Ships, iron

Many elements are familiar to us in everyday life. Iron is an element used for making ships, cars, spades, etc. There are about 90 such familiar elements, including helium, oxygen, nitrogen, mercury, platinum, and gold. As an element, iron consists of atoms of iron, the smallest building blocks, each of which is indivisible by chemical means. A lump of iron comprises millions, trillions, and zillions of atoms, and the mass of each atom of iron is very small, about 10 g In a piece of iron weighing 50 g, there are about lO atoms. 

Acetic acid, fp 16.635°C ((1), bp 117.87°C at 101.3 kPa (2), is a clear, colorless Hquid. Water is the chief impurity in acetic acid although other materials such as acetaldehyde, acetic anhydride, formic acid, biacetyl, methyl acetate, ethyl acetoacetate, iron, and mercury are also sometimes found. Water significantly lowers the freezing point of glacial acetic acid as do acetic anhydride and methyl acetate (3). The presence of acetaldehyde [75-07-0] or formic acid [64-18-6] is commonly revealed by permanganate tests biacetyl [431-03-8] and iron are indicated by color. Ethyl acetoacetate [141-97-9] may cause slight color in acetic acid and is often mistaken for formic acid because it reduces mercuric chloride to calomel. Traces of mercury provoke catastrophic corrosion of aluminum metal, often employed in shipping the acid. 

Specifications, Shipping, and Analysis. Hydrogen fluoride is shipped in bulk in tank cars (specification 112S400W) and tank tmcks (specification MC312). A small volume of overseas business is shipped in ISO tanks. Bulk shipments are made of anhydrous HF as well as 70% aqueous solutions. A small amount of aqueous solution may be shipped as 50%. Cars and tmcks used for anhydrous HF transport are of carbon steel constmction. It is possible to ship 70% aqueous in steel from a corrosion standpoint however, mbber lining is commonly used to eliminate iron pickup, which is detrimental to product quaUty in a number of appHcations. Hydrogen fluoride of less than 60% strength must always be shipped in lined containers. 

The Utah deposit is located in southwestern Utah near Cedar City. The iron ore deposits are of contact metamorphic origin. The cmde ore contains 35 to 65% iron, primarily in the form of magnetite and goethite. Mining is done by the open pit method. The cmde ore is cmshed, screened at —75 mm (—200 mesh size) and shipped as lump ore containing 54% iron. The ore is rescreened at the steel mill to produce lump ore (10—64 mm) for the blast furnace and sinter feed (0—10 mm) for the sinter plant. 

Storage. Phenol is shipped in dmms, tank tmcks, and tank cars. It is loaded and shipped at elevated temperatures as a bulk Hquid. In storage, phenol may acquire a yeUow, pink, or brown discoloration which makes it unusable for some purposes. The discoloration is promoted by the action of water, light, air, and catalysts, eg, traces of iron or copper. When stored as a solid in the original dmm or in nickel, glass-lined, or tanks lined with baked phenolic resin, phenol remains colorless for a number of weeks. 

Activated alumina is a relatively innocuous material from a health and safety standpoint. It is nonflammable and nontoxic. Fine dusts can cause eye irritation and there is some record of lung damage because of inhalation of activated alumina dust mixed with siUca [7631-86-9] and iron oxide [1317-61 -9] (30). Normal precautions associated with handling of nuisance dusts should be taken. Activated alumina is normally shipped in moisture-proof containers (bags, dmms, sling bins) because of its strong desiccating action. 

The demand for sihcon in the 1990s has exceeded the installed Western world capacity. The difference has been supplemented by shipments from China, the Ukraine, and Russia. In 1993, Chinese exports reached 117,000 t, whereas exports from Ukraine and Russia were around 40,000 t (19). In 1995, the exports from China increased to 155,000 t, whereas the exports from the CIS (former USSR) countries declined. The sihcon metal shipped from these countries has been high in iron and calcium and has been used primarily in the secondary aluminum market. 

Shipment nd Stora.ge, Sulfur monochloride is minimally corrosive to carbon steel and iron when dry. If it is necessary to avoid discoloration caused by iron sulfide formation or chloride stress cracking, 310 stainless steel should be used. Sulfur monochloride is shipped in tank cars, tank tmcks, and steel dmms. When wet, it behaves like hydrochloric acid and attacks steel, cast iron, aluminum, stainless steels, copper and copper alloys, and many nickel-based materials. Alloys of 62 Ni—28 Mo and 54 Ni—15 Cr—16 Mo are useful under these conditions. Under DOT HM-181 sulfur monochloride is classified as a Poison Inhalation Hazard (PIH) Zone B, as well as a Corrosive Material (DOT Hazard Class B). Shipment information is available (140). 

Shipping, analysis, and safety factors are similar to those of ammonium thiocyanate, except that the alkaU thiocyanates are more thermally stable. Sodium thiocyanate is best handled in 316 stainless steel. At room temperature where some iron contamination can be tolerated, type 304 can be used. Aluminum corrodes more rapidly than stainless steel, but some alloys can be used below 60°C. Some but not all mbber equipment is satisfactory. 

The most significant chemical property of zinc is its high reduction potential. Zinc, which is above iron in the electromotive series, displaces iron ions from solution and prevents dissolution of the iron. For this reason, zinc is used extensively in coating steel, eg, by galvanizing and in zinc dust paints, and as a sacrificial anode in protecting pipelines, ship hulls, etc. 

Dichloroethylene is usually shipped ia 208-L (55 gal) and 112-L (30 gal) steel dmms. Because of the corrosive products of decomposition, inhibitors are required for storage. The stabilized grades of the isomers can be used or stored ia contact with most common constmction materials, such as steel or black iron. Contact with copper or its alloys and with hot alkaline solutions should be avoided to preclude possible formation of explosive monochloroacetylene. The isomers do have explosive limits ia air (Table 1). However, the Hquid, even hot, bums with a very cool flame which self-extiaguishes unless the temperature is well above the flash poiat. A red label is required for shipping 1,2-dichloroethylene. 

The acid may be shipped in tank cars, tank tmcks, iso-tainers or dmms via common carrier (40). The shipping ha2ard class is Corrosive Material, the DOT labels and placards required are Corrosive and Poison. The UN number is 1754. When iron content and color are not of concern, the acid may be stored and shipped in steel equipment. The iron content is generally 25—50 ppm and the color is pale yellow to amber. 

Stainless steel or epoxy-lined tank cars and tank tmcks are recommended for shipping. Aluminum also has been used. The tank can be flushed with carbon dioxide before loading and blanketed with nitrogen after loading. Dmm shipments are recommended in epoxy-lined open-head dmms fitted with a bung. Dimer acids and their by-products contaminated with iron or copper show accelerated color deterioration. Exposure to these metals or their salts should be minimised. 

Commercial ethyl alcohol is shipped in railroad tank cars, tank tmcks, 208-L (55-gal) and 19-L (5-gal) dmms, and in smaller glass or metal containers having capacities of 0.473 L (one pint), 0.946 L (one quart), 3.785 L (one U.S. gal), or 4.545 L (one Imperial gal). The 208-L dmms may be of the unlined iron type. If a guarantee of more meticulous quaUty is desired, the dmms may be lined with phenoHc resin. AH containers, of course, must comply with the specifications of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Both 190 proof and 200 proof ethyl alcohol are considered red label (flammable) materials by the DOT, as both have flash points below 37.8°C by the Tag closed-cup method. 

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