Cobalt Oxide | CeramicSearch.com |
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COBALTOSIC OXIDE - Co3O4
Chemistry
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NotesDecomposes to CoO at 900C.There are various forms of cobalt oxide: Black Cobalt Oxide (Co3O4) is the principle source of CoO used in glazes, glass, and enamels. It is a metallic coloring oxide that produces blue in glazes at all temperatures. It occurs in ores with nickel, arsenic, sulfur, and manganese in deposits in Canada, Morrocco, and southern Africa. The oxide is extracted using a hazardous roasting process yielding toxic by-products of arsenic and sulfur. The associated ores may contaminate the Co3O4 to some extent (i.e. with Na2CO3). CoO can be made by heating the carbonate to get a greyish powder that is quite dense (6.4 g/mL) with very high melting point (1935C). This material is supplied in two grades, Co2O3 is a steel-grey or black powder, density 4.8 g/mL, insoluble in water. It changes to CoO at 895C. It is made by heating other cobalt compounds low temperature with excess air. It is used chiefly as a pigment and an enamel/glaze colourant. Cobalt is the most powerful ceramic colorant and it is stable in most systems. It is also useful and a body and slip stain. See the oxide CoO for more information. Suppliers often stock a mixed oxide material of an analysis somewhere between CoO and Co2O3. Cobalt will produce glaze specking if it is not thoroughly sieved or ball milled to distribute the particles. Cobalt carbonate tends to disperse better in glazes to give even blue coloration because it is not as powerful and therefore requires more. Some people have tried to employ raw cobalt ore by roasting it to remove volatile impurities (i.e. arsenic, sulfur). For pure ore, such as that available in Cobalt Ontario, this can work well but it can also be dangerous if you do it in a kiln. It should be very well vented and the container should be thick and refractory, if fired too high the ore can melt and eat through the container walls. CAS# 1308-06-1
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Inhalation of cobalt fumes during firing can cause metal fume fever.
It can cause allergies, and metabolic disturbances, especially of the thyroid in high doses.
Conclusive TLVs are lacking and it is difficult to say at what levels damage begins to occur. Cobalt and nickel are about equally toxic. One TLV number we have seen for cobalt is 0.02 mg/m3 (nickel compounds is 0.1-0.2 milligrams per cubic meter of air breathed).
There are no therapies for cobalt poisoning other than allowing time for the body to eliminate it.
Tee L. Guidotti, MD, MPH, FRCPC, CCBOM, MFOM, Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine, fax +1 403 492-9677, said this:
"Cobalt is one of the more dangerous metal toxicities and prolonged exposure to excessive levels can cause a form of asthma and a type of heart disease. People who work with "hard metal" (a cobalt-based quasi-alloy commonly used for heavy-duty machine cutting tools) are at risk."
A study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, Vol. 22, No. 6, 1996 compared 874 porcelain factory cobalt painting workers with Danish women in general. Little or no increased incidence of cancer was found. Another study published in 1994 (NIOSH-00221545) monitored plate painters who used soluble and insoluble cobalt from 1982-1992. This study found that chromic impaired lung function was related to airborne cobalt levels and that high levels of cobalt in the urine were associated with the use of soluble material. Uptake was higher in females. A 1993 study of decorators in Italy (NIOSH-00213091) concluded that high exposure to cobalt was at times associated with skin sensitization but not clinical dermatitis. A 1988 study in Denmark (NIOSH-00186005) examined workers after a 6 week factory shut down and found that skin, nose, throat, and mouth irritation increased when they resumed work. Cobalt concentrations in the blood increased four-fold to eight times the population average. Considering the excessive cobalt is toxic, this is a concern. In general, improved factory conditions have dramatically reduced the effects of cobalt toxicity.
Some sources say that cobalt is vitamin B-12, however B-12 is a cobalt-based vitamin. The compounds in this group are very complex and are required in the diet in this form.
It is an oil-soluble vitamin, and so is stored in the liver of animals. Several year's supply can be obtained from a single meal and stored. Even vegetarians are not likely to become deficient because it is obtained from bacteria, molds in fruits and vegetables, from dairy products, and even in Comfrey.
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