Manganese

What is Manganese? MANGANESE (Mn) is a hard but very brittle silver-gray metallic element Its atomic number is 25.

History The Swedish scientist Johann Gahn discovered manganese in 1774, while heating the mineral pyrolusite (MnO2, manganese dioxide) in a charcoal fire Manganese is now known to have many uses for the human body and for industry

What are the Health Uses of Manganese? It is an essential element in people's daily food consumption It makes bones strong yet flexible It aids the body in absorbing Vitamin B1 It is an important activator for the body to use enzymes

How is Manganese used in Industry? Industry uses most manganese in the form of alloys (metal mixtures) and compounds Steel alloys - Magnesium dioxide Aluminum alloys - Magnesium sulfate Copper alloys - Potassium permanganate

Industrial Uses of Manganese as Alloy It is an essential ingredient in the production of steel It is used in steel alloys to increase many favorable characteristics such as strength, hardness and durability It has similar applications when alloyed with aluminum and copper

Other uses of manganese as alloy… Manganese metal is also used: as a brick and ceramic colorant as a chemical oxidizer and catalyst

Industrial Uses of Manganese Compounds Manganese dioxide (MnO2) is used to: manufacture ferroalloys manufacture dry cell batteries "decolorize" glass prepare some chemicals, like oxygen & chlorine dry black paints

Industrial Use: Manganese Compounds Manganese sulfate (MnSO4) is used as: a chemical intermediate a micronutrient in animal feeds and plant fertilizers Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) is used as: a bactericide and algicide in water and wastewater treatment an oxidant in organic chemical synthesis

Sources of Manganese In the Earth, manganese is found in a number of minerals of different chemical and physical properties, but is never found as a free metal in nature. The most important mineral is pyrolusite, because it is the main ore mineral for manganese.

The mining of manganese ores is usually done in open pits

Manganese Mining Some ores are upgraded by washing, and undersized ores can be agglomerated by sintering Several processes have been developed for mining seafloor nodules, but they cannot compete economically with the ready exploitation of high-grade terrestrial deposits

Other sources of manganese Some manganese is recovered through the reprocessing of scrap metals and steel slag, or the materials left over from the steel-making process

Source Countries Over 80% of the known world manganese resources are found in South Africa and Ukraine Other important manganese deposits are in China, Australia, Brazil, Gabon, India, and Mexico

Sources of Manganese in the U.S. The United States imports manganese ore because the manganese resources in the U.S. are relatively low in manganese content per ton of ore. Importing these ores is presently more economic than mining them locally.

Price in US$ The Price of Manganese for the past five years averages at about USD 2.50 per kg (fob) and is also the current year average.

ECONOMICS The price of Manganese is USD 2.50/kg at FOB terms. This means that the cost of Shipment from the source port, and other attendant costs, such as, import taxes, will still be added to the price to determine the total landed cost of the material.

Economics It is imperative to consider the source of the material – whether import or local, due to the cost of shipping and handling, and the comparative duties and taxes that will be imposed. However, mining of manganese does not entail very high investment compared to coal and phosphates as mining operations is mostly by Open Pit Mining.

PHOSPHATE

What is Phosphate? In mineralogy and geology, phosphate refers to a rock or ore containing phosphate ions. Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus, found in many phosphate minerals

What is Phosphate rock? It is the product obtained from the mining and the metallurgical processing of phosphorus-bearing ores It is the trade name of about 300 phosphates of different qualities in the world It can be used either as raw materials in the industrial manufacture of fertilizers or as phosphorus sources for direct application in agriculture

Phosphates & Phosphorus Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry

Industrial Uses of Phosphates Phosphoric acid-based chemical polishes are used primarily to polish (brighten) aluminum and aluminum alloys Many phosphorus-containing materials are used as flame-retardants for textiles, plastics, coatings, paper, sealants and mastics

Industrial Uses of Phosphates Phosphates and phosphoric acid have many uses in the treatment of potable (drinking) water Cleaning solutions with phosphates help clean mildew and stubborn stains on vinyl siding

Agricultural Uses of Phosphorus Fertilization of crops comprises the largest proportion of phosphorus (P) used in agriculture The importance of P to crop production systems is illustrated by the amount of fertilizer-P used during the last 35 years, which has doubled since 1960, stabilizing at slightly under two million tons/year over the last 10 years.

Geochemistry of Phosphates Phoshorite mines are primarily found in North America:  USA Africa:  Morocco, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Egypt, Western Sahara Middle East: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq Oceania: Australia, Makatea, Nauru, Ocean Island

Phosphate sites in the U.S. The largest phosphorite deposits in North America lie in the Bone Valley region of central Florida, the Soda Springs region of Idaho, and the coast of North Carolina Smaller deposits are located in Montana, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina

Phosphates: Status of Supply In 2007, at the current rate of consumption, the supply of phosphorus was estimated to run out in 345 years. However, scientists are now claiming that a "Peak Phosphorus" will occur in 30 years and that "At current rates, reserves will be depleted in the next 50 to 100 years."

