^ “Nanoparticles Used in Common Household Items Cause Genetic Damage in Mice”. 17th November 2009. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116165739.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
External links
* International Chemical Safety Card 0338
* “Nano-Oxides, Inc. – Nano Powders, LEGIT information on Titanium Dioxide TiO2”. http://www.nano-oxides.com. http://www.nano-oxides.com/pdf/TiO2_Brochure.pdf. Retrieved November2008.
* NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
* “Fresh doubt over America map”, bbc.co.uk, 30 July 2002
* Titanium Dioxide Classified as Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans, 2007 (if inhaled as a powder)
* A description of TiO2 photocatalysis
* Crystal structures of the three forms of TiO2
* “Architecture in Italy goes green”, Elisabetta Povoledo, International Herald Tribune, November 22, 2006
* “A Concrete Step Toward Cleaner Air”, Bruno Giussani, BusinessWeek.com, November 8, 2006
* “Titanium Dioxide Classified as Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans”, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, August, 2006
v • d • e
Titanium compounds
TiB2 A TiBr4 A TiC A TiCl2 A TiCl3 A TiCl4 A TiF3 A TiF4 A TiH2 A TiI4 A TiN A TiO A TiO2 A TiP A TiS A TiSi2 A Ti2O3
v • d • e
Sunscreening agents approved by the US FDA or other agencies
UVA: 400–315 nm • UVB: 315–290 nm • chemical agents unless otherwise noted
UVA filters
Avobenzone (Parsol 1789) • Bisdisulizole disodium (Neo Heliopan AP) • Diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate (Uvinul A Plus) • Ecamsule (Mexoryl SX) • Methyl anthranilate
UVB filters
4-Aminobenzoic acid (PABA) • Cinoxate • Ethylhexyl triazone (Uvinul T 150) • Homosalate • 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor (Parsol 5000) • Octyl methoxycinnamate (Octinoxate) • Octyl salicylate (Octisalate) • Padimate O (Escalol 507) • Phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid (Ensulizole) • Polysilicone-15 (Parsol SLX) • Trolamine salicylate
UVA+UVB filters
Bemotrizinol (Tinosorb S) • Benzophenones 1–12 • Dioxybenzone • Drometrizole trisiloxane (Mexoryl XL) • Iscotrizinol (Uvasorb HEB) • Octocrylene • Oxybenzone (Eusolex 4360) • Sulisobenzone • hybrid (chemical/physical): Bisoctrizole (Tinosorb M) • physical: Titanium dioxide,
Zinc oxide
See also: Photoprotection • Sunburn • Sun protective clothing
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_dioxide”
Categories: Titanium compounds | Oxides | Inorganic pigments | Food colorings | Sunscreening agents | Solar cells | Ultraviolet | Common oxide glass components | Excipients | IARC Group 2B carcinogens | Dye-sensitized solar cells
* This page was last modified on 21 January 2010 at 22:16.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_dioxide
***
In 1995 Fujishima and his group discovered the superhydrophilicity phenomenon for titanium dioxide coated glass exposed to sun light.[18] This resulted in the development of self-cleaning glass and anti-fogging coatings.
TiO2 incorporated into outdoor building materials, such as paving stones in noxer blocks or paints, can substantially reduce concentrations of airborne pollutants such as volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides.[21]
A photocatalytic cement that uses titanium dioxide as a primary component, produced by Italcementi Group, was included in Time’s Top 50 Inventions of 2008.[22]
As a photocatalyst
TiO fibers and spirals.
Titanium dioxide, particularly in the anatase form, is a photocatalyst under ultraviolet light. Recently it has been found that titanium dioxide, when spiked with nitrogen ions or doped with metal oxide like tungsten trioxide, is also a photocatalyst under visible and UV light. The strong oxidative potential of the positive holes oxidizes water to create hydroxyl radicals. It can also oxidize oxygen or organic materials directly. Titanium dioxide is thus added to paints, cements, windows, tiles, or other products for its sterilizing, deodorizing and anti-fouling properties and is used as a hydrolysis catalyst. It is also used in the Graetzel cell, a type of chemical solar cell.
The photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide were discovered by Akira Fujishima in 1967[18] and published in 1972.[19] The process on the surface of the titanium dioxide was called the Honda-Fujishima effect.[18] Titanium dioxide has potential for use in energy production: as a photocatalyst, it can
* carry out hydrolysis; i.e., break water into hydrogen and oxygen. Were the hydrogen collected, it could be used as a fuel. The efficiency of this process can be greatly improved by doping the oxide with carbon.[20].
* Titanium dioxide can also produce electricity when in nanoparticle form. Research suggests that by using these nanoparticles to form the pixels of a screen, they generate electricity when transparent and under the influence of light. If subjected to electricity on the other hand, the nanoparticles blacken, forming the basic characteristics of a LCD screen. According to creator Zoran Radivojevic, Nokia has already built a functional 200-by-200-pixel monochromatic screen which is energetically self-sufficient.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_dioxide
500px-Noxer_block.svg.png
Noxer block
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Noxer)
Noxer blocks are blocks of cement mortar with a 5-7mm thick surface layer of Titanium(IV)oxide (titanium dioxide), which is a heterogeneous catalyst, on it. Titanium(IV) oxide is a photocatalyst that uses sunlight to absorb and render oxides of nitrogen (NO and NO2) harmless by converting them to nitrate ions (NO3-), which are then either washed away by rain or soaked into the concrete to form stable compounds [1][2].
Mechanism
When titanium dioxide is exposed to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, it absorbs the radiation and electron excitation occurs. The following reactions then occur on the surface of the titanium dioxide crystals:
Photolysis of water: H2O ? H+ + OH (hydroxyl radical) + e-
O2 + e- ? O2- (a superoxide ion)
The overall reaction is therefore:
H2O + O2 ? H+ + O2- + OH
The hydroxyl radical is a powerful oxidising agent and can oxidise nitrogen dioxide to nitrate ions:
NO2 + OH ? H+ + NO3-
The superoxide ion is also able to form nitrate ions from nitrogen monoxide:
NO + O2- ? NO3-
The oxidation of NOx to nitrate ions occurs very slowly under normal atmospheric conditions because of the low concentrations of the reactions. The photochemical oxidation with the aid of titanium dioxide is much faster because of the energy absorbed by the coating on the block and also because the reactants are held together on the surface of the block. The reaction using titanium dioxide shows a greater oxidising power than most other metal-based catalysts.
Noxer blocks have replaced ordinary paving in around 30 towns in Japan, originally having been tested in Osaka in 1997 and can also be found underfoot in the City of Westminster (London).
The noxer blocks aim to reduce these pollution levels and therefore lower the amount of photochemical smog.
1. Ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by the titanium dioxide, which causes the photolysis of water into superoxide ions and hydroxyl radicals.
2. Nitrogen oxides react with the superoxide ions and the hydroxyl radicals to form nitrate ions.
3. The nitrate ions are absorbed into the block and form stable compounds.
References
1. ^ Paved with titanium’ an article by Stephanie Makins, Chemistry Review, Volume 11, Number 2, 2002
2. ^ Titanium Dioxide: Environmental White Knight?, Environmental Health Perspectives, Volume 109, Number 4, April 2001
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noxer_block”
Categories: Catalysts | Pollution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noxer
***
***
Geopolymers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Geopolymer is a term covering a class of synthetic aluminosilicate materials with potential use in a number of areas, essentially as a replacement for Portland cement and for advanced high-tech composites and ceramic applications. The name Geopolymer was first applied to these materials by Joseph Davidovits[1] in the 1970s, although similar materials had been developed in the former Soviet Union since the 1950s, originally under the name “soil cements”.[2][3] However, this name never found widespread usage in the English language, as it is more often applied to the description of soils which are consolidated with a small amount of Portland cement to enhance strength and stability. Geopolymer cements are an example of the broader class of alkali-activated binders, which also includes alkali-activated metallurgical slags and other related materials.[4]
Research
Much of the drive behind research carried out in academic institutions is to investigate the development of geopolymer cements as a potential large-scale replacement for concrete produced from Portland cement. This is due to geopolymers’ lower carbon dioxide production emissions, greater chemical and thermal resistance and better mechanical properties at both ambient and extreme conditions. On the other side, industry has implemented geopolymer binders in advanced high-tech composites and ceramics for heat and fire-resistant applications, up to 1200 degrees C.
Production
Geopolymer binders and geopolymer cements are generally formed by reaction of an aluminosilicate powder with an alkaline silicate solution at roughly ambient conditions. Metakaolin is a commonly used starting material for laboratory synthesis of geopolymers, and is generated by thermal activation of kaolinite clay. Geopolymer cements can also be made from natural sources of pozzolanic materials, such as lava or fly ash from coal. Most studies on geopolymer cements have been carried out using natural or industrial waste sources of metakaolin and other aluminosilicates. Industrial and high-tech applications rely on more expansive and sophisticated siliceous raw materials.
Theory
The majority of the Earth’s crust is made up of Si-Al compounds. Davidovits proposed in 1978 that a single aluminium and silicon-containing compound, most likely geological in origin, could react in a polymerization process with an alkaline solution. The binders created were termed “geopolymers” but, now, the majority of aluminosilicate sources are by-products from organic combustion, such as fly ash from coal burning. These inorganic polymers have a chemical composition somewhat similar to zeolitic materials but exist as amorphous solids, rather than having a crystalline microstructure.
Structure
The chemical reaction that takes place to form geopolymers follows a multi-step process:
1. Dissolution of Si and Al atoms from the source material due to hydroxide ions in solution,
2. Reorientation of precursor ions in solution, and
3. Setting via polycondensation reactions into an inorganic polymer.
The inorganic polymer network is in general a highly-coordinated 3-dimensional aluminosilicate gel, with the negative charges on tetrahedral Al(III) sites charge-balanced by alkali metal cations.
