Archives for Commodities - Page 6
The boron group comprises boron, aluminium, gallium, indium and thallium. Read about boron here and aluminium here. Gallium Gallium has a low melting point (29.7 C) but a very high boiling point (2,204 C), one of the greatest ranges of any element. The low melting point causes gallium to melt…
Aluminium is part of the boron group (group 13 of the periodic table). It is the second most abundant metallic element behind silicon. It is very light, about a third the weight of steel. It is easily machined and cast, and alloys well. It is a good conductor of heat…
Boron is one of seven metalloids, the others are silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, tellurium and polonium. Metalloids have both metallic and non-metallic properties and can form alloys with metals. They are typically brittle, semi conductive, have a metallic lustre and some contract on melting. Pure Boron The boron group makes…
Energy return on investment (“EROI” or “EROEI”) is a measure of the surplus energy to that required to produce the energy. A high EROI provides society with abundant, low-cost energy. This in turn allows the development and sustenance of complex industrial societies. A low EROI provides a restricted amount of…
The nitrogen group elements are group 15 of the periodic table. They comprise nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi) and muscovium (Mc). The last element has only been prepared synthetically. This group includes two of the three elements most important to plant life: nitrogen and phosphorus…
A shift to 100% renewable (wind and PV) energy is considered by many to be a necessary move to ensure sustainability of our current society. However, there are many hurdles to that goal being realised. This note will consider just one – the extraordinary amount of additional copper supply that…