Carbon in the earth s crust

Urey s calculations (1956) also are based on several arbitrary assumptions it is postulated that the carbon in the Earth s crust was... 

Figure 1 depicts the major components of the OC cycle on and in the Earth s cmst. Greater than 99.9% of all carbon in the Earth s crust is stored in sedimentary rocks (Berner, 1989). About 20% of this total ( 1.5Xl0 Gt) is organic, and the majority (>90%) of the OC in these consolidated... 

The mass distribution of carbon in the Earth s crust is of interest for understanding of the global biogeochemistry of this element. These values are shown in Table 12. One can see that carbon from carbonates (Cc) is the major form. The Cc/Co ratio is about 5 for the whole Earth s crust as well as for its main layers (sedimentary, granite, and basalt) and crustal types continental, sub-continental and oceanic. However, for the latter this ratio is higher. 

Table 12. Mass distribution aj carbon in the Earth s crust (after Dobrovolsky, 1994).

Unlike oil, natural gas and its main components—light (C1-C4) alkanes— are much more abundant. The existing estimates of their assured resources in traditional gas fields are much more optimistic as compared to oil resources. Moreover, the Earth s mantle permanently releases additional amounts of methane, and its resources in the form of gas hydrates are estimated as more than a half of the organic carbon in the Earth s crust (Kvenvolden, 1988). The development of these giant resources becomes the strategic goal of the world economy and accordingly one of the priority directions in scientific research— both fundamental and applied (Melvin, 1988). 

In this Chapter you will see how the widespread use of DDT gave birth to the environmental movement. You will also learn why life is based on carbon rather than on silicon, even though silicon is just below carbon in the periodic table and is far more abundant than carbon in the earth s crust. 

The alkali metals of Group I are found chiefly as the chlorides (in the earth s crust and in sea water), and also as sulphates and carbonates. Lithium occurs as the aluminatesilicate minerals, spodimene and lepidolite. Of the Group II metals (beryllium to barium) beryllium, the rarest, occurs as the aluminatesilicate, beryl-magnesium is found as the carbonate and (with calcium) as the double carbonate dolomite-, calcium, strontium and barium all occur as carbonates, calcium carbonate being very plentiful as limestone. 

They are, potentially or actually, cheap. Most ceramics are compounds of oxygen, carbon or nitrogen with metals like aluminium or silicon all five are among the most plentiful and widespread elements in the Earth s crust. The processing costs may be high, but the ingredients are almost as cheap as dirt dirt, after all, is a ceramic. 

Aluminum is the most abundant metallic element in the Earth s crust and, after oxygen and silicon, the third most abundant element (see Fig. 14.1). However, the aluminum content in most minerals is low, and the commercial source of aluminum, bauxite, is a hydrated, impure oxide, Al203-xH20, where x can range from 1 to 3. Bauxite ore, which is red from the iron oxides that it contains (Fig. 14.23), is processed to obtain alumina, A1203, in the Bayer process. In this process, the ore is first treated with aqueous sodium hydroxide, which dissolves the amphoteric alumina as the aluminate ion, Al(OH)4 (aq). Carbon dioxide is then bubbled through the solution to remove OH ions as HCO and to convert some of the aluminate ions into aluminum hydroxide, which precipitates. The aluminum hydroxide is removed and dehydrated to the oxide by heating to 1200°C. 

Silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth s crust. It occurs widely in rocks as silicates, compounds containing the silicate ion, Si032, and as the silica, Si02, of sand (Fig. 14.33). Pure silicon is obtained from quartzite, a granular form of quartz (another solid phase of SiOz), bv reduction with high-purity carbon in an electric arc furnace ... 

As can be seen in Fig. 2-1 (abundance of elements), hydrogen and oxygen (along with carbon, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, and iron) are particularly abundant in the solar system, probably because the common isotopic forms of the latter six elements have nuclear masses that are multiples of the helium (He) nucleus. Oxygen is present in the Earth s crust in an abundance that exceeds the amount required to form oxides of silicon, sulfur, and iron in the crust the excess oxygen occurs mostly as the volatiles CO2 and H2O. The CO2 now resides primarily in carbonate rocks whereas the H2O is almost all in the oceans. 