External links
* Geopolymer Institute
* Geopolymer Alliance
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolymers”
Categories: Aluminosilicates | Ceramic materials
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolymers
***
A cracking alternative to cement
Alternative cement products make good environmental sense, writes Sean Dodson, especially if Britain is to meet its ambitious targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
* Sean Dodson
* The Guardian, Thursday 11 May 2006
* Article history
The following correction was printed in the Guardian’s Corrections and clarifications column, Thursday June 1 2006
Asphalt is made from bitumen, not cement
In 1824 an English bricklayer named Joseph Aspdin rediscovered one of the great secrets of the ancient world. Burning limestone and clay together at an incredible heat – more than 2,700 degrees fahrenheit – made the two minerals fuse together. Once cooled and ground into a fine ash, the resulting substance would, after mixing with water, set as hard as the Portland stone that gave it its name. And while his invention, portland cement, is seldom celebrated in the same breath as steam power or the spinning jenny or even the mass introduction of soap, it too – literally – laid a cornerstone of the modern industrial world.
Beloved of master builders, detested by their labourers and used by the Romans, cement supports the very ground beneath your feet and keeps the roof from crashing in; yet few outside the building trade spare the back-breaking bringer of toil much thought.
But maybe we should. Cement is one of the most environmentally hazardous materials in the world, adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than the entire weight of the global airline industry. According to the Sustainable Development Commission, 4% of Co2 is caused by aviation. Depending on how conservatively you do the sums, cement-based building materials, including concrete and asphalt, account for between 5% and 10% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Finding an alternative product to cement would, therefore, make excellent environmental sense, especially if Britain is to meet the government’s ambitious target of a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
Now, it is possible, if one squints very hard, to imagine a world without the luxury of cheap air travel. Harder still, one without the convenience of a car. But a world entirely without cement lies further out of reach, in an untamed place shorn of Tarmac, airport runways, road bridges, skyscrapers, underground stations or modern reservoirs. Such is our dependence on the stuff.
But while the environmental impact of cement production has been known for ages – Dickens described in Great Expectations “the sluggish stifling smell” of the kilns – few call for it to be punitively taxed. Friends of the Earth, for instance, could not produce a single spokesperson to speak about cement’s effect on climate change; and what environmental campaigns there are, such as the recent protests against a tyre-burning kiln in Rugby, focus on what is burned to generate the heat, not the cement itself. The consensus has it that we are stuck with cement.
Not so, say the influential environmental bloggers at worldchanging.org, who recently identified a “whole slew of viable alternatives” to both cement and concrete … “[that] give some hope that a much greener (and potentially more sustainable) model for concrete manufacturing will soon emerge”.
These include a range of new technological solutions, including lighter foam-based concretes that require less energy to produce, and products like CeramiCrete, which is twice as strong so builders use less of it. But all cost more.
The slickest of these new solutions and, ultimately, one that could be produced most cheaply, comes from the unlikeliest quarter of all. A viable alternative to cement is actually being produced by the oil industry.
In a smart, regency-decorated office in Mayfair, sandwiched between the bespoke tailors of Savile Row and the swanky art galleries of Cork Street, Geir Robinson is talking about how a waste product from the oil refinement process could be used to cut our dependence on cement. Robinson is the director of UKM, a partner of Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant that holds the patent to a new substance that, in its own way, could be as radical as Joseph Aspdin’s.
Robinson is enthusing about something called C-Fix, sometimes referred to as carbon concrete, a “thermoplastic” heavy-duty binder developed by Shell and the University of Delft and already in use on the two busiest roads in the Netherlands. It is suitable, he says, for replacing 90% of concrete and asphalt applications. But it is the environmental benefits that excite him. “Three-and-a-half tons of carbon dioxide is saved by using a ton of carbon concrete rather than regular concrete,” he beams.
Environmental benefits
This seemingly gravity-defying equation stems from the fact that the environmental benefits of C-Fix are twofold. “To produce a road, or a sea defence, and not use cement as a binding agent obviously stops that cement being produced, which stops the carbon from the cement production entering the atmosphere,” Robinson says. The other benefit comes from making a practical use of what would otherwise be waste.
It works like this. When crude oil is “cracked” into its components, the top of the refinement process produces petrol, followed by diesel, light fuel oil and then heavy fuel oil. At the bottom of the barrel lies a “fraction” of blackened waste material. It is hard and sticky and of scant economic worth.
“The standard way of dealing with this low-grade oil is to mix it with light fuel oil to make more heavy fuel oil,” says Robinson, sketching a diagram of the process on a notepad. “It gets burnt off and doesn’t have to be treated as a waste. But that burning causes further CO2 emissions that cause global warming.”
Robinson, an environmental scientist and former management consultant with Arthur Andersen, is earnest about its limitations. “In our wildest dreams we don’t think we will replace concrete. But in certain applications where concrete isn’t as good, like in heavy industrial roads or in salt water environments, we can replace it. That would in itself be fantastic for the environment.”
The cement industry knows it faces huge environmental issues. Faced with spiralling fuel costs – more than 40% of the cost of cement comes from firing the kilns – it has worked hard to reduce its emissions. Last November the industry toasted its latest progress report at a House of Commons reception hosted by the Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik.
According to Liezel Tipper of the British Cement Association, rather than denigrate concrete we should embrace its own environmental credentials. Concrete’s high thermal mass (making it hard to heat or cool) becomes relevant, as less energy is required to heat or cool buildings. “This reduces the need for air conditioning, which uses energy and releases more carbon dioxide,” she says.
The trouble is, a modern cement kiln is, for the wider environment, the equivalent of having a cigarette permanently at your lips. Not only do modern plants consume as much energy as a small town; the kilns exhale clouds of toxic organic chemicals, such as dioxins and furans and various, possibly life-threatening, hydrocarbon compounds.
Acid gases generated by the immense heat of the combustion process, billow into the atmosphere, adding a further raft of heavy metals – lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium – to the toxic curl. These pollutants spewing from the stacks are joined by large amounts of dust and gas from the plant operations; and cement mixers guzzle a lot of petrol.
It is a filthy brew, redolent of what has gone wrong with industrialisation: environmentally and financially expensive and linked in several medical reports to the aggravation of lung complaints, especially asthma or emphysema. It is, however, the necessary price we continue to pay to progress in this late industrial age.
Carbon concrete, by contrast, has few of these disadvantages – if you discount the refinement process, itself a recidivist contributor to the great bank of carbon dioxide in the sky. To accept C-Fix is to accept that the oil is going to be pulled out of the ground regardless, so why not burn as little as possible. As Robinson says: “If just a tiny fraction of crude oil were sequestered in this way, western countries would be able to bring their carbon emission reduction in line with the Kyoto Agreement.”
Cautious approval
Though any use of the waste products of oil refinement makes most environmentalists nervous, a few are prepared to cautiously endorse some of C-Fix’s promise. David Santillo, a Greenpeace senior scientist based at its research laboratory in Exeter, welcomes the oil industry’s attempt to crack the cement problem. Although he notes it is “early days to be making any substantial claims about universal applicability,” he says the reductions it could bring in CO2 emissions by reducing cement production “are certainly worth exploring in more detail by government departments and contractors.” But, he adds, “it will need to be backed by further independent research into its long-term structural stability and environmental performance before it can be promoted widely.”
C-Fix’s next big push is into the Arab states, rich in oil refineries and new building developments, but desperately short of fresh water and of the right kind of sand: because desert sand has the wrong characteristics, such areas have to import the sand needed to make traditional concrete.
But it is in Holland where C-Fix’s most immediate application is most telling. It is being deployed at Ijmuidem harbour as a massive breakwater defence north of Haarlem. Six house-sized blocks of carbon concrete are currently holding the North Sea at bay. If successful, an awful lot more of it will be used along the flat coast of the Netherlands.
That’s right: the thing that might keep back the rising tides caused by global warming could be a waste product from the oil refineries that helped cause it.
A If you’d like to comment on any aspect of Technology Guardian, send your emails to tech@guardian.co.uk
*
Contact the Technology editor
tech@guardian.co.uk
* Report errors or inaccuracies: reader@guardian.co.uk
* Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@guardian.co.uk
* If you need help using the site: userhelp@guardian.co.uk
* Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard:
+44 (0)20 3353 2000
*
o Advertising guide
o License/buy our content
Technology
Environment
* Carbon emissions
Related
24 Aug 2009
The green list: from bikes to patio heaters, what’s best – and worst – for the planet
23 Jun 2009
Carbon targets ‘dangerously optimistic’
4 May 2009
Don’t take my internet away | Leo Hickman
4 Sep 2008
Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith accuses government of ‘staggering mismatch’ between climate change words and action
* Contact us
* Article history
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/may/11/guardianweeklytechnologysection.carbonemissions
***
Kaolinite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaolin
General
Category Mineral
Chemical formula Al2Si2O5(OH)4
Identification
Color White, sometimes red, blue or brown tints from impurities
Crystal habit Earthy
Crystal system triclinic
Cleavage perfect on {001}
Fracture Perfect
Mohs scale hardness 2 – 2.5
Luster dull and earthy
Streak white
Specific gravity 2.16 – 2.68
Refractive index ? = 1.553 – 1.565, ? = 1.559 – 1.569, ? = 1.569 – 1.570
References [1][2]
Kaolinite is a clay mineral with the chemical composition Al2Si2O5(OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra.[3] Rocks that are rich in kaolinite are known as china clay, white clay, or kaolin.
The name is derived from Gaoling or Kao-Ling (??; “High Hill”) in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China.[4] Kaolinite was first described as a mineral species in 1867 for an occurrence in the Jari River basin of Brazil.[5]
Kaolinite has a low shrink-swell capacity and a low cation exchange capacity (1-15 meq/100g.) It is a soft, earthy, usually white mineral (dioctahedral phyllosilicate clay), produced by the chemical weathering of aluminium silicate minerals like feldspar. In many parts of the world, it is colored pink-orange-red by iron oxide, giving it a distinct rust hue. Lighter concentrations yield white, yellow or light orange colours. Alternating layers are sometimes found, as at Providence Canyon State Park in Georgia, USA.
