The Element of Mercury

The Physicall properties of Mercury are:

1. Melting point: -38.830C or 37.80F

2. Boiling point: 356.730C or 674.110F
3. Density: 13.5336 gr/cm3
4. Silvery Liquid at the room temperature and pressure
5. Very high surface tension
6. Very good conductor of electricity

The chemical properties of Mercury are:

1. Atomic number: 80
2. Atomic weight: 200.592
3. Electronegativity according to Pauling: 1.9
4. Van der Waals radius: 0.157 nm
5. Ionic radius: 0.11 nm
6. Most common isotopes: 200Hg (29.9% naturan abundance)
7. Electronic shell: [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2
8. Standard potential: +0.854 V (Hg2+ and Hg)

History
The ancient Greek used mercury in ointments and the Romans used it as cosmetics. The
modern chemical symbol for mercury is Hg. It comes from hydrargyrum, a Latinized form of the
Greek word (hydrargyros), which is a compound a word meaning water and silver
because its liquid like water, and yet has silvery metallic sheen. The element was named after the
Roman god and fastest-moving planet in the solar system Mercury, known for speed and mobility and
this element is also known as quicksilver.
Mercury was known to the ancient Chinese and Hindus, and was found in Egyptian tombs
that date from 1500 BCE. In China, India, and Tibet, mercury use was thought to prolong life, heal
fractures, and maintain generally good health. Chinas first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di was driven
insane and killed by mercury pills intended to give him eternal life. He is said to have been burried in
a tomb that contained rivers of flowing mercury, representative of the rivers of China.
In 1759 Adam Braun and Mikhail Lomonosov working in St.Petersburg, Russia obtained
solid mercury by freezing a mercury thermometer in a mixture of snow and concentrated nitric acid.
This provide strong evidence that mercury had properties similar to other metals. In 1772 and 1774,
Swedish scientist Carl W. Scheele and English chemist Joseph Priestley heated mercury oxide and
found it yielded a gas that made a candle burn five times faster than normal-they later then discovered
oxygen.

Occurance
Mercury is an extremely rare element in the earths crust, having an average crustal
abundance by mass of only 0.08 parts per million. Its found either as a native metal (rare) or in
cinnabar, corderoite, livingstonite, and others minerals, with cinnabar (HgS) being the most common
ore. Mercury ores usually occur in very young orogenic belts where rocks of high density are forced
to the crust of the earth often in hot springs or other volcanic regions.
 Over 100,000 tons of mercury were mined from the region of Huancavelica, Peru, over the
course of three centuries following the discovery of deposits there in 1563. The metal is extracted by
heating cinnabar in a current of air and condensing the vapor. The equation for this reaction is: HgS +
O2 Hg + SO2.
In 2005, China was the top producer of mercury with almost two-third global share followed
by Kyrgyzstan, As reported by British Geological Survey. Due to minimal surface disruption,
mercury mines lend themselves to constructive re-use. For example, in 1976 Santa Ciara County,
California purchased the historic Almaden Quicksilver Mine and proceeded to create a county park on
the site, after conducting extensive safety and enviromental analysis of the properties.

The Manufacturing Process of Mercury

The process for extracting mercury from its ores has not changed much since Aristotle first
described it over 2,300 years ago. Cinnabar ore is chrused and heated to release the mercury as a
vapor. The mercury vapor is then cooled, condensed, and collected. Almost 95% of the mercury
content of cinnabar ore can be recovered using this process.
Here is a typical sequence of operations used for the modern extraction and refining of
mercury:
1. Mining
Cinnabar is dislodge from its surrounding rocks by drilling and blasting with explosives or by
the use of power equipment. Then, the ores brought out of the mine on conveyor belts or in
trucks or trains.
2. Roasting
The ores is first chrused in one or more cone chrusher, it is squeezed between the two cones
and broken into smaller pieces. The finely powdered ore is fed into a furnace or kiln to be
heated.In either case, heat is provided by combusting natural gas or some other fuel in the
lower portion of the furnace or kiln. The heated cinnabar (HgS) reacts with the oxygen (O2) in
the air to produce sulfur dioxide (SO2), allowing the mercury to rise as a vapor.
3. Condensing
The hot furnace exhaust passes through water-cooled condenser. As the exhaust cools, the
mercury which has a boiling point of 6750F (3570C) is the first to condensed into a liquid,
leaving the other gasses and vapors to be vented or to be processed further to reduce air
pollution.
4. Refining
Most commercial-grade mercury is 99.9% pure and can be used directly from the roasting and
condensing process. Higher purity can be obtained through several refining methods. The
mercury may be mechanically filtered again, and certain impurities may be removed through
oxidation with chemicals or air. In some cases the mercury is refined through an electrolytic
process. But the most common refining method is triple distilation, in which the temperature
of the liquid mercury is carefully raised until the impurities either evaporate or the mercury
itself evaporates, leaving impurities behind.

Applications
1. Mercury is used primarily for the manufacture of industrial chemicals and for electrical and
electronic applications.
2. Mercury is used in some thermometers, especially those used to measure high temperature.
3. Mercury barometers, diffusion pumps, caulometers and many other laboratory instruments.
4. Mercury is used in sphygmmomanometers
5. Gaseous mercury is used in fluorescent lamps, mercury-vapor lamps, and some neon sign
type advertising signs.
6. Liquid mercury was sometime used as a coolant for nuclear reactors
7. Mercury was once used in the amalgamation process refining gold and silver ores.
8. It is used for electrodes in some types of electrolysis (such as NaOH and Chlorine production)
9. It is used for batteries
10. It is used in liquid mirror telescopes
11. Its a catalyst in certain chemical reactions