Melting rate of lead. Great encyclopedia of oil and gas

Application >> Typical examples >>

Melting lead

metal heating simulation, lead melting point

The example was prepared by Borisov S., student of the Electromechanical Faculty of St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University

There is lead in the crucible. Determine the time for melting lead and heating the melt to the required temperature, 350 degrees.

Task type:
Heat transfer is unsteady.

Geometry:

Heating is carried out from the bottom of the crucible. Cooling occurs from all free surfaces.

Given:
Thermal conductivity of liquid lead 35.3 W/K m
Specific heat capacity of liquid lead 150 J/kg K
Density of liquid lead 9810 kg/m 3

Thermal conductivity of solid lead 35.3 W/K m
Specific heat capacity of solid lead 130 J/kg K
Density of solid lead 11340 kg/m3
Specific heat of fusion of lead 25000 J/kg

Thermal conductivity of the crucible 47 W/K m
Specific heat capacity of the crucible 460 J/kg K
Crucible density 7800 kg/m 3

Initial temperature 0 degrees
Final temperature 350 degrees.
Heat flow of the heater 223000 W/m2
Convection coefficient from the surface of the crucible and lead 30 W/K m 2

Solution:

First, the solid metal is heated, then it melts, and then the liquid metal is heated. Each process is modeled separately.

  1. The heating process of solid lead is modeled in the first part. Lead reaches its melting point after 1800 seconds of heating.
  2. Once the melting point is reached, the temperature of the lead does not change. The melting process is underway. Melting time is determined manually:
    Lead volume V= 3045 cm 3
    Lead mass m = V * ρ = 3045 * 11.34 = 34530.3 g (34.5 kg)
    Heat of Melting Q = m * λ = 34.5 * 25000 = 8625000 J
    Incoming heat flow F= 954.21 W
    Melting time t = Q / F= 8625000 / 954.21 = 903.8 sec.
  3. The further heating process proceeds from the temperature obtained in the first problem (the temperature did not change during melting). Task communication is used to transfer temperature from one task to another.

Instructions

Warm up the container in which it will be produced. Place the container securely over the gas burner. Light the fire. Adjust the gas supply so that it is small. Wait until the container warms up. Heating is necessary to evaporate moisture from the surface of the container, burn out organic substances and prevent the destruction of ceramic dishes due to rapid uneven thermal expansion.

Melt lead. Place a few pieces in a container. To avoid burns, do this with tongs or a spatula. Wait until they are completely melted. Add portions of lead to the melt until you get required quantity liquid metal. The gradual addition of lead to the melt accelerates the melting process, since solid fragments come into contact with the liquid fraction, which increases the contact area and improves heat transfer.

note

Melt lead has a very high temperature. Be careful not to get it on your skin, clothing or flammable objects. Work outdoors or in a very well-ventilated area as lead fumes are toxic.

Helpful advice

You can melt lead even in tin can, firmly installing it above the gas burner.

Lead is immediately recognizable by external signs, it is quite flexible, does not break, melts easily under a hammer, and has a dark gray color. It belongs to the fusible metals, as it melts at 327 degrees. If it is alloyed with another metal, the melting point can be significantly reduced or increased. Lead is quite suitable for foundry work at home

Instructions

It is not at all difficult to obtain lead; it can be obtained from organizations involved in the recycling of raw materials. It is advisable to purchase purer lead. Before you start melting lead, prepare a mold into which you will pour it. Take a cast iron pan, put it on the fire, put the pieces of lead in the pan and keep it on the fire until the lead looks like a shiny liquid. Make sure there are no small pieces left. If the temperature required to melt lead is exceeded, it will begin to take on a reddish hue.

While the lead is on the fire, prepare the mold for pouring by warming it up slightly to avoid partial or uneven casting. After this, clamp the form in a vice attached to the table. For these purposes there are also special clamps and molds with welded handles.

Once the lead has melted, use a knife or spoon to scrape off any debris from the surface. Then use a large spoon to scoop a small amount of lead and carefully pour it into the mold, first placing it near the pan, as it can splash and leave serious burns on your hands. People who constantly work with lead prefer to pour it into a mold with a special spoon that has a small recess on the side.

Lead can also be extracted from a regular battery. To do this, disassemble it by first draining the acid and leaving it upside down for one day. Afterwards, break off the sides of the battery and take out the lead ones, which are in rubber bags. Melt them as described above. And wood will help prevent surface oxidation during smelting - just sprinkle it on top of the lead during smelting.

note

Despite the fact that lead melts easily, it fills the mold less well than other low-melting metals.

Lead should not be poured into a cold mold, as it may splash when it comes into contact with a cold surface.