Structural transformations
Kaolin-type clays undergo a series of phase transformations upon thermal treatment in air at atmospheric pressure. Endothermic dehydroxylation (or alternatively, dehydration) begins at 550-600 EC to produce disordered metakaolin, Al2Si2O7, but continuous hydroxyl loss (-OH) is observed up to 900 EC and has been attributed to gradual oxolation of the metakaolin.[6] Because of historic disagreement concerning the nature of the metakaolin phase, extensive research has led to general consensus that metakaolin is not a simple mixture of amorphous silica (SiO2) and alumina (Al2O3), but rather a complex amorphous structure that retains some longer-range order (but not strictly crystalline) due to stacking of its hexagonal layers [6].
Further heating to 925-950 EC converts metakaolin to a defect aluminium-silicon spinel, Si3Al4O12, which is sometimes also referred to as a gamma-alumina type structure:
2 Al2Si2O7 ? Si3Al4O12 + SiO2
Upon calcination to ~1050 EC, the spinel phase (Si3Al4O12) nucleates and transforms to mullite, 3 Al2O3 A 2 SiO2, and highly crystalline cristobalite, SiO2:
3 Si3Al4O12 ? 2 Si2Al6O13 + 5 SiO2
Occurrence
A kaolin mine in Ruse Province, Bulgaria
Kaolinite is one of the most common minerals; it is mined, as kaolin, in Brazil, Bulgaria, France, United Kingdom, Iran[7], Germany, India, Australia, Korea, the People’s Republic of China, the Czech Republic, and the United States.
[edit] Predominance in tropical soils
Kaolinite clay occurs in abundance in soils that have formed from the chemical weathering of rocks in hot, moist climates – for example in tropical rainforest areas. Comparing soils along a gradient towards progressively cooler or drier climates, the proportion of kaolonite decreases, while the proportion of other clay minerals such as illite (in cooler climates) or smectite (in drier climates) increases. Such climatically-related differences in clay mineral content are often used to infer changes in climates in the geological past, where ancient soils have been buried and preserved.
Uses
Kaolin is used in ceramics, medicine, coated paper, as a food additive, in toothpaste, as a light diffusing material in white incandescent light bulbs, and in cosmetics. It is generally the main component in porcelain.
It is also used in paint to extend titanium dioxide (TiO2) and modify gloss levels; in rubber for semi-reinforcing properties; and in adhesives to modify rheology.[8]
Kaolin was also used in the production of common pipes for centuries in Europe and Asia. The practice of making and using kaolin pipes was brought to the colonies and reproduced once adequate sources of kaolin were discovered. (These distinctive pipes with unusually long stems when new are seen regularly in Renaissance paintings of après-hunt scenes or portraits of people relaxing with a kaolin pipe in one hand and the white stem stretching across the canvas.) The plain, long-stemmed, slender, small-bowled pipes were typically stored on the mantle. A member of the household would break off a 2 cm piece of the stem to provide a “fresh” mouthpiece before filling and lighting. (As a sign of hospitality, hosts would offer guests his/her own pipe from the mantle and break off the mouthpiece for them, ensuring a completely fresh pipe.) Though most pipes were undecorated, a few had monograms or coats of arms either embossed onto or pressed into the wet paste before firing. Some were even pressed into molds of human or animal heads. Archaeologists have been using kaolin pipes to date sites for decades now ever since the inverse relationship between time and bore diameter was confirmed. As ceramic technology improved through time, the diameter of the hole in the stem leading to the bowl decreased. The change has been found to be so constant and measurable as to allow dating of sites to specific decades.[9] Kaolin pipes grew to be obsolete when paper began to be used to roll tobacco into cigarettes.
The largest use is in the production of paper, including ensuring the gloss on some grades of paper. Commercial grades of kaolin are supplied and transported as dry powder, semi-dry noodle or as liquid slurry.
Kaolinite has also seen some use in organic farming, as a spray applied to crops to deter insect damage, and in the case of apples, to prevent sun scald.
A folk medicine use is to soothe an upset stomach, similar to the way parrots (and later, humans) in South America originally used it.[10]
Kaolin is, or has been, used as the active substance in liquid anti-diarrhea medicines such as Kaomagma and Kaopectate. Such medicines were changed away from aluminium substances due to a scare over Alzheimer’s disease, but have since changed back to compounds containing aluminium as they are more effective. Kaolin is known in Traditional Chinese Medicine as an herb under the name ??? (chì shí zhi-), “crimson stone resin” in a direct translation. Its taste is sweet, astringent and warm. In traditional Chinese medicine, it’s used for restricting leakage from intestines and stopping diarrhea, blood containment and stopping bleeding, wounds healing.
In April 2008, the Naval Medical Research Center announced the successful use of a Kaolinite-derived aluminosilicate nanoparticle infusion in traditional gauze, known commercially as QuikClot Combat Gauze.[11]
When heated to between 650 and 900 EC kaolinite dehydroxylates to form metakaolin. According to the American National Precast Concrete Association this is a supplementary cementitious material (SCM). When added to a concrete mix, metakaolin affects the acceleration of Portland cement hydration when replacing Portland cement by 20 percent by weight.
In ceramics or pottery applications, the formula is typically written in terms of oxides, thus the formula for kaolinite is:
Al2O3 ? 2(SiO2) ? 2(H2O)
This format is also useful for describing the firing process of clay as the kaolin loses the 2 water molecules, termed the chemical water, when fired to a high enough temperature. This is different from clay’s physical water which will be lost simply due to evaporation and is not a part of the chemical formula.
See also
Kaolin. (unknown scale)
* Silicate minerals
* Dickite
* Geology of Cornwall
* Halloysite
* Nacrite
* Medicinal clay
* Porcelain
* Clay pit
* Kaolin Deposits of Charentes Basin, France
References
Bibliography
* Deer, W.A., Howie, R.A., and Zussman, J. (1992) An introduction to the rock-forming minerals (2nd ed.). Harlow: Longman ISBN 0-582-30094-0.
* Hurlbut, Cornelius S., Klein, Cornelis (1985) Manual of Mineralogy – after J. D. Dana, 20th ed., Wiley, pp. 428 – 429, ISBN 0-471-80580-7.
* Breck, D.W. (1984)Zeolite Molecular Sieves, Robert E. Brieger Publishing Company: Malabar, FL, pp. 314–315, ISBN 0-89874-648-5.
* The Mineral KAOLINITE – Mineral Galleries
* MSDS: Incandescent Light Bulb – GE
Notes
1. ^ “Kaolinite mineral information and data”. MinDat.org. http://www.mindat.org/min-2156.html. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
2. ^ “Kaolinite Mineral Data”. WebMineral.com. http://www.webmineral.com/data/Kaolinite.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
3. ^ Deer, W.A.; Howie, R.A.; Zussman, J. (1992), An introduction to the rock-forming minerals (2 ed.), Harlow: Longman, ISBN 0582300940
4. ^ Schroeder, Paul (2003-12-12). “Kaolin”. New Georgia Encyclopedia. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1178. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
5. ^ “Morro do Felipe, Boca do Jari district, Mazagão, Amapá, North Region, Brazil”. MinDat.org. http://www.mindat.org/loc-30969.html. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
6. ^ a b Bellotto, M., Gualtieri, A., Artioli, G., and Clark, S.M. (1995). “Kinetic study of the kaolinite-mullite reaction sequence. Part I: kaolinite dehydroxylation”. Phys. Chem. Minerals 22: 207–214.
7. ^ http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/commodity/world/home.html
8. ^ “Imerys Performance Minerals: Kaolin (China Clay)”. http://www.imerys-perfmins.com/kaolin/eu/kaolin.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
9. ^ See Martin’s Hundred and Flowerdew Hundred, both by Ivor Noël Hume as well as dozens of references and samples in the Archaeology Lab at the University of New Orleans.
10. ^ Diamond, Jared M., Evolutionary Biology: Dirty eating for healthy living, 400, Nature, pp. 120–121, http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Diamond_99.html
11. ^ Rowe, Aaron. “Nanoparticles Help Gauze Stop Gushing Wounds”. Wired.com. http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2008/04/blood_clotting. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
External links
* China Clay Museum
[hide]
v • d • e
Clay minerals
Chlorite A Dickite A Halloysite A Hectorite A Illite A Ilmenite A Kaolinite A Montmorillonite A Nacrite A Nontronite A Palygorskite A Saponite A Sepiolite A
Serpentine1
1. Serpentine is not always considered a clay mineral
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaolinite”
Categories: Aluminium minerals | Aluminosilicates | Hydroxide minerals | Medicinal clay | Phyllosilicates
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaolinite
***
Category:Phyllosilicates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Phyllosilicates are sheet silicates, formed by parallel sheets of silicate tetrahedra with Si2O5 or a 2:5 ratio.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Phyllosilicates
Subcategories
This category has only the following subcategory.
* Medicinal clay (10 P)
Pages in category “Phyllosilicates”
The following 38 pages are in this category, out of 38 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).
