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Brilliant Performer
| Article
# : |
16046 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1989 |
2,489 Words |
| Author
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Frank E. Goodwin and Dodd S. Carr
Frant E. Goodwin is vice president of materials science for
the International Lead Zinc Research Organization, Inc.
(ILZRO). Dodd S. Carr is manager of chemistry,
electrochemistry, and patents for ILZRO. For the past 22
years, he has been responsible for ILZRO research on lead
applications in batteries, ceramics, chemicals, corrosion
resistance, glazes, and stabilizers. |
Lead was one of the metals first known to civilization. Thirty-nine other elements, including most of the so-called rare earths, are more plentiful in the earth's crust than lead. However, lead is concentrated in ore bodies that are economical to mine.
The largest single use of lead in the world today is in the production of automobile batteries. Larger lead-acid batteries are also used for golf carts and forklifts, emergency lighting, remote area power sources (such as solar energy storage), and utility energy storage or load-leveling systems. Approximately two-thirds of all lead consumed each year is used in batteries. This total includes secondary lead from recycled batteries.
An emerging new application of lead-acid batteries is in electrical utility load management. When customer demand for power exceeds the generating capacity of the utility, as during the morning and evening peak hours, the energy stored in batteries located at a substation can be converted to alternating current and then dispatched to customers. This levels the load on the generating system. The battery is then recharged during periods of low electrical demand, typically at night. Also, large consumers of electricity--for example, foundries operating electric melting furnaces--can lower their power costs by using lead-acid batteries to shave their peak demand charges.
The largest battery in the world, containing four million pounds of lead, was put into load-leveling service in 1988 at the Chino substation of Southern California Edison Company, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. With a discharge capacity of 10 megawatts over a four-hour period, the Chino battery can provide power for up to 5,000 homes.
Building Construction
Lead roofs can be seen on many of the major buildings in Europe that have survived from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and on many others constructed since that time. Although weight and cost would seem to counsel against widespread use of lead roofing, its great durability and ease of fabrication are more important in many cases.
When first placed in service, lead has a bright metallic sheen. After a few months of outdoor weathering, through, a gray patina forms on the surface, which dulls its appearance. This patina is caused by the formation of basic lead carbonate, a very stable compound, to which lead's durability in this
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