Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry at Voronezh State University Viktor Semenov frankly told everything he knows about nickel
"Notebook Voronezh" has an audio recording of a closed meeting of the public council "on nickel", which took place on October 3 in the small hall of the Voronezh Regional Duma. One of the items on the agenda was the report of Doctor of Chemical Sciences, professor, dean of the Faculty of Chemistry of Voronezh State University, head of the department of general and inorganic chemistry Victor Semenov. We publish a transcript of his speech (with abbreviations):
A little about nickel. Nickel is one of the extremely important metals, it has a long history and attractive prospects for further use. Nickel has been known as a chemical element for a little over 200 years, but its practical use in the form various alloys goes back to ancient times. In the development of human culture, especially the peoples of Transcaucasia, Central Asia, China, India and Egypt, examples of the use of nickel-containing alloys are known more than 3000 years BC.
Nickel construction material. To improve the corrosion protection of iron, chromium and nickel are added to steel. Chromium, by the way, is a more problematic element in terms of ecology compared to nickel. But such steel is stable even in sea water and in many aggressive chemical environments.
Nickel does not oxidize in atmospheric conditions at room temperature, it is stable in various chemically active environments - in alkalis, etc., and does not oxidize when heated to 700-800 degrees. It is subjected to all types of mechanical processing - forging, rolling, stamping, and welds well. Thanks to the complex of these properties, especially wide application Nickel is found in the form of various alloys.
In general, the scope of application of nickel is enormous. As a chemist, I will say that it is used in the production of catalysts for various chemical processes. Due to its corrosion resistance, nickel is also used as protective coatings (for example, the well-known nickel plating of coins), parts of chemical and electric vacuum equipment are made from it, and it is actively used in medicine.
Considering the periodic table of elements, we can note elements that pose a danger. These are heavy and radioactive metals, halogens, thallium, boron, mercury, selenium and a number of others. Nickel is not one of these elements.
There are a number of analogies in the periodic table: group, standard, electronic, diagonal, horizontal and a number of others. These analogies are characterized by the great similarity of the properties of the elements. In iron, cobalt and nickel there is a horizontal analogy. These are metals of the same group; they are almost twins in their properties. At the same time, for some reason we consider iron absolutely safe, but some people express concerns about nickel.
The human body can be harmed by soluble salts and volatile components. Nickel salts are inorganic compounds; they are low-volatile, and most of the nickel salts and minerals are completely insoluble.
All minerals of the Novokhopersk deposit are represented by a large number of chemical compounds: FeS, CuFeS2, ZnS, PbS, MoS2, FeS2, FeAsS, CoAsS, NiAsS, NiAs and a number of others. All of the listed compounds themselves are practically non-volatile and insoluble in water, and for this reason cannot enter our body.
News on Notepad-VoronezhThe history of which began in the Saxon mountains and was associated with mythical characters - evil dwarfs who in every possible way prevented miners from extracting ore. Nickel even got its name from the name of a mischievous mountain spirit who replaced copper with kupfernickel (devil's copper). Nickel was discovered in 1751 by the Swede Kronstedt while studying red nickel pyrites. A little later, purer nickel was obtained in a series of experiments by Bergman.
Nickel is an element of group X of period IV of the periodic table chemical elements DI. Mendeleev, has atomic number 28 and atomic mass 58,693. Recognized designation - Ni(Latin Niccolum).
Nickel is a chemically low-active, ductile and malleable transition metal, has a bright silver-white color, and when interacting with air, the surface tends to become covered with a thin oxide film.
The daily requirement for nickel is still not clearly defined; doctors and scientists agree that on average a healthy adult needs 100-300 mcg per day, which he receives from food.
Nickel is found in many foods; a treat for those with a sweet tooth is the fact that chocolate contains quite a lot of nickel. The main suppliers of the microelement are: cereals and cereals (,), nuts, seeds, legumes (and), tea, milk and dairy products, offal, green leafy vegetables (,), fish and seafood, and.
Nickel takes part in the activation of enzymes, hematopoiesis and the formation of carriers of gene information, prolongs and enhances the action of insulin, has a beneficial effect on the activity of the kidneys and pituitary gland, helps cell membranes and nucleic acids in maintaining their structure, supplies oxygen to tissue cells, and has the ability to reduce blood pressure.
Nickel deficiency is extremely rare and is usually characterized by slow growth in children, increased blood sugar and decreased hemoglobin levels (calorizator). Since nickel preparations are toxic, self-medication is extremely dangerous for health, therefore, if these symptoms are identified, you must undergo medical examination without fail.
The main signs of an excess of nickel in the human body are dermatitis and inflammation skin, conjunctivitis, disruptions in nervous activity, cardiovascular system And digestive tract, kidney and liver dystrophy, keratitis.
Nickel is widely used in industry and other areas, it is the basis of most superalloys, it is used for nickel plating to protect the surface of metals from corrosion, and it is used in chemical and radiation technologies, battery production, medicine, the music industry and in coining.
Nickel is a fairly common element; it is found in the earth’s crust in a bound form; the native metal is found in iron meteorites. There are nickel deposits in Canada, Russia, South Africa, Cuba, and Ukraine.
Yesterday, when communicating with comrades, the topic of the harm of nickel was raised. After rummaging around on the Internet, I found a mini-study of fellow vapers, I just wanted to give a link to it and copy it here (with the author’s permission), but then I decided that our resource was also worthy of its own mini-study. In order not to be unfounded, in each critical statement I provide links to sources.
Everything written below is my thoughts based on information from the Internet. I’m not a chemist, and I can’t say for sure, I’m just trying to think logically.