* Apophyllite
* Bensonite
* Bentonite
* Biotite
* Brammallite
* Chamosite
* Chlorite group
* Chrysotile
* Clay minerals
* Clintonite
* Delessite
* Dickite
* Glauconite
* Halloysite
* Illite
* Kaolinite
* Lepidolite
* Margarite
* Medicinal clay
* Mica
* Montmorillonite
* Muscovite
* Nelenite
* Népouite
* Paragonite
* Phlogopite
* Prehnite
* Pyrophyllite
* Saliotite
* Saponite
* Sauconite
* Sepiolite
* Sericite
* Serpentine group
* Siderophyllite
* Talc
* Vermiculite
* Zinnwaldite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Phyllosilicates
***
The mindat.org Crystal Atlas allows you to view a selection of crystal drawings of real and idealised crystal forms for this mineral and, in certain cases, 3d rotating crystal objects. You need Java to see these. You can download Java for free – click here to download Java
The 3d models and java code are kindly provided by http://www.smorf.nl. You can control the movement of the models by holding down the left mouse-button over the 3d model and moving your mouse. Keyboard controls are:
: default positions
t/T : decrease/increase transparency x/X : next/previous texture
b/B : next/previous background w : toggle wireframe
s : toggle sticks m : toggle miller indices
k : toggle crystallographic axes =/- : zoom in/out
r : stop/start rotation 1/2/3
X-Ray Powder Diffraction:
d-spacing Intensity
http://www.mindat.org/min-10.html
**
Portland cement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A pallet with Portland cement
Blue Circle Southern Cement works near Berrima, New South Wales, Australia.
Portland cement (often referred to as OPC, from Ordinary Portland Cement) is the most common type of cement in general use around the world, because it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty grout. It is a fine powder produced by grinding Portland cement clinker (more than 90%), a limited amount of calcium sulfate which controls the set time, and up to 5% minor constituents (as allowed by various standards).
As defined by the European Standard EN197.1, “Portland cement clinker is a hydraulic material which shall consist of at least two-thirds by mass of calcium silicates (3CaO.SiO2 and 2CaO.SiO2), the remainder consisting of aluminium- and iron-containing clinker phases and other compounds. The ratio of CaO to SiO2 shall not be less than 2.0. The magnesium content (MgO) shall not exceed 5.0% by mass.” (The last two requirements were already set out in the German Standard, issued in 1909).
Portland cement clinker is made by heating, in a kiln, a homogeneous mixture of raw materials to a sintering temperature, which is about 1450 EC for modern cements. The aluminium oxide and iron oxide are present as a flux and contribute little to the strength. For special cements, such as Low Heat (LH) and Sulfate Resistant (SR) types, it is necessary to limit the amount of tricalcium aluminate (3CaO.Al2O3) formed. The major raw material for the clinker-making is usually limestone (CaCO3) mixed with a second material containing clay as source of alumino-silicate. Normally, an impure limestone which contains clay or SiO2 is used. The CaCO3 content of these limestones can be as low as 80%. Second raw materials (materials in the rawmix other than limestone) depend on the purity of the limestone. Some of the second raw materials used are: clay, shale, sand, iron ore, bauxite, fly ash and slag. When a cement kiln is fired by coal, the ash of the coal acts as a secondary raw material.
Contents
* 1 History
* 2 Production
o 2.1 Rawmix preparation
o 2.2 Rawmix blending
o 2.3 Formation of clinker
o 2.4 Cement grinding
* 3 Use
o 3.1 Setting and hardening
* 4 Types
o 4.1 General
o 4.2 ASTM C150
o 4.3 EN 197
o 4.4 White Portland cement
* 5 Safety
* 6 Environmental effects
* 7 Cement plants used for waste disposal or processing
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 External links
History
Portland was developed from so called natural cements made in Britain in the early part of the nineteenth century, and its name is derived from its similarity to Portland stone, a type of building stone that was quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England.
Joseph Aspdin, a British bricklayer from Leeds, in 1824 was granted a patent for a process of making a cement which he called Portland cement. His cement was an artificial cement similar in properties to the material known as “Roman Cement” (patented in 1796 by James Parker) and his process was similar to that patented in 1822 and used since 1811 by James Frost who called his cement “British Cement”. The name “Portland cement” is also recorded in a directory published in 1823 being associated with a William Lockwood and possibly others.
Aspdin’s son William in 1843 made an improved version of this cement and he initially called it “Patent Portland cement” although he had no patent. In 1848 William Aspdin further improved his cement and in 1853 moved to Germany where he was involved in cement making.[1] Many people have claimed to have made the first Portland cement in the modern sense, but it is generally accepted that it was first manufactured by William Aspdin at Northfleet, England in about 1842.[2] The German Government issued a standard on Portland cement in 1878.
Production
TXI cement plant, Midlothian, Texas
Schematic explanation of Portland cement production
There are three fundamental stages in the production of Portland cement:
1. Preparation of the raw mixture
2. Production of the clinker
3. Preparation of the cement
The chemistry of cement is very complex, so cement chemist notation was invented to simplify the formula of common oxides found in cement. This reflects the fact that most of the elements are present in their highest oxidation state, and chemical analyses of cement are expressed as mass percent of these notional oxides.
Rawmix preparation
Main article: Rawmill
A limestone prehomogenization pile being built by a boom stacker
A completed limestone prehomogenization pile
The raw materials for Portland cement production are a mixture (as fine powder in the ‘Dry process’ or in the form of a slurry in the ‘Wet process’) of minerals containing calcium oxide, silicon oxide, aluminium oxide, ferric oxide, and magnesium oxide. The raw materials are usually quarried from local rock, which in some places is already practically the desired composition and in other places requires the addition of clay and limestone, as well as iron ore, bauxite or recycled materials. The individual raw materials are first crushed, typically to below 50 mm. In many plants, some or all of the raw materials are then roughly blended in a “prehomogenization pile.” The raw materials are next ground together in a rawmill. Silos of individual raw materials are arranged over the feed conveyor belt. Accurately controlled proportions of each material are delivered onto the belt by weigh-feeders. Passing into the rawmill, the mixture is ground to rawmix. The fineness of rawmix is specified in terms of the size of the largest particles, and is usually controlled so that there are less than 5%-15% by mass of particles exceeding 90 ?m in diameter. It is important that the rawmix contains no large particles in order to complete the chemical reactions in the kiln, and to ensure the mix is chemically homogenous. In the case of a dry process, the rawmill also dries the raw materials, usually by passing hot exhaust gases from the kiln through the mill, so that the rawmix emerges as a fine powder. This is conveyed to the blending system by conveyor belt or by a powder pump. In the case of wet process, water is added to the rawmill feed, and the mill product is a slurry with moisture content usually in the range 25-45% by mass. This slurry is conveyed to the blending system by conventional liquid pumps.
Rawmix blending
The rawmix is formulated to a very tight chemical specification. Typically, the content of individual components in the rawmix must be controlled within 0.1% or better. Calcium and silicon are present in order to form the strength-producing calcium silicates. Aluminium and iron are used in order to produce liquid (“flux”) in the kiln burning zone. The liquid acts as a solvent for the silicate-forming reactions, and allows these to occur at an economically low temperature. Insufficient aluminium and iron lead to difficult burning of the clinker, while excessive amounts lead to low strength due to dilution of the silicates by aluminates and ferrites. Very small changes in calcium content lead to large changes in the ratio of alite to belite in the clinker, and to corresponding changes in the cement’s strength-growth characteristics. The relative amounts of each oxide are therefore kept constant in order to maintain steady conditions in the kiln, and to maintain constant product properties. In practice, the rawmix is controlled by frequent chemical analysis (hourly by X-Ray fluorescence analysis, or every three minutes by prompt gamma neutron activation analysis). The analysis data is used to make automatic adjustments to raw material feed rates. Remaining chemical variation is minimized by passing the raw mix through a blending system that homogenizes up to a day’s supply of rawmix (15,000 tonnes in the case of a large kiln).
Formation of clinker
Main article: Cement kiln
Precalciner kiln
Typical clinker nodules
The raw mixture is heated in a cement kiln, a slowly rotating and sloped cylinder, with temperatures increasing over the length of the cylinder up to a peak temperature of 1400-1450 EC. A complex succession of chemical reactions take place (see cement kiln) as the temperature rises. The peak temperature is regulated so that the product contains sintered but not fused lumps. Sintering consists of the melting of 25-30% of the mass of the material. The resulting liquid draws the remaining solid particles together by surface tension, and acts as a solvent for the final chemical reaction in which alite is formed. Too low a temperature causes insufficient sintering and incomplete reaction, but too high a temperature results in a molten mass or glass, destruction of the kiln lining, and waste of fuel. When all goes to plan, the resulting material is clinker. On cooling, it is conveyed to storage. Some effort is usually made to blend the clinker, because although the chemistry of the rawmix may have been tightly controlled, the kiln process potentially introduces new sources of chemical variability. The clinker can be stored for a number of years before use. Prolonged exposure to water decreases the reactivity of cement produced from weathered clinker.
The enthalpy of formation of clinker from calcium carbonate and clay minerals is ~1700 kJ/kg. However, because of heat loss during production, actual values can be much higher. The high energy requirements and the release of significant amounts of carbon dioxide makes cement production a concern for global warming. See “Environmental effects” below.
Cement grinding
Main article: Cement mill
A 10 MW cement mill, producing cement at 270 tonnes per hour
In order to achieve the desired setting qualities in the finished product, a quantity (2-8%, but typically 5%) of calcium sulfate (usually gypsum or anhydrite) is added to the clinker and the mixture is finely ground to form the finished cement powder. This is achieved in a cement mill. The grinding process is controlled to obtain a powder with a broad particle size range, in which typically 15% by mass consists of particles below 5 ?m diameter, and 5% of particles above 45 ?m. The measure of fineness usually used is the “specific surface”, which is the total particle surface area of a unit mass of cement. The rate of initial reaction (up to 24 hours) of the cement on addition of water is directly proportional to the specific surface. Typical values are 320-380 m2Akg-1 for general purpose cements, and 450-650 m2Akg-1 for “rapid hardening” cements. The cement is conveyed by belt or powder pump to a silo for storage. Cement plants normally have sufficient silo space for 1–20 weeks production, depending upon local demand cycles. The cement is delivered to end-users either in bags or as bulk powder blown from a pressure vehicle into the customer’s silo. In developed countries, 80% or more of cement is delivered in bulk, and many cement plants have no bag-packing facility. In poor countries, bags are the normal mode of delivery.
