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3/30/2018

Current event: chemical plant explosion in TX

3/23/2018

The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that are useful with easy to obtain materials.

There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report. This way the teacher has the option! Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout.

A 5-Star Customer Review of Chemistry on a Budget at amazon.com states:
“[S]traight forward, to the point, using household chemicals…this is the lab book for you.
I teach high school chemistry and this is exactly what [I] was looking for. Labs included simple household chemicals that could be easily found. Nice format, easy to follow along procedures, and touches on every topic of our chemistry curriculum.”

You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. It will take 1-2 weeks to get to you -- Order Now. It’s a great resource!

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html

*Some of you have already purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !

“Firefighters say an explosion occurred at a chemical plant in Hood County, Texas [on March 15, 2018], CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reports. One person was missing and another was badly burned in the blast, which occurred at Tri-Chem Industries. …

At least four ambulances responded to the scene. Authorities are advising the public to go to a hospital if they came into contact with smoke from the explosion. …

Cresson[, TX] Mayor Bob Cornett said the liquid chemical plant manufactures products like soap and acid. He said there has been a massive fire department response to the explosion. “
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cresson-liquid-chemical-plant-explosion-texas-workers-injured-today-live-updates/

“A part of State Highway 171 was closed because of the fire. Plumes of black smoke could be seen coming from the plant, which appeared to belong to Tri-Chem Industries, which is responsible for taking chemicals off railways, repackaging them and sending them back out. The company did not immediately comment about the incident.
Hood County Sheriff's Lt. Johnny Rose said fertilizers were not stored at this location.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/explosion-rocks-chemical-plant-near-cresson-texas-least-1-hurt-n856956

“Investigators believe a worker dragging his foot along the floor while chemicals were being mixed sparked Thursday’s explosion. That worker is hospitalized with critical burns. Another worker was treated for less severe injuries.”
http://time.com/5201814/chemical-plant-explosion-texas/

I wonder if the worker was supposed to wear boots that prevent static discharge.

Several companies produce footwear appropriate for chemical/industrial workplaces. For example,
http://www.modernsafety.net/

Some background on Safety Shoes:
“The 3 distinct types of conductivity found in Safety Shoes are Electrical Hazard (EH), Static Dissipative (SD), and Conductive (CD).  These are tested according to the ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) standards F2412-05 and F2413-05.

EH Electrical Hazard Safety Shoes
The differences between these classifications of Safety Shoes are that Electrical Hazard shoes are designed to impede (reduce significantly) the flow of electricity through the shoe and to ground, thereby reducing the possibility of electrocution. Electrical Hazard Safety Shoes will have an “EH” clearly visible on the ASTM label sewn inside the safety shoes.  (ASTM F2413-05 Sec. 7.1.5.2)   Only safety shoes can have the Electrical Hazard designation.  (ASTM F2413-05 Sec. 5.5.1),
IMPORTANT:    Electrical Hazard shoes are not designed to be the primary source of protection in an Electrical Hazard environment.  They are designed to be only a secondary source of protection in an Electrical Hazard environment, and that is clearly stated in the ASTM standards for Electrical Hazard Safety Shoes.  (ASTM F2413-05 Sec. 5.5.4 & Sec 5.5.2),

SD Static Dissipating Safety Shoes and non-Safety Shoes
Static Dissipating Safety Shoes and Soft-Toe shoes are designed to dissipate (reduce) the amount of static electricity build-up on your body.  Unlike Electrical Hazard Safety Shoes, Static Dissipating Shoes can be either safety toe or non-safety (or soft-toe).  Static Dissipating shoes actually conduct static electricity through the linings and insole, cement, and outsole and into ground.  Static Dissipating Safety Shoes and non-Safety Shoes have a “SD” clearly visible on the ASTM label sewn inside the safety shoes.  (ASTM F2413-05 Sec. 7.1.5.3),

To accomplish Static Dissipating environments consistently, several things must be controlled.  First, you cannot add any kind of insole to the shoe, except a specially designed Static Dissipating insole.  If a non-Static Dissipating insole is added to the shoe, Static Electricity will not flow through the insole.  When the insole becomes non-conductive; the shoe will not Dissipate Static Electricity.  Also, the floor and sole of the shoe must remain clean and free of dust and other foreign matter to maintain good contact between the sole and the floor.  This allows the Static Electricity to Dissipate, or flow through the sole and into ground.  (This assumes that floor is “grounded” and Static Electricity will flow through to the floor material.)