Beyond these two columns, the removal of all valence electrons is usually not energetically possible. For example, iron has eight valence electrons but forms only two stable cations, Fe and Fe. Compounds of iron containing these ions are abundant in the Earth s crust. Pyrite (FeS2) and iron(II) carbonate (FeC03, or siderite) are examples of Fe salts. Iron(IIt) oxide (Fc2 O3, or hematite) can be viewed as a network of Fe cations and O anions. One of the most abundant iron ores, magnetite, has the chemical formula FC3 O4 and contains a 2 1 ratio of Fe and Fe cations. The formula of magnetite can also be written as FeO FC2 O3 to emphasize the presence of two different cations. 

Many years ago, geochemists recognized that whereas some metallic elements are found as sulfides in the Earth s crust, others are usually encountered as oxides, chlorides, or carbonates. Copper, lead, and mercury are most often found as sulfide ores Na and K are found as their chloride salts Mg and Ca exist as carbonates and Al, Ti, and Fe are all found as oxides. Today chemists understand the causes of this differentiation among metal compounds. The underlying principle is how tightly an atom binds its valence electrons. The strength with which an atom holds its valence electrons also determines the ability of that atom to act as a Lewis base, so we can use the Lewis acid-base model to describe many affinities that exist among elements. This notion not only explains the natural distribution of minerals, but also can be used to predict patterns of chemical reactivity. 

Hydrogen does not appear free in the atmosphere except at levels below 1 ppm, since rapid diffusivity enables molecules to escape the earth s gravitational field and it is continuously lost from the atmosphere. It is present in the earth s crust at about 0.87% in combination with oxygen in water and with carbon and other elements in organic substances. It is prepared commercially on a small scale by action of sulphuric acid on zinc ... 

In the previous paragraph, it has been stated that minerals have the same structure but different compositions (phenomenon of isomorphism of minerals) while some minerals have the same composition but different structures (phenomenon of polymorphism of minerals). Mineral composition and structure are both important in studying and classifying minerals. The major class of minerals - based on composition and structure - include elements, sulfides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, oxides, phosphates, and silicates. The silicate class is especially important, because silicon makes up 95% of the minerals, by volume, in the Earth s crust. Mineral classes are divided into families on the basis of the chemicals in each mineral. Families, in turn, are made of groups of minerals that have a similar structure. Groups are further divided into species. 

Gas hydrates are non-stoichiometric crystals formed by the enclosure of molecules like methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide inside cages formed by hydrogen-bonded water molecules. There are more than 100 compounds (guests) that can combine with water (host) and form hydrates. Formation of gas hydrates is a problem in oil and gas operations because it causes plugging of the pipelines and other facilities. On the other hand natural methane hydrate exists in vast quantities in the earth s crust and is regarded as a future energy resource. 

Zinc is the 24th most abundant element in the earth s crust. The Zn concentration in the lithosphere is 50-70 mg/kg (Vinogradoc, 1959 Adriano, 2001). Basic igneous rocks contain higher Zn (70-130 mg/kg) than metamorphic and sedimentary rocks (80 mg/kg). Carbonate and limestones contain low Zn (16-20 mg/kg) (Aubert and Pinta, 1977). The total Zn concentration in the soils of the world ranges from 10 to 300 mg/kg (Swaine, 1955), with average concentrations from 50 to 100 mg/kg (Aubert and Pinta, 1977). Arid and semi-arid soils vary from trace levels (subdesert soils) to 900 mg/kg (saline alkali soils) (Aubert and Pinta, 1977). The average Zn concentration in the arid and semi-arid soils of the U.S. (62.9 mg/kg) is... 

The chemistry of carbon, known as organic chemistry, has i already been discussed. The element silicon, also in Group IV, is just as significant in the mineral world as carbon is in the world of living things. Silicon is the second most abundant element in the earth s crust (oxygen is the most abundant). 

Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous metal which tarnishes in air. It is present in the earth s crust as sulfide (sphalerite), carbonate, or silicate ores, to the extent of only 78 ppm, making it the 23rd most abundant element.2 The metal is obtained from its ores by roasting and subsequent reduction with coke or by electrolysis. Approximately 8.36 million metric tons of zinc were produced worldwide in 2002 of this amount, two-thirds were from ores, while one-third was obtained from recycled zinc.3 The ease of mining and refining of the ore and the subsequent low price of the metal (ca. 1.2 kg-1 in 1998)3 have made zinc the third most popular non-ferrous metal (after aluminum and copper). 

Barium is the 17th most abundant element in the Earth s crust, making up about 0.05% of the crust. It is found in the minerals witherite, which is barium carbonate (BaCO ), and barite, known as barium siflfate (BaSO ). Pure barium metal does not exist on Earth—only as compounds or in minerals and ores. Barium ores are found in Missouri, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Nevada, California, Canada, and Mexico. 

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