Typical constituents of Portland clinker
Cement industry style notation under CCN Clinker CCN Mass%
Tricalcium silicate (CaO)3.SiO2 C3S 45-75%
Dicalcium silicate (CaO)2.SiO2 C2S 7-32%
Tricalcium aluminate (CaO)3.Al2O3 C3A 0-13%
Tetracalcium aluminoferrite (CaO)4.Al2O3.Fe2O3 C4AF 0-18%
Gypsum CaSO4 A 2 H2O 2-10%
Typical constituents of and Portland cement
Cement industry style notation under CCN Cement CCN Mass%
Calcium oxide, CaO C 61-67%
Silicon oxide, SiO2 S 19-23%
Aluminum oxide, Al2O3 A 2.5-6%
Ferric oxide, Fe2O3 F 0-6%
Sulfate \bar{\mathsf{S}} 1.5-4.5%
An alternative fabrication technique EMC Energetically modified cement uses very finely ground cements that are made from mixtures of cement with sand or with slag or other pozzolan type minerals which are extremely finely ground together. Such cements can have the same physical characteristics as normal cement but with 50% less cement particularly due to their increased surface area for the chemical reaction. Even with intensive grinding they can use up to 50% less energy to fabricate than ordinary Portland cements.[3]
Chemical composition of EMC (50/50 OPC/FA – Fly Ash)
Compound OPC % FA % EMC %
CaO 62.4 15 40.9
SiO2 17.8 49.4 33.2
Al2O3 4.0 19.6 6.3
Fe2O3 3.9 5.2 4.1
SO3 3.2 0.8 1.6
Na2O <0.1 0.3 0.1
K2O 0.3 1.2 1.2
Insolubles 0.5 51.3 21.6
Use
Decorative use of Portland cement panels on London’s Grosvenor estate[4]
The most common use for Portland cement is in the production of concrete. Concrete is a composite material consisting of aggregate (gravel and sand), cement, and water. As a construction material, concrete can be cast in almost any shape desired, and once hardened, can become a structural (load bearing) element. Users may be involved in the factory production of pre-cast units, such as panels, beams, road furniture, or may make cast-in-situ concrete such as building superstructures, roads, dams. These may be supplied with concrete mixed on site, or may be provided with “ready-mixed” concrete made at permanent mixing sites. Portland cement is also used in mortars (with sand and water only) for plasters and screeds, and in grouts (cement/water mixes squeezed into gaps to consolidate foundations, road-beds, etc).
Setting and hardening
Types
General
There are different standards for classification of Portland cement. The two major standards are the ASTM C150 used primarily in the U.S. and European EN-197. EN 197 cement types CEM I, II, III, IV, and V do not correspond to the similarly-named cement types in ASTM C 150.
ASTM C150
There are five types of Portland cements with variations of the first three according to ASTM C150.
Type I Portland cement is known as common or general purpose cement. It is generally assumed unless another type is specified. It is commonly used for general construction especially when making precast and precast-prestressed concrete that is not to be in contact with soils or ground water. The typical compound compositions of this type are:
55% (C3S), 19% (C2S), 10% (C3A), 7% (C4AF), 2.8% MgO, 2.9% (SO3), 1.0% Ignition loss, and 1.0% free CaO.
A limitation on the composition is that the (C3A) shall not exceed fifteen percent.
Type II is intended to have moderate sulfate resistance with or without moderate heat of hydration. This type of cement costs about the same as Type I. Its typical compound composition is:
51% (C3S), 24% (C2S), 6% (C3A), 11% (C4AF), 2.9% MgO, 2.5% (SO3), 0.8% Ignition loss, and 1.0% free CaO.
A limitation on the composition is that the (C3A) shall not exceed eight percent which reduces its vulnerability to sulfates. This type is for general construction that is exposed to moderate sulfate attack and is meant for use when concrete is in contact with soils and ground water especially in the western United States due to the high sulfur content of the soil. Because of similar price to that of Type I, Type II is much used as a general purpose cement, and the majority of Portland cement sold in North America meets this specification.
Note: Cement meeting (among others) the specifications for Type I and II has become commonly available on the world market.
Type III is has relatively high early strength. Its typical compound composition is:
57% (C3S), 19% (C2S), 10% (C3A), 7% (C4AF), 3.0% MgO, 3.1% (SO3), 0.9% Ignition loss, and 1.3% free CaO.
This cement is similar to Type I, but ground finer. Some manufacturers make a separate clinker with higher C3S and/or C3A content, but this is increasingly rare, and the general purpose clinker is usually used, ground to a specific surface typically 50-80% higher. The gypsum level may also be increased a small amount. This gives the concrete using this type of cement a three day compressive strength equal to the seven day compressive strength of types I and II. Its seven day compressive strength is almost equal to types I and II 28 day compressive strengths. The only downside is that the six month strength of type III is the same or slightly less than that of types I and II. Therefore the long-term strength is sacrificed a little. It is usually used for precast concrete manufacture, where high 1-day strength allows fast turnover of molds. It may also be used in emergency construction and repairs and construction of machine bases and gate installations.
Type IV Portland cement is generally known for its low heat of hydration. Its typical compound composition is:
28% (C3S), 49% (C2S), 4% (C3A), 12% (C4AF), 1.8% MgO, 1.9% (SO3), 0.9% Ignition loss, and 0.8% free CaO.
The percentages of (C2S) and (C4AF) are relatively high and (C3S) and (C3A) are relatively low. A limitation on this type is that the maximum percentage of (C3A) is seven, and the maximum percentage of (C3S) is thirty-five. This causes the heat given off by the hydration reaction to develop at a slower rate. However, as a consequence the strength of the concrete develops slowly. After one or two years the strength is higher than the other types after full curing. This cement is used for very large concrete structures, such as dams, which have a low surface to volume ratio. This type of cement is generally not stocked by manufacturers but some might consider a large special order. This type of cement has not been made for many years, because Portland-pozzolan cements and ground granulated blast furnace slag addition offer a cheaper and more reliable alternative.
Type V is used where sulfate resistance is important. Its typical compound composition is:
38% (C3S), 43% (C2S), 4% (C3A), 9% (C4AF), 1.9% MgO, 1.8% (SO3), 0.9% Ignition loss, and 0.8% free CaO.
This cement has a very low (C3A) composition which accounts for its high sulfate resistance. The maximum content of (C3A) allowed is five percent for Type V Portland cement. Another limitation is that the (C4AF) + 2(C3A) composition cannot exceed twenty percent. This type is used in concrete that is to be exposed to alkali soil and ground water sulfates which react with (C3A) causing disruptive expansion. It is unavailable in many places although its use is common in the western United States and Canada. As with Type IV, Type V Portland cement has mainly been supplanted by the use of ordinary cement with added ground granulated blast furnace slag or tertiary blended cements containing slag and fly ash.
Types Ia, IIa, and IIIa have the same composition as types I, II, and III. The only difference is that in Ia, IIa, and IIIa an air-entraining agent is ground into the mix. The air-entrainment must meet the minimum and maximum optional specification found in the ASTM manual. These types are only available in the eastern United States and Canada but can only be found on a limited basis. They are a poor approach to air-entrainment which improves resistance to freezing under low temperatures.
EN 197
EN 197-1 defines 5 classes of common cement that comprise Portland cement as a main constituent. These classes differ from the ASTM classes.
I Portland cement Comprising Portland cement and up to 5% of minor additional constituents
II Portland-composite cement Portland cement and up to 35% of other single constituents
III Blastfurnace cement Portland cement and higher percentages of blastfurnace slag
IV Pozzolanic cement Portland cement and up to 55% of pozzolanic constituents
V Composite cement Portland cement, blastfurnace slag and pozzolana or fly ash
Constituents that are permitted in Portland-composite cements are blastfurnace slag, silica fume, natural and industrial pozzolans, silicious and calcareous fly ash, burnt shale and limestone.
White Portland cement
Main article: White Portland cement
White Portland cement differs physically from the gray form only in its color, and as such can fall into many of the above categories (e.g. ASTM Type I, II and/or III). However, its manufacture is significantly different from that of the gray product, and is treated separately.
Sampling fast set concrete made from Portland cement
Safety
When cement is mixed with water a highly alkaline solution (pH ~13) is produced by the dissolution of calcium, sodium and potassium hydroxides. Gloves, goggles and a filter mask should be used for protection. Hands should be washed after contact. Cement can cause serious burns if contact is prolonged or if skin is not washed promptly. Once the cement hydrates, the hardened mass can be safely touched without gloves.
In Scandinavia, France and the UK, the level of chromium(VI), which is thought to be toxic and a major skin irritant, may not exceed 2 ppm (parts per million).
Environmental effects
Portland cement manufacture can cause environmental impacts at all stages of the process. These include emissions of airborne pollution in the form of dust, gases, noise and vibration when operating machinery and during blasting in quarries, consumption of large quantities of fuel during manufacture, release of CO2 from the raw materials during manufacture, and damage to countryside from quarrying. Equipment to reduce dust emissions during quarrying and manufacture of cement is widely used, and equipment to trap and separate exhaust gases are coming into increased use. Environmental protection also includes the re-integration of quarries into the countryside after they have been closed down by returning them to nature or re-cultivating them.
Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Sulfur Dioxide Exposure in Portland Cement Plants, from the Centers for Disease Control, states “Workers at Portland cement facilities, particularly those burning fuel containing sulfur, should be aware of the acute and chronic effects of exposure to SO2 [sulfur dioxide], and peak and full-shift concentrations of SO2 should be periodically measured.”