Static Dissipating Shoes and Safety Shoes are worn in mainly two types of environments:  Computer component handling facilities and nuisance Static Electricity environments, like plants where the process and machinery create a large Static Electricity field in the manufacturing process.  Typically, this field creates a build-up of static electricity on employees working in the environment, and then discharges when the employee touches metal that goes to ground or has a neutral or less charge than the body has.  This Static Discharge “shocks” the person, creating momentary discomfort and annoyance. Static Dissipating shoes can help this situation, but the floor, mats, and machinery, also need to be grounded to reduce the Static Electricity field in the environment.

Conductive Safety Shoes
Conductive Safety Shoes are designed to “conduct” Static Electricity through the shoes and into ground.  Conductive Safety Shoes are similar to Static Dissipating Safety Shoes because both are designed to dissipate Static Electricity.  Conductive Safety Shoes (CD) Dissipate Static Electricity much faster and more completely than Static Dissipating Safety Shoes (SD). The reason is that Conductive Safety Shoes are worn in environments that are highly flammable and explosive, which means that reducing the possibility of a Static Spark or Discharge is critical to the safety of not only the employee, but the other employees in the immediate area and even citizens in the vicinity of the explosive area.  According to the ASTM Standard, Conductive (CD rated) Shoes must be Safety Shoes (ASTM F2413-05 Sec. 5.4.1), and the Conductive Safety Shoes have a “CD” clearly visible on the ASTM label sewn inside the safety shoes.  (ASTM F2413-05 Sec. 7.1.5.1),
Important:    Because Conductive Safety Shoes (CD) conduct electricity, employees wearing these shoes must avoid wearing Conductive Safety Shoes in Electrical Hazard (EH) environments.  Obviously, this could be a very dangerous situation.  (ASTM F2413-05 Sec. 5.4.2.3)”
http://www.safeshoes.com/safety-shoe-news/eh-sd-ct/

This incident is a reminder to follow safety guidelines at all times in the chemistry laboratory.

Other blog posts related to this topic:
01/26/2018         Current Event -- Oil Drill Site Explosion
11/25/2014         Predicting Products of a Combustion
                               Reaction (5th Rxn Type)
07/13/2014         Chemistry Laboratory Safety
01/22/2014         Combustion of a Hydrocarbon

*This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom. Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.

Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.

Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

Have a great weekend!

0 Comments

mining lithium

3/16/2018

0 Comments

The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that are useful with easy to obtain materials.

There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report. This way the teacher has the option! Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout.

A 5-Star Customer Review of Chemistry on a Budget at amazon.com states:
“[S]traight forward, to the point, using household chemicals…this is the lab book for you.
I teach high school chemistry and this is exactly what [I] was looking for. Labs included simple household chemicals that could be easily found. Nice format, easy to follow along procedures, and touches on every topic of our chemistry curriculum.”

You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. It will take 1-2 weeks to get to you -- Order Now. It’s a great resource!

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html

*Some of you have already purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !

“The gas engine made petroleum the world's biggest commodity. The electric car could do the same for the third element on the periodic table. …

Humans would steer clear of the Salar de Atacama were it not for the precious brine that bubbles 130 feet below its surface. When first pumped from the ground, the brine looks like slushy, dirt-stained snow, of the sort that piles up on Manhattan sidewalks after a spring flurry. But when left to broil beneath the desert sun, the water in the brine slowly evaporates, leaving behind a yellowy mineral bath that could easily be mistaken for olive oil.

