29-06-2013, 12:40 PM
Copper
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INTRODUCTION
The major applications of copper are in electrical wires (60%), roofing and plumbing (20%) and industrial machinery (15%). Copper is mostly used as a metal, but when a higher hardness is required it is combined with other elements to make an alloy (5% of total use) such as brass and bronze.[16] A small part of copper supply is used in production of compounds for nutritional supplements and fungicides in agriculture.[32][65] Machining of copper is possible, although it is usually necessary to use an alloy for intricate parts to get good machinability characteristics.
Wire and cable
Despite competition from other materials, copper remains the preferred electrical conductor in nearly all categories of electrical wiring with the major exception being overhead electric power transmission where aluminium is often preferred.[66][67] Copper wire is used in power generation, power transmission, power distribution, telecommunications, electronics circuitry, and countless types of electrical equipment.[68] Electrical wiring is the most important market for the copper industry.[69] This includes building wire, communications cable, power distribution cable, appliance wire, automotive wire and cable, and magnet wire. Roughly half of all copper mined is used to manufacture electrical wire and cable conductors.[70] Many electrical devices rely on copper wiring because of its multitude of inherent beneficial properties, such as its high electrical conductivity, tensile strength, ductility, creep (deformation) resistance, corrosion resistance, low thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity, solderability, and ease of installation.
Electric motors
Copper’s greater conductivity versus other metallic materials enhances the electrical energy efficiency of motors.[72] This is important because motors and motor-driven systems account for 43%-46% of all global electricity consumption and 69% of all electricity used by industry.[73] Increasing the mass and cross section of copper in a coil increases the electrical energy efficiency of the motor. Copper motor rotors, a new technology designed for motor applications where energy savings are prime design objectives,[74][75] are enabling general-purpose induction motors to meet and exceed National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) premium efficiency standards.[76]
Antibiofouling applications
Main articles: Copper alloys in aquaculture and Copper sheathing
Copper has long been used as a biostatic surface to line parts of ships to protect against barnacles and mussels. It was originally used pure, but has since been superseded by Muntz metal. Bacteria will not grow on a copper surface because it is biostatic. Similarly, as discussed in copper alloys in aquaculture, copper alloys have become important netting materials in the aquaculture industry for the fact that they are antimicrobial and prevent biofouling even in extreme conditions[91] and have strong structural and corrosion-resistant[92] properties in marine environments.
Antimicrobial applications
Numerous antimicrobial efficacy studies have been conducted in the past 10 years regarding copper’s efficacy to destroy a wide range of bacteria, as well as influenza A virus, adenovirus, and fungi.[93]
Copper-alloy touch surfaces have natural intrinsic properties to destroy a wide range of microorganisms (e.g., E. coli O157:H7, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Staphylococcus, Clostridium difficile, influenza A virus, adenovirus, and fungi).[93] Some 355 copper alloys were proven to kill more than 99.9% of disease-causing bacteria within just two hours when cleaned regularly.[94] The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the registrations of these copper alloys as “antimicrobial materials with public health benefits,"[94] which allows manufacturers to legally make claims as to the positive public health benefits of products made with registered antimicrobial copper alloys.
uses
Electrical Applications
Approximately 65% of copper produced is used for electrical applications. Copper has the highest electrical conductivity of any metal, apart from silver, leading to applications in:
• Power generation and transmission - generators, transformers, motors, busbars and cables provide and deliver electricity safely and efficiently to homes and businesses.
• Electrical equipment - providing circuitry, wiring and contacts for PCs, TVs and mobile phones.
Copper has a key role to play in energy efficiency - the judicious use of 1 tonne of copper in the energy sector makes it possible to reduce CO2 emissions by 200 tonnes per year on average.
Construction
25% of all the copper produced is used in buildings - for plumbing, roofing and cladding. Copper provides light, durable maintenance-free structures that are naturally good looking, long lasting and fully recyclable. Copper's naturally antimicrobial properties can be exploited in hygienic surfaces for hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Transport
Trains, trams, cars and lorries all need copper and transport accounts for 7% of copper usage. The high purity copper wire harness system carries the current from the battery throughout the vehicle to equipment such as lights, central locking, on-board computers and satellite navigation systems. Electric super trams in cities such as Manchester, Sheffield and Croydon, provide clean, efficient transport powered by electric motors. The overhead contact wires are either copper-silver or copper-cadmium alloys.
Other
The remaining 3% is used for coins, sculptures, musical instruments and cookware.
production
Most copper is mined or extracted as copper sulfides from large open pit mines in porphyry copper deposits that contain 0.4 to 1.0% copper. Examples include Chuquicamata in Chile, Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, United States and El Chino Mine in New Mexico, United States. According to the British Geological Survey, in 2005, Chile was the top mine producer of copper with at least one-third world share followed by the United States, Indonesia and Peru.[4] Copper can also be recovered through the In-situ leach process. Several sites in the state of Arizona are considered prime candidates for this method.[18] The amount of copper in use is increasing and the quantity available is barely sufficient to allow all countries to reach developed world levels of usage.[19]
Reserves
Copper has been in use at least 10,000 years, but more than 95% of all copper ever mined and smelted has been extracted since 1900. As with many natural resources, the total amount of copper on Earth is vast (around 1014 tons just in the top kilometer of Earth's crust, or about 5 million years worth at the current rate of extraction). However, only a tiny fraction of these reserves is economically viable, given present-day prices and technologies. Various estimates of existing copper reserves available for mining vary from 25 years to 60 years, depending on core assumptions such as the growth rate.[20] Recycling is a major source of copper in the modern world.[21] Because of these and other factors, the future of copper production and supply is the subject of much debate, including the concept of Peak copper, analogous to Peak Oil.