—[5]
“The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality was informed this week that the Arizona Portland Cement Co. failed a second round of testing for emissions of hazardous air pollutants at the company’s Rillito plant near Tucson. The latest round of testing, performed in January 2003 by the company, is designed to ensure that the facility complies with federal standards governing the emissions of dioxins and furans, which are byproducts of the manufacturing process.” [6] Cement Reviews’ “Environmental News” web page details case after case of environmental problems with cement manufacturing. [7]
An independent research effort of AEA Technology to identify critical issues for the cement industry today concluded the most important environment, health and safety performance issues facing the cement industry are atmospheric releases (including greenhouse gas emissions, dioxin, NOx, SO2, and particulates), accidents and worker exposure to dust. [8]
The CO2 associated with Portland cement manufacture falls into 3 categories:
* CO2 derived from decarbonation of limestone,
* CO2 from kiln fuel combustion,
* CO2 produced by vehicles in cement plants and distribution.
Source 1 is fairly constant: minimum around 0.47 kg CO2 per kg of cement, maximum 0.54, typical value around 0.50 worldwide. Source 2 varies with plant efficiency: efficient precalciner plant 0.24 kg CO2 per kg cement, low-efficiency wet process as high as 0.65, typical modern practices (e.g. UK) averaging around 0.30. Source 3 is almost insignificant at 0.002-0.005. So typical total CO2 is around 0.80 kg CO2 per kg finished cement. This leaves aside the CO2 associated with electric power consumption, since this varies according to the local generation type and efficiency. Typical electrical energy consumption is of the order of 90-150 kWh per tonne cement, equivalent to 0.09-0.15 kg CO2 per kg finished cement if the electricity is coal-generated.
Overall, with nuclear- or hydroelectric power and efficient manufacturing, CO2 generation can be as little as 0.7 kg per kg cement, but can be as high as twice this amount. The thrust of innovation for the future is to reduce sources 1 and 2 by modification of the chemistry of cement, by the use of wastes, and by adopting more efficient processes. Although cement manufacturing is clearly a very large CO2 emitter, concrete (of which cement makes up about 15%) compares quite favorably with other building systems in this regard.
Cement plants used for waste disposal or processing
Used tires being fed to a pair of cement kilns
Due to the high temperatures inside cement kilns, combined with the oxidizing (oxygen-rich) atmosphere and long residence times, cement kilns have been used as a processing option for various types of waste streams. The waste streams often contain combustible material which allows the substitution of part of the fossil fuel normally used in the process.
Waste materials used in cement kilns as a fuel supplement:[9]
* Car and truck tires – steel belts are easily tolerated in the kilns
* Waste solvents and lubricants
* Hazardous waste – cement kilns completely destroy hazardous organic compounds
* Meat and bone meal – slaughterhouse waste due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy contamination concerns
* Waste plastics
* Sewage sludge
* Rice hulls
* Sugarcane waste
* Used wooden railroad ties (railway sleepers)
Portland cement manufacture also has the potential to remove industrial byproducts from the waste-stream, effectively sequestering some environmentally damaging wastes.[10] These include:
* Slag
* Fly ash (from power plants)
* Silica fume (from steel mills)
* Synthetic gypsum (from desulfurisation)
There are significant pollution problems from using toxic waste as a fuel in cement kilns. As the quantity of toxic fuel use is quite often kept below local regulatory requirements by blending, most kilns use significantly less stringent air pollution control devices than other industrial or waste burning incinerators. This significantly increases local air pollution and has on occasions led to produce from surrounding farms being considered unfit for human consumption due to high levels of heavy metals, PCBs, dioxins, etc.[citation needed]
See also
* Lime mortar
* Mortar (masonry)
* Rosendale cement
* White Portland cement
* Calcium Silicate Hydrate
References
1. ^ “The Cement Industry 1796-1914: A History,” by A. J. Francis, 1977
2. ^ P. C. Hewlett (Ed)Lea’s Chemistry of Cement and Concrete: 4th Ed, Arnold, 1998, ISBN 0-340-56589-6, Chapter 1
3. ^ Performance of Energetically Modified Cement (EMC) and Energetically Modified Fly Ash (EMFA) as Pozzolan. SINTEF.
4. ^ Housing Prototypes: Page Street
5. ^ Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Sulfur Dioxide Exposure in Portland Cement Plants
6. ^ http://www.azdeq.gov/function/news/2003/jan.html
7. ^ CemNet.com | The latest cement news and information
8. ^ Toward a Sustainable Cement Industry: Environment, Health & Safety Performance Improvement
9. ^ Chris Boyd (December 2001). “Recovery of Wastes in Cement Kilns”. World Business Council for Sustainable Development. http://www.wbcsdcement.org/pdf/lafarge1_en.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
10. ^ Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures. Skokie, Illinois: Portland Cement Association. 1988. pp. 15. ISBN 0-89312-087-1. “As a generalization, probably 50% of all industrial byproducts have potential as raw materials for the manufacture of Portland cement.”
External links
* World Production of Hydraulic Cement, by Country
* PCA – The Portland Cement Association
* Alpha The Guaranteed Portland Cement Company: 1917 Trade Literature from Smithsonian Institution Libraries
* Cement Sustainability Initiative
* A cracking alternative to cement
* What is the Difference Between Cement, Portland Cement & Concrete?
* Aerial views of the world’s largest concentration of cement manufacturing capacity, Saraburi Province, Thailand, at 14E37?57?N 101E04?38?E? / ?14.6325EN 101.0771EE? / 14.6325; 101.0771
* Fountain, Henry (March 30, 2009). “Concrete Is Remixed With Environment in Mind”. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/science/earth/31conc.html. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_cement”
Categories: Cement | Concrete | English inventions | Limestone | Isle of Portland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_cement
**
White Portland cement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
White Portland cement or white ordinary Portland cement (WOPC) is similar to ordinary, gray Portland cement in all respects except for its high degree of whiteness. Obtaining this color requires substantial modification to the method of manufacture, and because of this, it is somewhat more expensive than the gray product.
Contents
* 1 Uses
* 2 Manufacture
o 2.1 Rawmix formulation
o 2.2 Kiln operation
o 2.3 Clinker grinding and handling
* 3 Specifications
* 4 See also
Uses
White Portland cement is used in combination with white aggregates to produce white concrete for prestige construction projects and decorative work. White concrete usually takes the form of pre-cast cladding panels, since it is uneconomic to use white cement for structural purposes. White Portland cement is also used in combination with inorganic pigments to produce brightly colored concretes and mortars. Ordinary cement, when used with pigments, produces colors that may be attractive, but are somewhat dull. With white cement, bright reds, yellows and greens can be readily produced. Blue concrete can also be made, at some expense. The pigments may be added at the concrete mixer. Alternatively, to guarantee repeatable color, some manufacturers supply ready-blended colored cements, using white cement as a base. The whiteness of WOPC is measured as the powdered material having a reflectance value (“L value”) in excess of 85%. A particular success in the use of WOPC and added pigments is monocouche renders.
Manufacture
Rawmix formulation
The characteristic greenish-gray to brown color of ordinary Portland cement derives from a number of transitional elements in its chemical composition. These are, in descending order of coloring effect, chromium, manganese, iron, copper, vanadium, nickel and titanium. The amount of these in white cement is minimized as far as possible. Cr2O3 is kept below 0.003%, Mn2O3 is kept below 0.03%, and Fe2O3 is kept below 0.35% in the clinker. The other elements are usually not a significant problem. Portland cement is usually made from cheap, quarried raw materials, and these usually contain substantial amounts of Cr, Mn and Fe. For example, limestones used in cement manufacture usually contain 0.3-1% Fe2O3, whereas levels below 0.1% are sought in limestones for white manufacture. Typical clays used in gray cement rawmix may contain 5-15% Fe2O3. Levels below 0.5% are desirable, and conventional clays are usually replaced with kaolin. Kaolin is fairly low in SiO2, and so a large amount of sand is usually also included in the mix. Iron and manganese usually occur together in nature, so that selection of low-iron materials usually ensures that manganese content is also low, but chromium can arise from other sources, notably from the wear of chrome steel grinding equipment during the production of rawmix. See rawmill. This wear is exacerbated by the high sand-content of the mix, which makes it extremely abrasive. Furthermore, to make a combinable rawmix, the sand must be ground to below 45 ?m particle diameter. Often this is achieved by grinding the sand separately, using ceramic grinding media to reduce contamination.
Kiln operation
In general, the rotary kilns used to chemically combine the raw materials are operated at a higher peak temperature (1450-1500EC) than that required for gray clinker manufacture (1400-1450EC). This requires a higher fuel consumption (typically 20-50% more), and results in lower kiln output (typically 20-50% less) for a given sized kiln. The reason for this is the relatively small amount of liquid produced during sintering, because of the low iron-content of the mix. The final reaction in the kiln, conversion of belite to alite, requires the melt liquid as a solvent, and is slower if the amount of melt is low. This can be partially compensated by adding to the rawmix a combination of calcium sulfate and fluoride in the form of calcium fluoride or waste cryolite. This combination reduces the reaction temperature. In cases where the clinker Fe2O3 content is above 0.2% (which is almost always the case), the unique processes of “bleaching” and “quenching” are also employed. “Bleaching” involves directing a second flame (apart from that used to heat the kiln) onto the bed of clinker close to the kiln exit to reduce Fe(III) to Fe(II). This reduction is rigorously avoided in gray cement production, because of the deleterious effect it can have on clinker quality. But in white clinker production, where the iron content is low, this is not an issue. Subsequently, to prevent the re-oxidation of the iron, “quenching” is performed. This consists of rapidly lowering the clinker temperature from 1200EC to below 600EC in a few seconds, as it leaves the kiln. This usually involves dropping it into cold water. This contributes to the relatively poor energy efficiency of the process, since the sensible heat of the clinker is not recycled as in normal clinker manufacture.
Clinker grinding and handling
The clinker is next ground to cement (perhaps after a drying stage). Here calcium sulfate is added to control set, in the form of a high-purity grade of gypsum or anhydrite. In some specifications (not ASTM), a small amount of titanium dioxide may be added to improve reflectance. At all stages, great care is needed to avoid contamination with colored materials.