This greasy solution yields the substance that makes modern life possible: lithium. The lightest of all metals, lithium is the key ingredient in the rechargeable batteries that keep cell phones and laptops humming. Chile is the Saudi Arabia of lithium. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, this single ancient lake bed contains 27% of the world's reserve base of the metal.”
https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/1124/034.html#6ffc564c4dee

“Far from the soy and cattle that dominate its vast fertile pampas, Argentina harbors another valuable commodity that is rocketing in price and demand and luring newly welcomed foreign investors.

Lithium, the so-called ‘white petroleum,’ drives much of the modern world. It forms a small but essentially irreplaceable component of rechargeable batteries, used in consumer devices like mobile phones and electric cars. It also has pharmaceutical and other applications.

Over half of the earth’s identified resources of the mineral are found in South America’s ‘lithium triangle,’ an otherworldly landscape of high-altitude lakes and bright white salt flats that straddles Chile, Argentina and Bolivia.

Until recently, that was not great news for investors. Argentina and Bolivia lacked predictability and a friendly business environment, while Chile kept strict control over lithium output.

But that may be all about to change.

In Chile, a sale of state lithium deposits and a shake-up in the way the country manages its resources has awakened interest from everyone from early-stage mining companies to electric carmakers like Tesla.

In Argentina, already the world’s no. 3 lithium producer after Chile and Australia, investors are hopeful that the new Mauricio Macri government that took over in December will herald a brighter future.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lithium-battery-south-america_us_56e80b84e4b0b25c91832fa0

“Demand for lithium carbonate, which miners extract from the brine in these pools on the Atacama Plateau, is forecast to boom as production of electric cars rises. Lithium is a key ingredient for the vehicles' rechargable batteries, allowing them to retain energy far longer, and its price has soared more than 30 percent to a record $12,000 a tonne this year. … Orocobre, which produces some 14,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year at a mine on the Olaroz salt flat, has announced plans to more than double its total production to 35,000 tonnes by 2019, in conjunction with its partner Toyota Tsusho Corp.”
http://www.mining.com/web/argentina-wants-overtake-chile-south-america-lithium-race/

“Global lithium demand is projected to increase from 235000 tons in 2017 to 423000 tons in 2025.
There is 230 billion tons of lithium in the oceans seawater. …
Lithium is present in seawater at a concentration of approximately 0.2ppm.”
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/10/australia-argentina-chile-and-the-usa-will-be-the-top-suppliers-of-lithium.html

“Lithium is a versatile metal, essential in a variety of end-market applications such as energy storage, which is set to be a key challenge for the next century. In 2025, the battery market is expected to represent over half of lithium demand versus roughly a third in 2014. More broadly, the global lithium market is expected to more than double in size by 2025, according to analysts and key industry players.”
http://www.eramet.com/en/lithium

“South American production relies on brines pulled from deep inside the earth. At brine sites, the salty water is spread out over large surfaces at a level of a few feet deep and left to evaporate for months. Moved from pond to pond, the concentration of lithium slowly increases until it can be separated from the rest of the brine. The raw lithium is then processed into lithium chloride to be used in applications like batteries. …
The so-called ‘white gold rush’ has allowed battery producers to scale up production and keep plans for gigafactories in the pipeline. But its results haven’t been so positive for indigenous people like the Atacama community in South America, prompting protests with handwritten signs that read ‘We Don’t Eat Batteries,’ as The Washington Post reports.
Indigenous people in the lithium triangle worry that the high levels of water needed to produce lithium -- as much as half a million gallons per ton -- may cut into the already limited water supply in the arid and drought-ridden areas where brine sites are located. These concerns have triggered protests against the exploitation of the resources by large companies.“
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lithium-ion-battery-production-is-surging-but-at-what-cost#gs.tGMsmOk

“Lithium (from Greek: λίθος, translit. lithos, lit. 'stone') is a chemical element with symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and is stored in mineral oil. When cut open, it exhibits a metallic luster, but moist air corrodes it quickly to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It never occurs freely in nature, but only in (usually ionic) compounds, such as pegmatitic minerals which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines. Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium

“Lithium has a flashy discovery story — literally. A Brazilian naturalist and statesman, Jozé Bonifácio de Andralda e Silva, discovered the mineral petalite (LiAISi4O10) on the Swedish isle Utö in the 1790s, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). The mineral is white to gray, but when thrown into fire, it flares bright crimson.
In 1817, Swedish chemist Johan August Arfvedson discovered that petalite contained a previously unknown element. He wasn't able to isolate the metal entirely, but did isolate one of its salts. The name, lithium, is from ‘lithos,’ the Greek for ‘stone.’
It took until 1855 for someone to isolate lithium: British chemist Augustus Matthiessen and German chemist Robert Bunsen ran a current through lithium chloride in order to separate the element. “
https://www.livescience.com/28579-lithium.html

“Converting lithium into metal form is done in an electrolytic cell using lithium chloride.
The chloride is mixed with potassium chloride in a ratio of 55 percent lithium chloride to 45 percent potassium chloride in order to produce a molten eutectic electrolyte. Potassium chloride is added to increase the conductivity of the lithium while lowering the fusion temperature.
When fused and electrolyzed at about 450°C chlorine gas is liberated while molten lithium rises to the surface of the electrolyte, collecting in cast iron enclosures. The pure lithium produced is wrapped in paraffin wax to prevent oxidization. The conversion ratio of lithium carbonate to lithium metal is about 5.3 to 1.”
https://www.thebalance.com/lithium-production-2340123

“The lithium mine in Silver Peak [, Nevada] employs about 80 people and is owned by Albemarle, a North Carolina mineral company. It’s the only active commercial lithium mine in North America, and the company touts the product coming out as among the purest in the world. It’s processed in a modern facility tucked in the husk of an old mill near the town. At the end of the line, the lithium falls out of a conveyor belt into a trough under the gaze of Albemarle Vice President of Lithium David Klanecky, who keeps the ‘recipe’ a closely guarded secret. …
Buoyed by Nevada’s enormous potential reserve of lithium and the opening of Tesla’s Gigafactory nearly 200 miles to the north, 25 mining companies and investor-backed speculators have staked more than 13,000 placer claims, covering almost the entirety of the Clayton Valley and 18 hydrographic basins.
Meanwhile, the price for a ton of lithium carbonate has more than tripled since 2015. According to Deutsche Bank, global demand for lithium carbonate in the next decade could double to 534,000 tons a year. Analysts predict that lithium carbonate could become a $1.7 billion market by 2019.”
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/mar/20/lithium-how-a-mineral-found-in-nevada-could-power/

“Tesla plans to buy lithium, a critical ingredient in its batteries, from a mining project that’s under development 200 miles from its battery factory near Reno, Nev.
Pure Energy Minerals, which is leasing the Nevada land for mining, announced the supply agreement with the electric car maker on Wednesday.
The deal is highly unusual in the world of battery manufacturing. Much of the world’s lithium comes from Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Australia and eastern China, and is shipped long distances to battery makers in Asia.
But Tesla, a risk-taker and innovator under CEO Elon Musk, is experimenting with new ways to get materials for its batteries and potentially lower its costs. When Tesla chose Nevada for its Gigafactory last year, industry-watchers speculated that the state’s ample lithium supply was one of the attractions.”
http://fortune.com/2015/09/16/tesla-lithium-gigafactory-nevada/

Past blog posts about The Periodic Table and Electrochemistry include:

02/23/2014                  The Periodic Table
05/18/2014                  Electrochemistry – Electrolytic Cells
05/14/2014                  Electrochemistry – Electrochemical Cells
05/07/2014                  Electrochemistry – Balancing Redox
                                                                          Reactions
05/04/2014                  Electrochemistry – Redox Basics

*This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom. Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.

Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.

Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

Have a great weekend!

0 Comments

12-year old invents lead detector

3/9/2018

0 Comments

video -- uranium: twisting the dragon's tail

3/2/2018

0 Comments

Welcome back to school! Just a reminder, this can be the longest part of the school year without a vacation – plan a fun activity for your class!

The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that are useful with easy to obtain materials.

