Inorganic Minerals and Compounds

Minerals are inorganic compounds that are found in nature and have both a well-defined composition and crystalline arrangement of atoms. Coal and petroleum hydrocarbons are organic and thus not minerals. Obsidian is not a mineral because it has neither crystalline structure nor a specific composition. Stones such as chert and flint, which are mainly silica, SiO, have a relatively precise composition but lack crystalline structure, so are not minerals. While copper is a mineral, brass and bronze do not occur in nature and do not have a fixed elemental composition, so they are not minerals. A synthetic material can be a mineral, however, as long as it is also found in nature. Hematite can be produced artificially by firing ceramics in an oxidizing environment, but it is still considered mineral because hematite can be found in nature. A synthetic ruby is likewise a mineral because rubies do occur in nature, but modem cubic zirconia is not. 

Because minerals are defined both by composition and stracture, minerals can have the same composition but different structures and thus are distinctly different minerals. Diamond and graphite are both pure carbon but have different atomic arrangements and thus are different materials, with quite different properties. Likewise calcium carbonate, CaCO, has a definite composition but this is not a mineral name because calcium carbonate can occur as aragonite or as calcite, each with a unique arrangement of atoms. 

Because this structural arrangement of atoms is essential to the identity of an element, methods used to study minerals differ from lliose used to assess elemental composition. The major tools include microscopy, X-ray methods, and molecular spectroscopy. These directly examine the molecular structure and the kinds of bonds between atoms rather than elemental abundances. 

Tools such as XRD and IR spectroscopy are useful when the rock contains only one or two minerals, but both IR and XRD spectra become too complex, with multiple overlapping peaks, when there are more than a few minerals. Thus these tools are mainly used for identifying the major mineral components. 

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Robie and Waldbaum (43) Thermochemical data for minerals and inorganic compounds. 

Krivovichev, S. V. and Filatov, S. K. (1999). Structural principles for minerals and inorganic compounds containing anion-centred tetrahedra. Amer. Miner. 84, 1099 106. 

Tossell, J. A., and G. V. Gibbs (1977b). Molecular orbital studies of geometries and spectra of minerals and inorganic compounds. Phys. Chem. Mineral. 2, 21-58. 

Part of the difficulty encountered in searching and interpreting the literature on polymorphic behaviour of materials is due to the inconsistent labelling of polymorphs. In many cases, the inconsistency arises from lack of an accepted standard notation. However, often, and perhaps more important, it is due to the lack of various authors awareness of previous work or lack of attempts to reconcile their own work with earlier studies (see, for instance. Bar and Bernstein 1985). While many polymorphic minerals and inorganic compounds acmally have different names (e.g. calcite, aragonite and vaterite for calcium carbonate or rutile, brookite, and anatase for titanium dioxide) this has not been the practice for molecular crystals, which have been labelled with Arabic (1, 2, 3,...) or Roman (I, II, III,...) numerals, lower or upper case Latin (a, b, c,... or A, B, C,...) or lower case Greek a, P,y, ) letters, or by names descriptive of properties (red form, low-temperature polymorph, metastable modification, etc.). 

The crystal chemistry of phosphate minerals has recently been reviewed [9, 10]. These references present a stmctural hierarchy based on the pol5mierization of polyhedra of higher bond-valence, especially tetrahedra and octahedra. In a similar fashion, an extensive stmctural hierarchy of uranyl minerals and inorganic compounds has been developed over the last decade [11, 12]. This chapter follows the concepts and principles of both of these stmctural hierarchies, but places the primary emphasis on actinide coordination. As the coordination environments of the actinides differ with valence state [13, 14], it has been found convenient to discuss the compounds of the lower valence-state actinides separately from those of the higher valence-states. 

Krivovichev SV, Filatov SK (1999) Stmctural principles for minerals and inorganic compounds containing anion-centrered tetrahedra. Am Mineral 84 1099-1106... 

Exempt colorants are made up of a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds representing the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. Some, like -carotene and 2inc oxide, are essentially pure factory-produced chemicals of definite and known composition. Others, including annatto extract, cochineal extract, caramel, and beet powder are mixtures obtained from natural sources and have somewhat indefinite compositions. 

Elemental and inorganic compounds Manganese cyclopenta-dienyl tricarbonyl as Mn Manganese methyl-pentadienyl tricarbonyl Manganese tetroxide Man-made mineral fibre Marble, see Calcium carbonate Mercaptoacetic acid, see Thioglycolic acid Mequinol (INN)... 

The heats of solution of organic and inorganic compounds in water can be large, particularly for the strong mineral acids and alkalies. 

Wang, Y.-S., Subba-Rao, R.V., and Alexander, M. Effect of substrate concentration and organic and inorganic compounds on the occurrence and rate of mineralization and cometabolism, Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 47(6) 1195-1200, 1984. 

Two hundred years ago, many people believed that natural or organic compounds (those containing carbon and hydrogen) isolated from plants and animals were fundamentally different from those that were derived from minerals (called inorganic compounds). They thought organic compounds contained a vital force that was only found in living systems. 

The metabolism of the body is generally controlled by hormones in conjunction with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other things, including ions. Minerals are inorganic compounds (i.e. made from elements other than carbon) or their ions and make up about 3 1 % of the body mass. These are mainly found in the skeleton and body fluids. 

Particulate emissions are by-products of fuel combustion, industrial processes, and motor vehicles and are believed to have a significant potential for causing adverse health effects. Carbonaceous material present in atmospheric aerosols is a combination of elemental carbon and organic and inorganic compounds. Particulate matter may also consist of fly ash, minerals, or road dust and contain traces of a number of heavy metals. Population-based studies have consistently found that the association between adverse respiratory effects and particulate concentrations occurs in a number of regions throughout the United States. This association is strongest for PM]o and PM2.5 indices (particulate matter less than 10 and 2.5 pm in diameter, respectively). The observed adverse effects include increases in total mortality, mortality due to respiratory and cardiovascular causes, chronic bronchitis, and hospital visits and admissions for asthma. Elderly or unhealthy individuals and infants appear to comprise subpopulations that are most sensitive to the adverse health effects of PM. 

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