Short Articles
by Dick Gibson
from a forthcoming book entitled "What Things Are Made Of"
No, you won't find platinum in your toothbrush. Sorry. But, platinum is a critical catalyst used in the manufacture of nylon fibers such as those used for toothbrush bristles. Platinum is an intermediary chemical that expedites the change from crude oil into the petrochemicals that are the constituents of nylon. There is only one platinum mine in the U.S., in the Stillwater Complex of the Beartooth Mountains in southwest Montana, and it supplies only about 5% of our needs for platinum. Almost all of the rest comes from Russia (Norilsk, in northern Siberia), South Africa (the Bushveld Complex, in the northeast part of the country), and Canada (Sudbury, Ontario, north of Lake Huron). Top of page
Europium in your TV set
Your color TV tube contains europium oxide, which serves as a phosphor, a material that emits light when struck by radiation. Europium, in combination with yttrium, provides the red color in the set. Europium is a rare-earth element found in the mineral bastnaesite. It is mined at Mountain Pass, California, one of the largest and richest sources of rare earths in the world. Only 1½ pounds of europium oxide is derived from a ton of ore. The largest known rare-earth deposit is in China. The rare-earth elements are doubly misnamed, because they are metals, not "earths," and many of them are not especially rare. They have abundances in the crust noticably greater than silver and mercury, for example. They are less well known because they are concentrated in fewer economic mineral deposits, and are more difficult to refine than native metals like silver. Top of page
Selenium in your copy machine
One-third of the selenium used in the United States is found in the photoreceptor coatings of copier drums. Selenium has the property of converting light into an electrical current, so it is ideally suited for this application. Selenium is associated with copper deposits, and the U.S. is relatively rich in both copper and selenium. We import some selenium from Canada, Japan, and the Philippines. Top of page
Carbonated beverages from Texas underground?
Carbon dioxide for the production of carbonated beverages is not extracted from air, as you might expect, but is produced commercially by roasting limestone, which is calcium carbonate, CaCO3. Heating changes this compound to CaO, with CO2 (carbon dioxide) liberated. Some carbon dioxide is pumped directly from underground pools of natural gas. Texas and New Mexico have quite a few carbon dioxide-producing wells. Top of page
Strontium in your sugar?
No - don't worry. But sugar production is nearly doubled in sugar beet refining by treating the molasses with strontium hydroxide or strontium oxide to remove impurities. Pure sugar is crystallized from the solution. Strontium comes from the minerals celestite (strontium sulfate) and strontianite (strontium carbonate), which are mined commercially in Germany, Mexico, and England. We import virtually all of our strontium compounds from these countries. Barium and magnesium hydroxide can serve similar roles in sugar manufacture. You may be more familiar with strontium as the agent that provides much of the red color in fireworks. Top of page
copyright © 1996 Gibson Consulting
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