Ecology of phosphates Once used, phosphate is often a limiting nutrient in freshwater environments (its availability may govern the rate of growth of organisms) Addition of high levels of phosphate to environments and to micro-environments in which it is typically rare can have significant ecological consequences In the context of pollution, phosphates are one component of total dissolved solids, a major indicator of water quality

Ecology of Phosphates… Phosphate deposits can contain significant amounts of naturally occurring heavy metals Mining operations processing phosphate rock can leave tailings piles containing elevated levels of cadmiun, lead, nickel, copper, chromium, and uranium

Ecology of Phosphates… These waste products, if not carefully managed, can leach heavy metals into groundwater or nearby estuaries. Uptake of these substances by plants and marine life can lead to concentration of toxic heavy metals in food products

Phosphate Ecology … Fertilizing crops with a blend of high-nitrogen fertilizer and chicken litter increases crop yields and reduces the potential for phosphorus runoff

Phosphate Mining in Florida Phosphate deposits in Florida are among the richest and most accessible in the world Phosphate ore is found from 15 to 50 feet below the ground

Huge cranes remove the top layer of soil, and scoop up the phosphate matrix

The "beneficiation" process separates the sand and clay from the phosphate rock Waste clay is pumped to a settling pond. Sand and sand-sized phosphate particles (flotation feed) are put through a hydro-chemical-physical process to separate the sand and phosphate. Remaining sand is pumped back to the mine where it will be used to restore the site when mining is complete.

Phosphate ore must be mixed with sulfuric acid to create phosphoric acid that is used in fertilizer There are a billion tons of phosphogypsum, the slightly radioactive byproduct, stacked across the state of Florida and 30 million more tons are generated yearly. Federal regulations ban its use. However, pilot programs show that it may be a cost-effective alternative to fill material used for building roads.

Reclamation efforts developed over the past 30 years have been successful Thousands of acres have been donated to local governments for parks Researchers have identified 348 species of animals using reclaimed phosphate mines

Florida provides 75 percent of the phosphorous used by U. S Florida provides 75 percent of the phosphorous used by U.S. farmers and 25 percent of world production. Critical for root and flower development in all plants, phosphorous is quickly depleted in soils and must be replenished regularly if fields are to remain fertile.

Economics of Phosphate mining federal revenues from phosphate-related activity in Caribou County, Idaho, on federal leases for fiscal year 2001 were almost $9.34 million

COAL

What is coal? Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds The harder forms can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure

COAL : composition Coal is composed primarily of carbon (C) along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly sulfur (S), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and nitrogen (N)

Uses of Coal Coal is primarily used as a solid fuel to produce electricity and heat through combustion  Coal can also be converted by several different processes (liquefaction) into liquid fuels such as gasoline or diesel o

World coal reserves coal has the most widely distributed reserves of the three fossil fuels coal is mined in over 100 countries, and on all continents except Antarctica The largest coal reserves are found in the USA, Russia, Australia, China, India and South Africa

The United States has the world's largest coal reserves. A coal mine in Wyoming

Coal Reserves The United States Energy Information Administration gives world reserves as 930 billion short tons as of 2006. At the current extraction rate, this would last 132 years. However, the rate of coal consumption is annually increasing at 2-3% per year and, setting the growth rate to 2.5% yields an exponential depletion time of 56 years (in 2065)

Production trends In 2006, China was the top producer of coal with 38% share followed by the USA and India, according to the British Geological Survey.

COAL MINING

Environmental Effects of Coal There are a number of adverse environmental effects of coal mining and burning, specially in power stations 

Coal-fired power plants… are one of the largest sources of human-caused background radiation exposure emit mercury, selenium, and arsenic which are harmful to human health and the environment shorten nearly 24,000 lives a year in the U.S., including 2,800 from lung cancer

Environmental effects of coal burning Millions of tons of waste products that contain mercury, uranium, thorium, arsenic, and other heavy metals Acid rain (from high sulfur coal) Interference with groundwater and water table levels Contamination of land and waterways and destruction of homes from fly ash spills Impact of water use on flows of rivers Dust nuisance

Economics of Coal The price of coal increased from around $30.00 per short ton in 2000 to around $150.00 per short ton as of September 2008. As of October 2008, the price per short ton had declined to $111.50

Economics of Coal… Coal liquefaction is one of the backstop technologies that could potentially limit escalation of oil prices and mitigate the effects of transportation energy shortage. Estimates of the cost of producing liquid fuels from coal suggest that domestic U.S. production of fuel from coal becomes cost-competitive with oil priced at around $35 per barrel,(break-even cost). .

Economics of coal… With oil prices as low as around $40 per barrel in the U.S. as of December 2008, liquid coal lost some of its economic allure in the U.S., but will probably be re-vitalized, similar to oil sand projects, with an oil price around $70 per barrel.

Created By: Dinah Manapat Neshamah Retuertas