[attachment=56216]
INTRODUCTION
The major applications of copper are in electrical wires (60%), roofing and plumbing (20%) and industrial machinery (15%). Copper is mostly used as a metal, but when a higher hardness is required it is combined with other elements to make an alloy (5% of total use) such as brass and bronze.[16] A small part of copper supply is used in production of compounds for nutritional supplements and fungicides in agriculture.[32][65] Machining of copper is possible, although it is usually necessary to use an alloy for intricate parts to get good machinability characteristics.
Wire and cable
Despite competition from other materials, copper remains the preferred electrical conductor in nearly all categories of electrical wiring with the major exception being overhead electric power transmission where aluminium is often preferred.[66][67] Copper wire is used in power generation, power transmission, power distribution, telecommunications, electronics circuitry, and countless types of electrical equipment.[68] Electrical wiring is the most important market for the copper industry.[69] This includes building wire, communications cable, power distribution cable, appliance wire, automotive wire and cable, and magnet wire. Roughly half of all copper mined is used to manufacture electrical wire and cable conductors.[70] Many electrical devices rely on copper wiring because of its multitude of inherent beneficial properties, such as its high electrical conductivity, tensile strength, ductility, creep (deformation) resistance, corrosion resistance, low thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity, solderability, and ease of installation.
Electric motors
Copper’s greater conductivity versus other metallic materials enhances the electrical energy efficiency of motors.[72] This is important because motors and motor-driven systems account for 43%-46% of all global electricity consumption and 69% of all electricity used by industry.[73] Increasing the mass and cross section of copper in a coil increases the electrical energy efficiency of the motor. Copper motor rotors, a new technology designed for motor applications where energy savings are prime design objectives,[74][75] are enabling general-purpose induction motors to meet and exceed National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) premium efficiency standards.[76]
Antibiofouling applications
Main articles: Copper alloys in aquaculture and Copper sheathing
Copper has long been used as a biostatic surface to line parts of ships to protect against barnacles and mussels. It was originally used pure, but has since been superseded by Muntz metal. Bacteria will not grow on a copper surface because it is biostatic. Similarly, as discussed in copper alloys in aquaculture, copper alloys have become important netting materials in the aquaculture industry for the fact that they are antimicrobial and prevent biofouling even in extreme conditions[91] and have strong structural and corrosion-resistant[92] properties in marine environments.
Antimicrobial applications
Numerous antimicrobial efficacy studies have been conducted in the past 10 years regarding copper’s efficacy to destroy a wide range of bacteria, as well as influenza A virus, adenovirus, and fungi.[93]
Copper-alloy touch surfaces have natural intrinsic properties to destroy a wide range of microorganisms (e.g., E. coli O157:H7, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Staphylococcus, Clostridium difficile, influenza A virus, adenovirus, and fungi).[93] Some 355 copper alloys were proven to kill more than 99.9% of disease-causing bacteria within just two hours when cleaned regularly.[94] The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the registrations of these copper alloys as “antimicrobial materials with public health benefits,"[94] which allows manufacturers to legally make claims as to the positive public health benefits of products made with registered antimicrobial copper alloys.
uses
Electrical Applications
Approximately 65% of copper produced is used for electrical applications. Copper has the highest electrical conductivity of any metal, apart from silver, leading to applications in:
• Power generation and transmission - generators, transformers, motors, busbars and cables provide and deliver electricity safely and efficiently to homes and businesses.
• Electrical equipment - providing circuitry, wiring and contacts for PCs, TVs and mobile phones.
Copper has a key role to play in energy efficiency - the judicious use of 1 tonne of copper in the energy sector makes it possible to reduce CO2 emissions by 200 tonnes per year on average.
Construction
25% of all the copper produced is used in buildings - for plumbing, roofing and cladding. Copper provides light, durable maintenance-free structures that are naturally good looking, long lasting and fully recyclable. Copper's naturally antimicrobial properties can be exploited in hygienic surfaces for hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Transport
Trains, trams, cars and lorries all need copper and transport accounts for 7% of copper usage. The high purity copper wire harness system carries the current from the battery throughout the vehicle to equipment such as lights, central locking, on-board computers and satellite navigation systems. Electric super trams in cities such as Manchester, Sheffield and Croydon, provide clean, efficient transport powered by electric motors. The overhead contact wires are either copper-silver or copper-cadmium alloys.
Other
The remaining 3% is used for coins, sculptures, musical instruments and cookware.
production
Most copper is mined or extracted as copper sulfides from large open pit mines in porphyry copper deposits that contain 0.4 to 1.0% copper. Examples include Chuquicamata in Chile, Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, United States and El Chino Mine in New Mexico, United States. According to the British Geological Survey, in 2005, Chile was the top mine producer of copper with at least one-third world share followed by the United States, Indonesia and Peru.[4] Copper can also be recovered through the In-situ leach process. Several sites in the state of Arizona are considered prime candidates for this method.[18] The amount of copper in use is increasing and the quantity available is barely sufficient to allow all countries to reach developed world levels of usage.[19]
Reserves
Copper has been in use at least 10,000 years, but more than 95% of all copper ever mined and smelted has been extracted since 1900. As with many natural resources, the total amount of copper on Earth is vast (around 1014 tons just in the top kilometer of Earth's crust, or about 5 million years worth at the current rate of extraction). However, only a tiny fraction of these reserves is economically viable, given present-day prices and technologies. Various estimates of existing copper reserves available for mining vary from 25 years to 60 years, depending on core assumptions such as the growth rate.[20] Recycling is a major source of copper in the modern world.[21] Because of these and other factors, the future of copper production and supply is the subject of much debate, including the concept of Peak copper, analogous to Peak Oil.