Table of Contents
Where is cyanide found industrially?
Cyanide is commonly found as a contaminant in wastewaters from various industries including metal cleaning, plating, electroplating, metal processing, automobile parts manufacture, steel tempering, mining, photography, pharmaceuticals, coal coking, ore leaching, plastics, etc.
How is sodium cyanide commonly used?
Sodium cyanide is used commercially for fumigation, electroplating, extracting gold and silver from ores, and chemical manufacturing.
Is cyanide used in agriculture?
Hydrogen cyanide was one of the first fumigants to be used extensively under modern conditions. Its use for treating trees under tents against scale insects was developed in California in 1886 (Woglum, 1949)….Hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
| Odour | Suggestive of almonds |
|---|---|
| Chemical formula | HCN |
| Boiling point | 26°C |
| Freezing point | -14°C |
| Molecular weight | 27.03 |
When and why was cyanide first developed and used?
It was discovered in 1782 by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who prepared it from the pigment Prussian blue. Hydrogen cyanide and its compounds are used for many chemical processes, including fumigation, the case hardening of iron and steel, electroplating, and the concentration of ores.
Where is cyanide found in the environment?
In the environment, cyanides can be found in many different forms (Kuyucak and Akcil 2013). They occur naturally in plants and processed foods. Natural sources of cyanide ions are cyanogenic glycosides which can be found in, among others, apricot kernels, cassava roots and bamboo shoots (Jones 1998).
What is sodium cyanide used for in the mining industry?
What is the role of cyanide in mining? Cyanide is a naturally occurring chemical that is found in low concentrations throughout nature including in fruits, nuts, plants, and insects. It has been used by the mining industry to separate gold and silver particles from ore for over 120 years.
What does cyanide do to cellular respiration?
The toxicity of cyanide is linked mainly to the cessation of aerobic cell metabolism. Cyanide reversibly binds to the ferric ions cytochrome oxidase three within the mitochondria. This effectively halts cellular respiration by blocking the reduction of oxygen to water.
Why are cyanide compounds used in gold mining?
Because it is organic, it reacts readily with living organisms. Cyanide easily combines with many metals – making it useful in separating metals like gold from their ore.
What is hydrogen cyanide used for in industry?
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is an important industrial chemical. It is often converted t sodium or potassium cyanide for storage and transportation.
Why is cyanide used in the mining of gold?
Because cyanide leaching is very efficient, it allows profitable mining of much lower ore grades. Mining lower grade ore requires the extraction and processing of much more ore to get the same amount of gold. Partially due to cyanide, modern mines are.
What does cyanide stand for in chemical terms?
Cyanide is a rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical. “Cyanide” can mean any one of various compounds containing the chemical group CN: one atom of carbon (C) and one atom of nitrogen (N). Because it is organic, it reacts readily with living organisms.
How does the use of cyanide affect the environment?
Cyanide is highly toxic, and can result in substantial environmental impacts and public health risks if released into the environment. Cyanide spills have resulted in major fish kills, contaminated drinking water supplies and harmed agricultural lands. For example: