People have long learned to melt hard metals and make tools, weapons, jewelry, and dishes from them. Copper is one of the first metals to be mastered. It was easy to process after strong heating. This material was used to make dishes and jewelry. When people learned about the physical and chemical properties of this metal, it began to be introduced into various areas of industry.
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Copper
History of discovery
The most ancient copper products were found in the territory of modern Turkey. They were located in the ruins of the settlement of Çatalhöyük. After the Stone Age came the Copper Age. Scientists in the 20th century were able to prove that with the help of tools made of copper, materials can be processed faster.
Alloys with tin, called bronze, were made from copper. They were used to create jewelry, tools, and weapons. When bronze gained great popularity, the Bronze Age began, which replaced the Copper Age.
The first large mines were found in Cyprus. They were developed around 3000 BC. e. In Russia, the oldest mines date back to 2000 BC. e.
Industrial smelting of copper ingots was developed in the 13th–14th centuries. In Moscow in the 15th century, the Cannon Yard was founded, which produced guns and ammunition from bronze.
origin of name
Did you know that Cuprum is the Latin name for copper, derived from the name of the island of Cyprus? By the way, Strabo calls copper chalkos - the city of Chalkis on Euboea is responsible for the origin of this name. Most of the ancient Greek names for copper and bronze objects came from this word. They have found wide application in blacksmithing, and among blacksmithing and casting. Copper is sometimes called Aes, meaning ore or mine.
The Slavic word “copper” does not have a clear etymology. Perhaps it is old. But it is very often found in the most ancient literary monuments of Russia. V.I. Abaev assumed that this word came from the name of the country of Midia. Alchemists nicknamed copper "Venus". In more ancient times it was called "Mars".
Composition and structure
Copper is a combination of a huge number of crystals of silver, calcium, gold, lead, and nickel. The metals that cuprum consists of are distinguished by ease of processing and relative ductility.
The unit cell of the structural lattice is cubic in shape. Each cell represents a compound of 4 atoms.
During mining, the ore is saturated with a huge amount of impurities. They affect the technical characteristics of the remelted metal and its structure. Common impurities:
- Oxygen is an impurity, the content of which in the composition can reach 0.008%. When exposed to high temperatures, the oxygen content quickly decreases.
- Bismuth is a component that negatively affects the technical characteristics of the finished metal. The permissible amount in the composition is up to 0.001%.
- Manganese has virtually no effect on the properties of cuprum.
- Nickel - reduces thermal conductivity.
- Arsenic - does not affect the properties of the remelted metal. Arsenic neutralizes the negative effects of bismuth, oxygen, and antimony on the final material.
- Tin - enhances thermal conductivity.
- Antimony - reduces thermal and electrical conductivity. Permissible content in the composition is up to 0.05%.
- Sulfur, selenium - reduce the plasticity index if their amount in the composition exceeds 0.001%.
- Zinc has virtually no effect on physical and chemical properties.
- Phosphorus is the main deoxidizing agent. Improves mechanical properties.
The percentage of impurities during production may decrease or increase.
Copper ore
Characteristics and properties
It is impossible to accurately determine the scope of application of a metal if you do not understand its physical, chemical properties and basic characteristics. Physical properties of pure copper:
- sufficient indicator of softness;
- high plasticity;
- simple processing (raw materials without impurities);
- ductility;
- high electrical and thermal conductivity.
In terms of thermal and electrical conductivity, copper is second only to silver. To reduce these indicators, antimony, phosphorus, iron, arsenic or tin are added to it during production.
Chemical properties of copper:
- Under standard operating conditions it does not oxidize.
- Reacts with halogens, selenium, sulfur.
- Not affected by acids without oxidizing properties.
- Nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon cannot provoke a reaction.
Copper in the earth's crust can form anions and cations.
Copper flower pots
Copper as a metal and raw material in construction: its features and processing nuances
Most industrial sectors use a metal such as copper. Due to its high electrical conductivity, not a single area of electrical engineering can do without this material. It produces conductors with excellent performance characteristics. In addition to these features, copper has ductility and refractoriness, resistance to corrosion and aggressive environments. And today we will look at the metal from all sides: we will indicate the price for 1 kg of scrap copper, we will tell you about its use and production.
Production and reserves
The earth's crust contains about (4.7-5.5)·10−3% copper. The content in sea water is 3·10−7% and 10−7%. The main method of mining copper ore is open pit. The copper content in one part of the ore is 1%.
According to experts, in 2000 the global content of copper available for mining reached 954 million tons. Of this number, 687 million tons is a confirmed quantity. The Russian share of confirmed reserves is 3.2%.
Copper production is a process that consists of several stages:
- The ore is crushed using special crushers.
- The grains are crushed by ball mills.
- Flotation process. The crushed consumable material is mixed with flotation reagent and poured into a flotation machine.
- The ore is loaded into monopod furnaces and the roasting process occurs. It is needed to remove residual sulfur from consumable raw materials.
- The roasted ore is loaded into reflective furnace equipment, and the charge is smelted.
- Copper powder is mixed with quartz flux and blown through a convector. The duration of the procedure is 24 hours.
- The metal is melted and refined using special heating units.
