CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

ASSIGNMENT NO.3
SUBMITTED BY:-
Pranay d. Nagpure (bt15civ046)
Naveen shahi (bt15civ047)
Shivam Tiwari (bt15civ070)
Shivank Trivedi (bt15civ072)
Sujeet raj (bt15civ079)

Instructed by :- Rahul ralegaokar

 ZINC
INTRODUCTION
Zinc is an elemental metal. It is listed on the Periodic Table as "Zn,"
with an atomic number of 30 and an atomic weight of 65.37, and it
melts at 788F (420C). Zinc is usually a grey metallic colour, but it
can be polished to a shiny silver luster. In nature, it is only found as
a chemical compound, not as pure zinc, and can be used as a raw
material for castings and coatings.
During the era of the Roman Empire, people used zinc to alloy
copper into brass for weapons. In this crude process, the zinc was
captured by the copper during the heating of the ores, though little
was realized at the time about the importance of zinc in metallurgy.
The name zinc may be derived from the German word "zinn," which
means tin. The scientific discovery of zinc is credited to Nadreas
Sigismund Marggraf, a German chemist who isolated pure zinc in
1746. The first production facility, or smelter, was founded in Bristol,
England by William Champion shortly thereafter.
Only about 5% of the world's zinc supply is mined in the United
States, with the balance coming primarily from India, Mexico, and
Canada. Approximately 6.7 million metric tons of zinc ore are
produced worldwide. Roughly two thirds of the zinc used in the
United States is imported.

MANUFACTURING

Mining
1 Zinc ores are dug from underground mines using conventional blasting,
drilling, and hauling techniques. The ores occur as zinc sulfide (also called
sphalerite), zinc carbonate (smithsonite), zinc silicate (calimine), and in
compounds of manganese and iron (franklinite). Zinc ore is sometimes mined
in conjunction with silver orlead ores. In addition to the ore itself, oil and
sulfuric acid are required for the breakdown of the ores; and electricity, coke,
or natural gas are needed to provide the heat energy for smelting.

Froth flotation
 2 Zinc can be produced by a process called froth flotation, which is also used
for reduction of copper and lead ores. This process involves grinding the zinc
ore to a fine powder, mixing it with water, pine oil, and flotation chemicals, and
then agitating the mixture to "float" the zinc to the surface. A variety of
chemicals are used to coat the important zinc particles and prevent them from
becoming wetted by the water. Then air is injected, and the coated minerals

attach themselves to the bubbles. The operation is performed inside a vat and
agitated with an impeller. The rotating impeller draws the air down the
standpipe that surrounds the impeller shaft and dissipates it throughout the
mixture or "pulp." The zinc rises to the top and the residue stays in the bottom
of the pulp, since it cannot adhere to the bubbles. Automatic scrapers remove
the mineral-laden froth containing the zinc.

Filtering
3 The froth is filtered to remove the water and liquid oils. The paste-like
remainder is mixed with lime and sent to a furnace. The furnace roasts the
mixture at 2500F (1371C), which fuses the minerals into solid chunks called
sinter. At this point, the material has been completely converted to zinc oxide.
Smelting
4 The next reduction process uses a blast furnace to melt the prepared ore
into its elemental components. The blast furnace is fueled by electricity, coke,
or natural gas, which generate temperatures of up to 2200F (1204C). This,
however, also generates carbon dioxide, which recombines with the zinc as it
cools to re-form zinc oxide. To reduce this reformation, the zinc is sprayed with
molten lead while it is still hot. The lead, at 1022F (550C), dissolves the zinc
and carries it to another chamber, where it is cooled to 824F (440C). At this
temperature, the lighter zinc separates out of the lead and is drained off the
top. The lead is reheated and returned to the blast furnace.

Refining
5 Further metal improvement can be made by keeping the zinc molten and
undisturbed for several hours. In this state, iron and other contaminants settle
to the bottom, allowing the almost pure zinc to be carefully drawn off the top
and cast into ingots.

Alloying
6 Most zinc is alloyed with other metals before use to improve its properties.
Alloying involves remelting and mixing the zinc with other metals in precise
proportions. For example, approximately 4% aluminum is added to improve
casting quality and die life in the die-casting process. Other added alloys are
small amounts of titanium, copper, and magnesium. After alloying, the molten
metal is poured into sow molds and ingot molds. Sows can weigh several
thousand pounds, while ingots weigh about 45 pounds (20 kg).

TYPE & APPLICATION

Type of zinc

1. Chelated Zinc

2. Zinc Orotate (best)

 3. Zinc Picolinate

4. Zinc Gluconate

5. Zinc Acetate

6. Zinc Oxide

7. Zinc Sulfate

APPLICATIONS

The following are the application areas of zinc:

Galvanization of iron

Architectural

Automotive

Cathode in batteries

Toys

Pigments, activator and catalyst

Pharmaceuticals

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

Zinc has the symbol Zn.

Atomic Number = 30, Atomic Mass = 65.39, 30 protons, 30 electrons, 35 neutrons.

First isolated by

Most common uses:

The alloy brass contains copper and anywhere from 20-45% of zinc, depending
upon the type of brass. Brass is easy to work and is a good electrical conductor.

A large proportion of all zinc, perhaps more than a third, is used used to galvanize
metals such as iron so as to prevent corrosion. Typically this involves dipping the
object to be coated in molten zinc for a short time

The oxide (ZnO) is used in the manufacture of paints, rubber products, cosmetics,
pharmaceuticals, floor coverings, plastics, printing inks, soap, textiles, electrical
equipment, and other products. It is also used in ointments.

