Zinc, abundance

Van Winckel H, Mathis JS, Waelkens C (1992) Evidence from zinc abundances for dust fractionation in chemically peculiar stars. Nature 356 500-501... 

When INAA is used and the concentration of Na in the sample is above 1%, the Na y-rays mask other useful y-ray peaks. In particular, arsenic and zinc abundances are not as easily determined in the shales as they are in coal by INAA (28). The oil and water appear to present no leakage problems at fluxes of 2 X 10 n cm" sec" for irradiation periods of 2 hr. These liquids were irradiated in sealed polyethylene vials inside of sealed polyethylene bags. The neutron activation analyses were performed at the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, Golorado. 

The abundance of indium in the earth s cmst is probably about 0.1 ppm, similat to that of silver. It is found in trace amounts in many minerals, particulady in the sulfide ores of zinc and to a lesser extent in association with sulfides of copper, tin, and lead. Indium follows zinc through flotation concentration, and commercial recovery of the metal is achieved by treating residues, flue dusts, slags, and metallic intermediates in zinc smelting and associated lead (qv) and copper (qv) smelting (see Metallurgy, EXTRACTIVE Zinc and zinc alloys). 

Zinc—Oxygen Cells. On the basis of reactants the zinc—oxygen or air system is the highest energy density system of all the alkaline rechargeable systems with the exception of the 2 Th reactants are cheap and abundant and therefore a number of attempts have been made to develop a practical rechargeable system. The reactions of this system are as follows ... 

Zinc occurs most abundantly in tire mineral. Sphalerite, ZnS, which is roasted to produce the oxide before the metal production stage. The products of the roast are then reduced by carbon to yield zinc oxide and CO(g). In the older process, tire Belgian retort process, the metal oxide and carbon are mixed together in a reactor which allows the indirect heating of the charge to produce the gaseous products followed by tire condensation of zinc at a lower temperature in a zone of the reactor which is outside the heating chamber. The carbon monoxide is allowed to escape from the vessel and is immediately burnt in... 

However, when the vulcanization temperature was increased to 190°C, it was observed that the peaks in the copper and sulfur profiles no longer coincided. Instead, the peak in the sulfur profile coincided with the peaks in the zinc and oxygen profiles. These results indicated that at higher vulcanizing temperatures, zinc sulfide formed in abundance while formation of copper sulfide decreased. 

Zinc (76ppm of the earth s crust) is about as abundant as rubidium (78 ppm) and slightly more abundant than copper (68 ppm). Cadmium (0.16 ppm) is similar to antimony (0.2 ppm) it is twice as abundant as mercury (0.08 ppm), which is itself as abundant as silver (0.08 ppm) and close to selenium (0.05 ppm). These elements are chalcophiles (p. 648) and so, in the reducing atmosphere prevailing when the earth s crust solidified, they separated out in the sulfide phase, and their most important ores are therefore sulfides. Subsequently, as rocks were weathered, zinc was leached out to be precipitated as carbonate, silicate or phosphate. 

Making and Using Tables Data Table 3 shows the isotopic mass and relative abundance for the most common isotopes of copper and zinc. 

Zinc is the fourth most widely used metal after iron, aluminum, and copper (lead is fifth). In abundant supply world-wide, zinc is mined and produced mainly in Canada, the former Soviet Union, Australia, Peru, Mexico, and the U.S. Historically, in the U.S. recoverable zinc has been mined in... 

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... 

All heavy metals in the Periodic Table Groups 12,13,14, and 15 became more available, as sulfide was removed. Note especially zinc, 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). 

In theory, the III-V compound semiconductors and their alloys are made from a one to one proportion of elements of the III and V columns of the periodic table. Most of them crystallize in the sphalerite (zinc-blende ZnS) structure. This structure is very similar to that of diamond but in the III-V compounds, the two cfc sublattices are different the anion sublattice contains the group V atoms and the cation sublattice the group III atoms. An excess of one of the constituents in the melt or in the growing atmosphere can induce excess atoms of one type (group V for instance) to occupy sites of the opposite sublattice (cation sublattice). Such atoms are said to be in an antisite configuration. Other possibilities related with deviations from stoichiometry are the existence of vacancies (absence of atoms on atomic sites) on the sublattice of the less abundant constituent and/or of interstitial atoms of the most abundant one. 

Birds are comparatively resistant to the biocidal properties of cadmium. Adult drake mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) fed up to 200 mg cadmium per kg diet for 90 days all survived with no loss of body weight (White and Linley 1978). Laying hens fed 200 mg Cd/kg diet also survived egg production was suppressed at that concentration but not at lower concentrations (White and Linley 1978). Marine and terrestrial animals, including ducks, have been shown to be particularly abundant in a wildlife community associated with a marine sewer outfall (Brown et al. 1977). These animals were contaminated with high levels of cadmium, as well as zinc and copper, but were apparently protected from the deleterious effects of high metal body burdens by metallothioneins. Amounts... 

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