The last stage of production is electrolytic refining.
What is copper made from?
Sources for copper production are ores, minerals and secondary raw materials. Metal is obtained from ore using two methods:
- Pyrometallurgical (main). Raw copper is enriched and subjected to flotation and roasting. In this way, concentrates containing 8-25% Cu are made from copper ore. This is followed by oxidizing roasting, smelting, blowing and refining, when the copper is cleared of impurities. Precious metals are recovered along the way. The method is suitable even for ores in which the copper content does not reach 0.5%.
- Hydrometallurgical. The metal is leached with sulfuric acid and then separated from the resulting solution. It is used for poor ores, without the possibility of obtaining precious metals.
Recycled raw materials can be pre-processed and then melted. It produces a metal with a copper content of 99%.
Areas of application
Areas of application:
- Making tools with thin blades.
- Production of tableware, decorations.
- Manufacturing of wires and radio components.
- Pipe production. Elements for assembling pipelines made from this non-ferrous metal are considered the best when compared with products from other materials.
- Assembly of household appliances.
Copper pipes
Alloys
Pure copper is not always used in industry. To change the technical characteristics of non-ferrous metal, various components are added to it. The result is alloys that have a copper base. The most common:
- Bronze - Made by adding tin.
- Brass is made from a copper base to which zinc is added.
These are not all compounds where copper is the main component.
Bronze figurine
Processing methods
Mechanical processing can be done by:
- Broaches. A technological process used in the manufacture of wires and wires of different diameters. An extruder mechanism is used for production.
- Rolling. Technological process for the production of flat copper products. The workpieces are rolled through a machine with movable rollers.
- Polishing. To give copper products a characteristic metallic shine, felt and fabric discs are used.
- Grinding. It is used to remove a certain layer of metal, clean it from plaque and dirt. Grinding is carried out using abrasives.
The turning method of processing copper blanks also deserves attention. It is used to manufacture washers, studs, fittings, bushings, and flanges.
Copper is a sought-after non-ferrous metal with good physical and chemical properties. The metal is suitable for making jewelry, parts of industrial machines, household appliances, and radio components.
How to tell the difference?
Most often you can distinguish by:
without the use of any tools or equipment.
But there are situations when, for accuracy, it is necessary to use :
- reagents,
- tools,
- devices.
Before assessing the scrap that you are going to take to the collection point, you need to clean it of dirt, otherwise you won’t be able to accurately determine it by eye.
By color
Both metals, although to varying degrees, can develop a patina .
Therefore, do not forget to clean the scrap well.
If an object has been in the open air or in water for a long time, the patina layer is difficult to remove.
Sometimes it will be justified to purchase a special cleaning product .
It is advisable to inspect the scrap under a powerful white light.
This implies that one can view either under the sun on a fine day or under a bright fluorescent lamp . Incandescent lamp is not suitable.
Pure copper will have a reddish-brown tint, sometimes with a pink tint. Keep in mind that brass can be red or orange. This type is commonly used for decorations and water pipes.
If the material has an orange, yellow or golden tint, you can be almost sure that it is brass.
If you are engaged in the collection and delivery of scrap metal, then it will be useful for you to know the prices for ferrous scrap metal. If you don’t know where to find ferrous metals, then read this article. Not sure which metal detector model to choose? Check out the review of popular models https://rcycle.net/metally/cvetnye/metalloiskateli-vidy-modelj-i-ceny.
It can also be light golden , pale yellow , and even off-white , but it is very rare for metal detectors, since such an alloy is difficult to process, and it is used mainly in jewelry.
The best recommendation is to carry an item that you are absolutely sure is made of pure copper . You will be able to compare it with the crowbar you found. Most often this method works well.
By sound
Another method that does not require special skills or equipment. You can learn to distinguish metals by sound after a short training. Hit the object with something metal. If it is made of copper, the sound will be muffled and low . This happens because the metal is soft.
Visual inspection and testing for sound and hardness are usually sufficient for field determination.
On the contrary, brass will produce a ringing and high-pitched sound when struck. The second most important inspection method for those who deal with scrap metal is after visual assessment in the light. But this method is justified only with large and voluminous objects - you need something to make a sound.
By hardness
Copper, as mentioned above, is a soft metal. Brass was specifically created to increase the hardness of copper while maintaining some of its other characteristics. Therefore, when damage is caused to scrap, copper will be the material that is more easily deformed . Brass, on the other hand, can withstand impacts .
By labeling
If an item has markings on it, identifying the metal or alloy can be simple and accurate.
As a rule, brass is marked with a mark that begins with the symbol “L” .
Accordingly, copper markings begin with “M” . True, copper quite often does not have any markings.
Here are some transcripts that may be useful:
- Copper markings begin with one letter “M” , followed by numbers. letter “L” on brass products; it can be followed by more letters, and only then by numbers.
- In the United States and Canada, the UNS , according to which brass is marked C2, C3, C4 .
- In the European Union, both metals are marked with the letter C , it all depends on the subsequent letters. For copper they will be B , C, D , and for brass alloy - L, M, N, P and R.
- Not so long ago, labeling consisting of icons of chemical elements was common. For example, Cu Zn (cuprum - zinc) will mean brass.