Most zinc production is based upon sulfide ores. These are roasted in industrial
plants to form zinc oxide, ZnO. This may then be reduced with carbon to form zinc
metal.

Zinc burns in air at high red heat with evolution of white clouds of the zinc oxide.

The graphic on the left shows an exothermic reaction of zinc metal and iodine
element reacting to form zinc iodide.

Environmental Effects of Zinc

The environmental impact of zinc and of all essential elements

cannot be assessed in the same way as man-made chemical
compounds. Because zinc occurs naturally, eliminating it from the
environment would not be possible. Moreover, because zinc is
essential, achieving such a goal would ultimately lead

to detrimental effects throughout

an ecosystem. In other words, less is not necessarily better.
 For essential elements such as zinc, environmental effects must be
considered within the context of an organisms natural ability to regulate
(uptake and excretion) and maintain a certain level of homeostasis.
That is, environments containing zinc at very low, or very high,
concentrations may produce undesirable effects. The range between
the minimum and maximum is often called the optimal window of
essentiality (Figure 2). Organisms have evolved mechanisms to supply
their needs independent of the external concentration by regulating an
essential element to a constant internal level. [6]

Zinc Bioavailability

The characterization of risk for metals has evolved significantly over the
past several decades and currently incorporates concepts of
bioavailability. The term bioavailability refers to the form (species) of a
metal that is able to enter an organism and elicit an effect. For zinc, the
species typically considered to be the source of toxicity (bioavailable) is
the uncomplexed, free ion (Zn2+). However, because zinc interacts with
various constituents of water, soil and sediment, it can exist as many
different complexes. (Figure 3)

In water, zinc concentrations

have traditionally been considered on the basis of the total (entire zinc
pool in a sample) or dissolved (complexes that can pass through a 0.45
micrometer filter) fraction. However, even following filtration at
microscopic levels, the dissolved fraction contains many zinc complexes
other than the free ion.

For example, increases in pH, alkalinity or natural organic matter would

all tend to decrease zinc bioavailability through complexation. Similarly,
zinc bioavailability may also be affected through competition with other
positively charged ions (calcium, magnesium, sodium, etc.).
 Although accounting for bioavailability in sediment and soils follows a
conceptually similar framework as water, additional constituents must
be considered. For sediments, zinc has the potential for complexation
with iron and manganese oxides (minerals) or organic matter, or in the
case of anaerobic sediment, with sulfides. For soils, zinc is strongly
[7]

adsorbed to mineral phases (oxides, silica, carbonate, clay particles)

and organic matter, and the sorption tends to increase with increasing
pH. As a result, zinc in sediment and soil is available to complex with
[8]

these additional compounds/surfaces, thereby decreasing its

bioavailable form and potential toxicity to organisms.

In summary, zincs bioavailability is determined by complex interactions

with the environment and is strongly dependent on the characteristics of
that environment. In order to understand the many interactions that
occur between zinc and the media in which it resides, computational
tools have been developed to efficiently characterize site-specific
scenarios. As a result, environmental protection levels for zinc typically
are no longer expressed as a single value; instead they fluctuate with
the ameliorative capacity of the media of interest.

Conclusions

The environmental assessment of metals requires a science-based

approach because of the natural occurrence of metals, the great
variations in metal speciation affecting the metals bioavailability and
toxicity and for metals such as zinc their essentiality for all living
organisms.

The distribution, transport and effects (bioavailability) of zinc in water,

sediment and soil depend largely on the site-specific chemical and
physical characteristics of the environment and an organisms condition
e.g. age, size, prior history of exposure. Thus environmental
assessment of zinc must take these factors into account to be
meaningful.

Studies using the state-of-the-science approach have concluded that

current zinc uses contribute negligible amounts of bioavailable zinc to
the environment and therefore have low potential for environmental
effects.
 SERVISABILITY

Very few of you would have made it through a consultation with me, without being forced to
complete the zinc taste perception test! You know the drill, hold liquid zinc in your mouth for
ten seconds, swallow, and describe the taste. When I hear, It tastes like water or sweet, I try
not to wince, and suggest we need to implement zinc supplementation ASAP!
Why do I submit so many of you to the taste taste? Mainly due to the well-established fact
that zinc is one of the most
important minerals for human health. It is used in more than 300 enzyme reactions and has
been shown to have positive results in reproductive health and fertility (improves quality and
quantity of sperm), eye health (improves night blindness and slows down aged-related
macular degeneration), dermatology (significantly improves acne vulgaris), immunology
(reduces the duration of cold and flu symptoms, and prevents the reoccurrence of viral and
bacterial infections), neurology (studies have demonstrated benefits in OCD and ADHD),
hepatology (decreases serum and liver copper in liver cirrhosis), metabolic health (improves
blood lipids and blood glucose control in type 2 diabetes), as well as natal growth and
development (zinc has shown to improve gestational age, birth weight and size).

Various forms of supplemental zinc are available, each with varying bioavailability. Zinc
citrate and zinc glycinate have
demonstrated superior bioavailability and low gastric irritability. Whereas zinc sulphate, zinc
oxide and zinc carbonate have very poor bioavailability, are poorly tolerated and can cause
gastric upset.
Ideally zinc should be taken away from foods high in phytates (grains, legumes and nuts) and
oxalates (spinach, berries and chocolate and whole grains), as these bind zinc. Zinc can be
taken with meat, fish, eggs, sprouted or fermented vegetables.
Mild zinc deficiency dosage requires supplementation of 2233 mg for men and 1624 mg
for women, and moderate
deficiency 4455 mg for men and 3240 mg for women. Dosage and supplement duration
will vary however with specific conditions.