Cobalt

Cobalt

Cobalt

Cobalt is a chemical element, represented by the atomic symbol: Co and by atomic number: 27. Like Nickel, Cobalt is found in the Earth's crust, only in it's chemically combined form. The free element, produced by smelting is a brittle, lustrous, silver metal.

PROPERTIES OF THE ELEMENT

Chemical properties. The melting point of Cobalt is 2,723 degrees fahrenheit and the freezing point is the same. The boiling point of the element is 5,301 degrees fahrenheit.

Physical properties. It is a shiny, gray, brittle metal that is best known for creating an intense blue color in glass and paints. Cobalt is produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal. Its atomic mass is 58.933.

HISTORY

Discovery. Cobalt was discovered by Georg Brandt, a Swedish chemist, in 1735. Brandt was attempting to prove that the ability of certain minerals to color glass blue was due to an unknown element and not to bismuth, as was commonly believed at the time. Cobalt's primary ores are cobaltite and erythrite. Cobalt is usually recovered as a byproduct of mining and refining nickel, silver, lead, copper and iron. Although cobalt is used in electroplating to give objects an attractive surface that resists oxidation, it is more widely used to form alloys. Alnico, an alloy consisting of aluminum, nickel and cobalt is used to make powerful permanent magnets. Stellite alloys, which contain cobalt, chromium and tungsten, are used to make high-speed and high temperature cutting tools and dyes. The elements name comes from the German word for goblin or evil spirit, kobald and the Greek word for mine, cobalos.

Current uses of the element.

Cobalt is used in aircraft engine parts and in alloys with corrosion and wear resistant uses. It's also widely used in batteries and for electroplating. Cobalt is also used to make alloys for jet engines and gas turbines, magnetic steels and some types of stainless steels. In lithium ion batteries, cobalt is a key component of the cathode. The batteries operate by shuttling lithium ions back and forth between the electrodes, which are layered materials that can intercalate the lithium ions. Today lithium cobalt oxide cathodes consist of 60% cobalt and offer unbeatable energy density. Cobalt salts are used to impart blue and green colors in glass and ceramics. Cobalt blue glass is normally a deep, rich blue. It is made by incorporating cobalt oxide in the molten glass mixture. Most blue glass is given its color either from cobalt oxide or from copper oxide added to the molten glass. Copper is a more delicate colorant than cobalt. It only requires a small amount of cobalt oxide to produce a deep, rich blue. Cobalt is also used to treat cancer, Cobalt therapy or cobalt-60 therapy is the medical use of gamma rays from the radioisotope cobalt-60 to treat conditions such as cancer.

FINDING COBALT

Cobalt in the Earth. Cobalt is usually not mined alone, and tends to be produced as a byproduct of nickel and copper mining activities. The main ores of cobalt are cobaltite, erythrite, glaucodot, and skutterudite. The world's major producers of cobalt are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China, Zambia, Russia and Australia. It is also found in Finland, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. Most of the Cobalt in the United States is imported and during 2013-2016, we got 16% of our Cobalt from Norway. In recent years, the demand for cobalt, a crucial component of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for smartphones and electric cars, has been on the increase. Around 60 percent of the world's cobalt supply comes from the mineral-rich Katanga copper belt, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo but, a lot of the Cobalt that is mined is mined using child labor. "A CBS News investigation has found child labor being used in the dangerous mining of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The mineral cobalt is used in virtually all batteries in common devices, including cellphones, laptops and even electric vehicles." -CBS News. While Cobalt is necessary for the things we use on the daily doesn't mean the way we get it is okay even though most of the world's Cobalt comes out of the Congo.