By the way, nickel slowly evaporates at a temperature of ~250 degrees. If you dear reader, for this you draw an analogy with the world ocean, or water from a saucer, etc., then remember that water is in a completely different state of aggregation - liquid. Those. such a statement would be true if nickel were already liquid. After all, ordinary ice does not evaporate at minus -10C. It’s like, for example, heating this ice from -100 to -20°C. The engine of my car also does not evaporate even in a very aggressive environment, with strong temperature changes, and does not become thinner by a micron. Specific heat nickel vaporization - 2800 degrees Celsius at 6480 kJ/kg. Those. under such conditions, we will begin to evaporate nickel, but before that the device itself will evaporate. And here the temperature, alas, is 10 times lower. To start the tiniest evaporations (and not evaporations, but changes in the crystal lattice of the metal), we need to heat the device from 1000°C degrees without cooling. Otherwise, over the years of operation, all the heating elements in our household hair dryers would have evaporated long ago. And in general, hair dryers burn out, as a rule, due to sharp changes temperatures (heated-cooled cycles). And one more thing - incomparably more air passes through the hair dryer than through our tank.
Now let's talk about nickel oxide, because of which everyone is afraid to burn through nickel spirals, but for some reason they are not afraid to burn through nichrome ones (for reference: nichrome contains 55-78% nickel). When producing nickel oxide industrially, a temperature of 500 - 1000°C is used. This oxide is practically insoluble in water. Those. Even after grabbing a few fierce nickel-based cigarettes, you will get an oxide film on the spiral and a dose of Ni as from several puffs of the “analogue”. By the way, a film of nickel oxide from interaction with air is always present on your nickel (as well as nichrome) coil - after all, when tightening, the coil is intensively blown with air. Even if you don’t heat it at all, there will be an oxide film. Breathing over a heated coil is undesirable, but it is absolutely not fatal and almost not harmful. By the way, kanthal-fechral (FeCrAl) uses a material no less “useful” than nickel - aluminum.
To further reassure vapers, I’m not giving full list only metals(without other substances) from one regular analog cigarette (mcg\per one(!!!) cigarette):
And after this, are you still afraid of nickel from your coil?
If you are worried that nickel is corroded by the liquid and gets into you along with the steam - to hell with you, dear friends. Nickel is very chemically resistant. “Even microetching requires highly concentrated acids, so there are very few special methods for macroetching.” ((With)- " Great encyclopedia oil and gas")
Nickel is a component of almost any stainless steel, including food grade (in food production equipment) and medical grade, although nickel-free stainless steel alloys exist (and are actively used). These nickel-free alloys are made for prosthetics, as well as to reduce the harmfulness of their production and reduce nickel emissions into the atmosphere. Again, nickel was recently used for dental prosthetics and fillings. Do you have nickel-plated cookware at home? Also, our body needs nickel, but, naturally, not an overdose of it.
We use our devices with sufficient low temperatures(up to 300C, but mostly below). Therefore, the main harm when inhaling and inhaling (as it seems to me - correct it if anything, comrades) comes from fumes, for example, polycarbonate, rubber sealing rings, and, most importantly, fragrances.
Nickel is important nutrient necessary for normal human life. Let's consider what role it plays in our lives, what products it contains, and how a deficiency or excess of this substance can result in health.
The significance of this element in nature is still not fully understood. Although, scientists say that it is part of many plants and is responsible for the fermentation process. In the human body, this element is deposited in organs such as the liver, kidneys, lungs, and pancreas.
In general, the adult body contains from 5 to 14 ml of this substance. And in the lungs its concentration increases with age. The microelement leaves the body in 95% of cases with feces. Some products (coffee, tea) can reduce the absorption of nickel, while others, on the contrary, improve it. It has been observed that in pregnant women the level of absorption of this substance increases.Did you know? Nickel was invented in the 18th century by a scientist from Sweden A. Kronstedt, and according to another version the word came from German expression"kupiernickel", which translates as "devil's copper."
Despite the fact that all the properties of nickel have not yet been fully discovered, it is already playing a role important role in human life. The useful characteristics of this element include the following:
Nickel, like everyone else nutrients, a person receives with food. It is contained as in plant products, and in animals.
Important! WITH plain water a person receives a quarter of the entire supply of this element.
You can replenish your nickel reserves with the following products of plant origin:
Nickel reserves can be found in the following animal products:
Needed daily norm nickel for humans has not been established. According to preliminary estimates, a person can receive up to 0.6 mg of this element per day. The daily requirement is selected individually and depends on parameters such as age, weight and gender. The approximate amount of a substance that is sufficient for normal life is from 100 to 300 mcg.
Important! When less than 50 mcg of a microelement per day enters the body, a deficiency occurs.
A shortage or excess of nickel is quite rare, since the need for it is satisfied by nutrition. If such cases occur, they are characterized by certain symptoms.
Deficiency of the substance occurs when the norm is below 50 mcg daily. To date, only one sign of nickel deficiency in humans has been identified - dermatitis. Clinical studies Animal studies have shown that a lack of this microelement slows growth, reduces glucose, and impairs metabolism. In people, some signs may also indirectly indicate a deficiency of this substance:
An overdose of nickel is even less common than a deficiency. And can only manifest itself as a result of consumption large quantity toxic products. An excess of the element is characterized by the following symptoms:
Did you know? It has been proven that if nickel is introduced into the blood after insulin, the effect of the former is prolonged. With adrenaline, the opposite happens: the trace element slows down its activity.
In most cases, nickel is absorbed by the body without problems. However, there are some trace elements that reduce its effect. These include:
Accordingly, foods rich in such substances prevent the full absorption of nickel. Knowing what beneficial properties has nickel and what products contain it, you can regulate its intake into your body and not be afraid of the consequences that a deficiency or excess of this element can lead to.