Specifications
White Portland cement differs physically from gray cement only in terms of its color. Its setting behavior and strength development are essentially the same as that expected in gray cement, and it meets standard specifications such as ASTM C 150 and EN 197. In practice, because much white cement is used in pre-cast concrete products, it is commonly made to a high-early strength specification such as ASTM C 150 Type III. This aids concrete manufacturers’ production rate. Higher potential strength also helps to counteract the strength-diminishing effects of pigment addition. In addition to the usual specifications, manufacturers guarantee the whiteness of the product, typically in terms of a reflectance measurement, such as L*a*b L-value, or tristimulus. In the latter case, because off-color white cement tends to be greenish, the Tri-Y (green) value is used. Because the color so much depends upon the “bleaching” and “quenching” operations, merely specifying a low iron content does not guarantee good whiteness.
See also
* Quenching
* Sintering
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Portland_cement”
Categories: Cement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Portland_cement
***
My Note –
I thought that the bizarre weather happening in the northeastern US and in Europe was indeed bizarre but apparently not uncommon. However, I did notice that the increasing frequency of these extreme weather events coincides with the same dates as the industrial revolution and uses of coal fired plants. There is an increasing severity and frequency as well. It does look like the French authorities are quickly getting everyone to safety. Recovery and rebuilding throughout the European countries affected is going to go on for a long time.
– cricketdiane
**
European windstorm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A European windstorm is a severe cyclonic windstorm associated with areas of low pressure that track across the North Atlantic towards northwestern Europe. They are most common in the winter months. Deep low pressure areas are relatively common over the North Atlantic and frequently track past the north coasts of the British Isles onto the Norwegian Sea. However, when they veer south they can affect almost any country in Europe. Commonly-affected countries include Ireland, Britain and Norway, but basically any country in central, northern and especially western Europe is occasionally struck by such a storm system.
These storms cause economic damage of €1.9 billion per year, and insurance losses of €1.4 billion per year (1990-1998). They rank as the second highest cause of global natural catastrophe insurance loss (after U.S. hurricanes).[citation needed]
Several European languages use the word Ouragan or cognates thereof (Huragan, Orcan, Orkan) to indicate particularly strong European windstorms[citation needed]. “Ouragan” derives from the Mayan god Huracan, also the source of the word hurricane.
Contents |
// <![CDATA[//
List
Historic and notorious European storms
Event | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|
Grote Mandrenke | January 16, 1362 | A southwesterly Atlantic gale swept across England, the Netherlands, northern Germany and southern Denmark, killing over 25,000 and changing the Dutch-German-Danish coastline. |
Burchardi Flood | October 11–12, 1634 | Also known as “second Grote Mandrenke”, hit Nordfriesland, drowned about 8,000-15,000 people and destroyed the island of Strand. |
Great Storm of 1703 | November 26, 1703 | Severe gales affect south coast of England. |
Night of the Big Wind | January 6–7, 1839 | The most severe windstorm to hit Ireland in recent centuries, with hurricane force winds, killed between 250 and 300 people and rendered hundreds of thousands of homes uninhabitable. |
Great Storm of 1850 | Winter 1850 | Severe windstorm in combination with high tides stripped away the turf and sand which had covered the Neolithic settlement at Skara Brae in Orkney. |
The Tay Bridge Disaster | December 28, 1879 | Severe gales (estimated to be Force 10-11) swept the east coast of Scotland, infamously resulting in the collapse of the Tay Rail Bridge and the loss of 75 people who were on board the ill-fated train.[1] |
Eyemouth Disaster | October 14, 1881 | A severe storm struck the southeast coast of Scotland. 189 fishermen were killed, most of whom were from the small village of Eyemouth. |
Severe European windstorms between 1900 and 1999
Event | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|
North Sea Flood of 1953 | January 31–February 1, 1953 | Considered to be the worst natural disaster of the 20th century both in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, claiming over two thousand lives altogether. A storm originating over Ireland moved around the Scottish west coast, over Orkney, down the east coast of Scotland and England and across the North Sea to the Netherlands. Sea defences in the Netherlands and eastern England were overwhelmed. The ferry MV Princess Victoria, travelling between Scotland and Northern Ireland, was lost with 133 people drowned, and over a quarter of the Scottish fishing fleet was also lost. In the Netherlands, flooding killed 1,835 people and forced the emergency evacuation of 70,000 more as sea water inundated 1,365 km² of land. An estimated 30,000 animals drowned, and 47,300 buildings were damaged of which 10,000 were destroyed. Total damage was estimated at that time at 895 million Dutch guilders. |
1961 Ex-Hurricane Debbie | September 17, 1961 | Much of Scotland and the Northern Isles hit by severe gales, which were the residuals of Atlantic Hurricane Debbie.[2] |
Sheffield Windstorm | February 16, 1962 | South Yorkshire (Northern England). The city experienced winds of at least 65 knots with reported gusts of 80 knots or more. These high wind speeds were very localised on the city area, possibly due to extreme lee-wave enhancement of the airflow downwind of the Pennines. |
North Sea flood of 1962 | February 17, 1962 | The above mentioned storm had moved south-east and reached the German coast of the North Sea with wind speeds up to 200 km/h. The accompanied storm surge combined with high tide pushed water up the Weser and Elbe, breaching dikes and caused extensive flooding, especially in Hamburg. 315 people were killed, around 60,000 were left homeless. |
1968 Hurricane | January 15, 1968 | This storm tracked north up the west coast of Scotland. In Glasgow, some 20 people were killed and 2,000 people made homeless, Ayrshire and Argyll also affected. |
? | January 11-January 12, 1974 | Record winds, sometimes of hurricane force, recorded in many parts of Ireland. The strongest ever sea level gust in Ireland, at exactly 200 km/h, was recorded in Kilkeel, County Down. Many trees and buildings were damaged and 150,000 homes were left without electricity. |
Great Storm of 1987 | October 15 and 16, 1987 | This storm mainly affected southeastern England and northern France. In England maximum mean wind speeds of 70 knots (an average over 10 minutes) were recorded. The highest gust of 117 knots was recorded at Pointe du Raz in Brittany. In all, 19 people were killed in England and 4 in France. 15 million trees were uprooted in England. This storm received much media attention, not so much because of its severity, but because these storms do not usually track so far south, the trees and buildings are not used to such winds (indeed, in mid-October most deciduous trees still have their leaves and were therefore more susceptible to windstorm damage and, following weeks of wet weather, the ground was sodden, providing little grip for the trees’ roots), the severity of the storm was not forecast until approximately 3 hrs before it hit and it struck after midnight, meaning few people had advance warning.[citation needed] |
February 13, 1989 | During this storm, a gust of 123 knots was recorded at the Kinnaird Lighthouse (Fraserburgh) on the north-east coast of Scotland. This broke the highest low-level wind speed record for the British Isles. Much higher (unofficial) windspeeds have been recorded on the summit of Cairn Gorm and on Unst in Shetland. | |
Burns’ Day storm | January 25, 1990 | Widespread severe gales in the United Kingdom, France, the Benelux countries, and Germany. Isolated gusts of over 45 m/s were recorded, causing extensive structural damage. The storm tracked across the United Kingdom into mainland Europe, where it was known under the name “Daria” and caused severe damage, especially to forests. In total, insurance losses resulting from this storm totalled about US $6bn.[citation needed]. |
New Year’s Day Storm | January 1, 1992 | Also named Nyttårsorkanen. This affected much of northern Scotland and western Norway, unofficial records of gusts in excess of 130 knots (67 m/s) were recorded in Shetland, while Statfjord-B in the North Sea recorded wind gusts in excess of 145 knots (75 m/s). DNMI estimated the strongest sustained winds (10 min. average) to have reached 90 knots (45 m/s), comparable to a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson-scale. Very few fatalities occurred, mainly due to the very low population of the islands and the fact that the islanders are used to very high winds. |
? | January 22–23, 1994 | Severe gales affected Central, Western and Northern Scotland, and the Northern Isles. A gust of 104 knots was recorded at Sumburgh Airport on Shetland. Gusts were estimated to be well in excess of 100 knots at Fair Isle.[3] |
Yuma | December 24, 1997 | On Christmas Eve, an intense secondary depression tracked north-east across Scotland, bringing severe gales and heavy rain. The storm caused 6 fatalities, extensive structural damage and disruption to National Grid. Blackpool’s North Pier in north-west England was also damaged. |
Désirée / Fanny | January 4, 1998 | Another intense secondary depression crossed Ireland and northern England. Severe gales also swept Wales and southern England. Widespread structural damage and power outages, and flooding along rivers and coasts. |
Boxing Day Storm / Hurricane Stephen | December 26, 1998 | Severe gales over Ireland, northern England, and southern Scotland. Winds speeds of 103 mph were recorded at Prestwick airport, and 93 mph in Glasgow. Widespread disruption and power outages in Northern Ireland and southern Scotland. The Forth Road Bridge was fully closed for the first time since its construction in 1964. |
Silke (Boxing Day) | December 27, 1998 | Another severe gale tracks across Northern Ireland and Scotland. |
Anatol | December 3, 1999 | Hurricane like storm Anatol hits Denmark and neighbouring countries. Killing 7 in Denmark alone. Pressure: 952.4 hPa. Wind speeds above 85 mph (38 m/s), gusts up to 115 mph (51 m/s). |
Lothar, Martin | December 26–28, 1999 | France, Switzerland and Germany were hit by severe storms and rain. Over 100 people were killed, and the storm caused extensive damage to property and trees and the French and German national power grids. The first storm in the series, dubbed Lothar by European forecasters, rapidly developed just off of the French coast and swept inland. Each of these systems was associated with an intense jet stream aloft and benefitted from latent heat release through atmosphere-ocean exchange processes. “Lothar” and “Martin”, as the second storm was dubbed, were extratropical cyclones and had a hurricane-like shape, with an eye at the center. In the first storm, a gust of 184 km/h was recorded at Ushant (Fr. Ouessant) in Brittany and in the second storm, the highest gust was of 200 km/h at Île de Ré in France. |
Severe European windstorms since 2000
Event | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|
Oratia | October 30, 2000 | A deep area of low pressure swept across the United Kingdom bringing gusts in excess of 90 mph and severe flooding to Southern England, it was the strongest system of its kind to hit the UK since the Burns Day Storm of 1990. |
Dagmar | December 17, 2004 | A storm generating 80 mph winds hit northern France, including Paris, killing 6 people and leaving thousands of homes without power. |
Erwin (Gudrun) | January 8, 2005 | Northern Europe was hit by the storm Erwin (German weather service), also called Gudrun by the Norwegian weather service, with sustained wind speeds of 126 km/h and wind gusts of 165 km/h. About 341,000 homes lost power in Sweden and several thousand of these were out of power for many days and even weeks; about 10,000 homes were still without power after three weeks. The international death toll was at least 17.The storm caused a lot of financial damage in Sweden, where the forest industry suffered greatly from damaged trees. 7,500,000 cubic metres (9,800,000 yd³) of trees blew down in southern Sweden. In the space of 6 hrs, 250 000 000 trees were blown down, and after months of hard work, lorries and drivers from across Europe eventually transported the logs to several sites across the south of Sweden. One huge site was situated on a disused airfield, stretched for 2 km, 14 metres in height, and 10 piles in width. This was only 2 % of the total logs stored, enough to create a 3m x 3m pile all the way to Australia. |
Gero | January 11, 2005 | On the evening of the 11th and early morning of the 12th, a ferocious gale swept across Northern Ireland and northwest Scotland. Wind speeds of 134 mph (equivalent to a strong Category 3 hurricane) were recorded on North Rona and wind speeds in excess of 110 mph measured on South Uist with 105 mph on Barra in the Hebrides before the automatic station stopped reporting at 17.00. Stormy seas combined with high spring tides and caused flooding in low-lying coastal areas. One fatality occurred in Ireland and six in Scotland, including a family of five who were swept into the sea after fleeing their house on South Uist. At the height of the storm, 85,000 households in Scotland were without power. On the 13th, all Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services and train services in Scotland were suspended, and many roads were closed due to fallen trees. The Forth Road Bridge was closed for the first time since the 1998 Boxing Day Storm, and the Tay (Dundee) and Friarton (Perth) bridges were also closed to all traffic. |
Renate | October 3, 2006 | A powerful storm battered the south west coast of France with gusts of 150 km/h in the coastal areas. The storm uprooted many trees, and many homes remained without power for many hours. Two people were badly injured in a helicopter crash. One person died in a house fire, which originated from a candle that he was using for illumination. |
Britta | November 2, 2006 | In the afternoon of the second and in the night a storm made its way through the North Sea with gusts reaching 174 km/h in Denmark and southern Sweden. The countries affected were Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Scotland. The storm killed 15 people and detached an oil rig, which then was rescued and pulled back to safety. |
Franz | January 10 and January 11, 2007 | A strong depression north of Scotland brought high winds to most of the United Kingdom. A strong jet stream was also present at the time. This system was one of several strong storms to hit the United Kingdom during the winter of 2006–2007, possibly linked to the El Niño event taking place at the time. With a central pressure of 950mbar, sustained winds exceeded 60 mph and a gust of 94 mph was recorded in Benbecula late on January 10. Additional hurricane-force gusts were recorded in Scotland. Gale-force winds were recorded in the south of the United Kingdom and in the Midlands, and gusts of over 50 mph affected the entire country. Northern areas received gusts of between 60 and 90 mph. The depression was named Franz by the Free university of Berlin.Six fatalities have been confirmed, along with several injuries. Five people were killed when a trawler sank off the coast near Wexford, in The Republic of Ireland and another person was killed near Taunton, Somerset when a tree crushed his car. Another trawler went missing. Two survivors were recovered. One woman went missing after falling overboard on a ferry near Falmouth. A supermarket in Wales had its roof damaged, and residents across the United Kingdom reported other minor damage. 80,000 homes lost power in Wales. Flooding occurred in several areas, with several rivers overflowing. The Environment Agency issued 59 flood warnings. |
Per (Hanno) | January 14, 2007 | The powerful storm Per hit south-western Sweden with wind gusts up to about 90 mph. Six people were reported dead in different storm-related accidents, thousands of trees were blown down, and thousands of households lost electricity. This storm also caused damage and flooding in Lithuania. |
Kyrill | January 18, 2007 | In the wake of Kyrill, already regarded as one of the most violent and destructive storms in more than a century, storm-warnings were given for many countries in western, central and northern Europe with severe storm-warnings for some areas. Schools in particularly threatened areas had been closed by mid-day, to allow children to get home safely before the storm reached its full intensity in the late afternoon. At least 53 people were killed in northern and central Europe, causing travel chaos across the region. Britain and Germany were the worst hit, with eleven people killed as rain and gusts of up to 99 mph (159 km/h) with sustained windspeeds of up to 73 mph swept the UK. Thirteen people were killed in Germany, with the weather station on top of the Brocken in the Saxony-Anhaltian Harz mountain range recording wind speeds of up to 121 mph (195 km/h). Direct damage in Germany was estimated to amount to € 4.7 billion.[4] Five people were killed in the Netherlands and three in France. The gusts reached 151 km/h at the Cap Gris Nez and 130 km/h in many places in the north of France. In both Germany and the Netherlands the national railways were closed. At Frankfurt International Airport over 200 flights were cancelled. |
Uriah | June 25 – 26, 2007 | A rather unseasonal weather system brought gale force winds to the UK, but was more memorable for causing severe flooding, with many areas receiving more than a months’ rainfall in a single day. The storm exacerbated existing flooding problems (caused by violent thunderstorms a week earlier) and areas such as Sheffield were worst affected. Over 102 flood warnings were issued, and by June 29 five people were dead, many areas flooded and there was severe damage to the Ulley reservoir,where cracks appeared in the dam wall, causing fears that it might collapse. 700 people were evacuated from the area. Over 3000 properties were flooded across the country and more than 3,500 people were evacuated from their homes. See June 2007 United Kingdom floods |
Tilo | November 7 – 8, 2007 | A strong European windstorm struck Northern Scotland. All schools in Orkney were closed and hundreds of homes lost power. Gusts as high as 90 mph were reported, along with early snow for the Scottish highlands. The Northlink ferry company cancelled sailings between Lerwick and Aberdeen. There were also reports of trees and roofs being blown down, such as in Grampian. The combination of Northwesterly winds exceeding 60 mph, low pressure and high spring tides led authorities to expect severe flooding in the east of England, to close the Thames Barrier. Many said that these conditions mirrored the North Sea Flood of 1953. In the Netherlands, the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier and the gigantic Maeslantkering (sealing off the Rotterdam harbor) were closed. For the first time since 1976, the entire coastline was put on alert and under round-the-clock surveillance. The tidal surge traveling down the North Sea turned out to be too weak to cause any significant problems to the strong Dutch coastal defenses. |
Paula | January 25, 2008 | A strong European windstorm, Paula hit Poland, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. At least one person died in Poland. The gusts reached 165 km/h in the Eastern Alps, 155 km/h in Poland, 150 km/h in Norway and 140 km/h in Germany. |
Zizi | February 22 and February 23, 2008 | A strong European windstorm, Zizi hit Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. There were no fatalities or injuries. The gusts reached 135 km/h in Germany and more than 100 km/h in other countries. |
Emma | March 1, 2008 | A strong European windstorm, Emma hit Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Poland. At least 12 people died (4 in Austria, 2 in Poland, 4 in Germany and 2 in Czech Republic). The gusts reached 190 km/h in Eastern Alps, 170 km/h in Poland and 140 km/h in Germany and Czech Republic. The results were catastrophic. |
Klaus | January 2009 | A European windstorm that hit southern France and northern Spain, said to be the most damaging in the area since that of December 1999. The storm caused widespread damage across the countries, especially in northern Spain. Twelve fatalities have been reported as of January 24, as well as extensive disruptions of public transport. Many homes lost power, including over a million in southwestern France. The gusts reached 206 km/h. |
Quinten | February 2009 | Severe windstorm across France, the BeneLux and Germany in early February. Highest winds were recorded at the Feldberg-Mountain (Black Forest), Germany. Here the gusts reached 166 km/h. |
Xynthia | February 27-28, 2010 | A severe windstorm (still ongoing at time of writing) which was generated close to Madeira and from there moved across to the Canary Islands, then Portugal and much of western and northern Spain, before moving on to hit western and south-western France. The highest gust speeds recorded as of midnight were at approx. 2130h at Alto de Orduña (228 kph/ 142 mph). 50 people have been reported to have died.[1] |
See also
- Beaufort scale (10-12 and up)
- European windstorm names
- Extratropical cyclone
- Great Gale
- Great Storm
- List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom
- List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
- Nor’easter
- Severe weather
- Tropical cyclone
[edit] References
- ^ “The Tay Bridge Disaster”. http://taybridgedisaster.co.uk/. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
- ^ “1961 Hurricane/Tropical Data for Atlantic”. http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/1961/. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
- ^ “A Stormy Night on Fair Isle”. http://www.zetnet.co.uk/sigs/weather/highlights/jan23-94.html. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
- ^ “EUSF”. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/1301&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr/. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
External links
(from)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_windstorm
**
It is the twenty-first century. After this many years of civilization, surely we can team up and get some of these things fixed.The idea I have is not for everyone to go back to lifestyles and accommodations of the pre-industrial age. Electricity and transportation have made life much better but the ways we have used to create these are now costing us dearly and needs to be changed to something better.
– cricketdiane
***