There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report. This way the teacher has the option! Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout.

A 5-Star Customer Review of Chemistry on a Budget at amazon.com states:
“[S]traight forward, to the point, using household chemicals…this is the lab book for you.
I teach high school chemistry and this is exactly what [I] was looking for. Labs included simple household chemicals that could be easily found. Nice format, easy to follow along procedures, and touches on every topic of our chemistry curriculum.”

You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. It will take 1-2 weeks to get to you -- Order Now. It’s a great resource!

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html

*Some of you have already purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !

The video “Uranium: Twisting the Dragon’s Tail” is a 2015 PBS series narrated by Dr. Derrick Muller. It is 2 parts, about 50 minutes each. You may want to use it in shorter segments, or have it available for substitute teacher use.

I have included some recommendations below for shorter segments.

Part 1 is titled “The Rock that Became a Bomb” – it’s 53 minutes w/o the credits at end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNoRLf8w87g&list=PLfcSeHXDHfaXNvecXjfHtO-RfdEjOHmow

0-28 minutes: Discusses history of naming, Henri Becquerel’s 1896 experiment, Marie Curie’s work and discovery of radium, mention of Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy
Some atomic structure review, transmutation, Einstein in Bern, Switzerland

28-53 minutes (25 minutes): Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard à idea of the chain reaction
Fission of Uranium-235, The Manhattan Project –> use of atomic bombs, acute radiation syndrome

This contains some interesting history with some facts about transmutation and the development/use of the first atomic bombs in World War II.

May want to work with the Social Studies Department about the development and use of the first atomic bombs, asking questions such as:
Why did America drop the atomic bomb? Why did America drop the 2nd atomic bomb?

Part 2 is titled “The Rock That Changed The World” and is 54 minutes without credits at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyUQVhXiw8

0-28 minutes
US knows how to use atomic energy, 1949 Soviets test an atomic bomb beginning of Cold War, Tom Lehrer song “We Will All Go Together When We Go” (remember that he sang The Element Song), Titan II, accident at Chernobyl, half-life

28 – 54 minutes (26 minutes)
nuclear medicine, low level radiation appears to not have long-term health effects, Fukushima, nuclear waste, Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant in Tennessee which can run on nuclear waste, concluding comments

To keep students on task, require that students record/submit 10 facts during the video.

Previous related blog posts include:
02/26/2014      Isotopes and empirical/molecular formulas
02/04/2015      Atomic Structure Revisited
02/11/2015      Introduction to Nuclear Chemistry
02/18/2015      Nuclear Chemistry -- Part II
                            (Fission, Fusion & Half-Life)
04/01/2015      NOVA video "Hunting the Elements" (2012)
08/06/2015      Post-Fukushima Restarts
10/22/2015      The Future of Nuclear Fusion
10/30/2015      Current Event -- Radioactive Waste
                           from WWII
02/20/2016      Nuclear Waste and Lake Huron
03/26/2016      Nuclear Waste Storage
05/01/2016      30th Anniversary of Chernobyl
05/29/2016      New Uses for Waste Glass
07/31/2016      Cost of Nuclear Shutdown in Germany
09/30/2016      Videos for the Chemistry Classroom
10/28/2016      Nuclear Power Plant Closure
11/18/2016      Chernobyl New Safe Confinement
11/25/2016      Tsunami Near Fukushima
02/10/2017      High Fukushima Radiation Levels
03/17/2017      Nuclear Waste in Batteries
05/26/2017      Radioactive Truffles?
06/02/2017      Swiss Nuclear Power Ban
07/28/2017 Current Fukushima Underwater Footage
12/22/2017       The Radium Girls

There are 23 topics in the Blog posts – You may wish to offer Extra Credit to students who research/summarize one of these topics or blog posts.

*This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom. Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.

Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.

Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

I hope you had a great vacation!

0 Comments

china vertical forest update

Curre﻿nt event: chemical plant explosion in TX

mining lithium

12-year old invents lead detector

video -- uranium: twisting the dragon's tail

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Current event: chemical plant explosion in TX