Sources:

  • lead melting point in 2018

Tip 3: How to protect figurines from oxidation after melting lead

Lead has been known since ancient times. Archaeologists quite often find figures of deities and jewelry made from this material. Lead is also popular in our time - for example, sinkers for fishing tackle are made from it. This metal melts quite easily, so figurines, beads and bracelets are cast from it. However, lead has a rather significant drawback: it very quickly becomes covered with an oxide film and loses its shine.

What is needed for this?

The oxide film on lead appears quite quickly after melting. Clean it up mechanically completely useless - this is a rather labor-intensive process. In addition, the cleaned surface will also quickly begin to oxidize. You can protect weights, beads or electrical connectors using the following substances:
- ;
- ;
- varnish.

Also prepare a pack paper napkins, and for working with acid - chemical glassware, gloves and a respirator.

Home and industrial methods

Literally there home method protect the lead surface from corrosion. Sunflower oil there is always something on the farm. Pour it into a bowl and immerse the newly smelted figurine in it. Hold for about five minutes, remove, place on a layer of napkins and let dry.

In production, it is usually used to protect lead parts. You may not have it at hand, but it’s not that difficult to buy. It is found in auto parts stores, household stores, agricultural equipment stores - where they sell industrial oil. You can order graphite lubricant through the online store. The lead product will retain its shine for a long time.


If the product is large, you can simply wipe it with a cotton swab dipped in vegetable oil.

Fishing varnishes

Can be coated with lead and varnish. In a store that sells products for fishermen, you can often find a special “fishing” varnish designed specifically for such purposes. There are a variety of colors available, but if you want to maintain a metallic sheen, clear is best for you. The industry also produces fluorescent “fishing” varnishes.

Get rid of oxide

If there is already an oxide film on the surface, it can be removed concentrated acid. Remember that for chemical experiments It is better to use glassware made of chemical glass. Regular glass jar may not be strong enough, and using metal or plastic objects is not at all advisable. Don’t forget to also take precautions - you need to wear gloves when working with caustic acids. Protective is also desirable. Dip the object into the acid and wait until the oxide film disappears. Carefully pour off the acid. Let the product dry, then lubricate it with oil or varnish. When working with lead, remember that this material is toxic.

Lead has been known since ancient times. This metal is indispensable in many industries due to its physical and chemical properties. To use lead, you need to know its melting point, which will allow you to make from it necessary materials and details. It is easy to forge, very ductile, and is also inert to acids at normal temperature.

Lead Applications

One of the most common uses is to make bullets, shot and other firearms projectiles. And the opportunity for hunters to make homemade bullets was created thanks to the cheapness of the metal and its low melting point.

Also made from lead fishing sinkers. Due to the fact that the metal is quite soft, it can be fixed to the fishing line without using special devices, simple compression.

Lead also has anti-corrosion properties, so it is used to apply a protective layer to iron products and to make protective sheaths for cables. Also, this feature of lead allows it to be used in the production of paints and varnishes.

The main component of red lead, or red lead, which is used to paint the underwater part of a ship, is a pigment that contains lead.

This metal is often used in the form of alloys. Sheets containing lead, for example, can protect against X-rays and radioactive radiation. During the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was accompanied by intense radiation, bags of lead ingots and shot were used to stop dangerous processes in the reactor. To protect the people who were on the helicopters delivering this cargo, lead sheets were used. The unique features of this metal in this case turned out to be irreplaceable.

Melting point of lead

The melting point of pure lead, which does not contain impurities, is 328°C. When melted, the casting qualities of already ductile lead are improved. This allows hunters to cast projectiles for weapons.

Lead can be melted even at home or over a fire.

However, to pour into molds it is necessary to bring the metal to a fluid state. To this extent, lead can be produced at a temperature approximately 100-200°C above the melting point. The boiling point of this metal varies within 1749oC.

When molten, it has noticeable volatility, which increases with . Lead vapors and lead dust can cause acute poisoning in humans. For severe intoxication, a concentration in the body of 0.3 g of lead or its components is sufficient.

Robust 17-11-2004 10:17

Question for the “happy” residents of houses with electric stoves.

Gustav 17-11-2004 12:26

I prefer an outdoor camping gas burner.

San Sanych 17-11-2004 12:50

Eh...I have an electric stove...It's a difficult case.
Option 1 (expensive)
Buy Lee's lead melt... Expensive, it will cost 100 dollars. I can't decide for a long time

Option 2 (harmful to life and to the stove)
Buy something like a stainless steel ladle and flat bottom and melt there
Lead exhaust, heat, cast iron burners burning

Option3 (literate)
Buy a tourist primus "Bumblebee" and make it with it. Consumption - one refill (0.5 liters) per 100-200 bullets

Men 17-11-2004 13:00

Option 4(safe)

You can rent a lamp from your neighbors, and you can bring your own gasoline.

San Sanych 17-11-2004 13:06

A blowtorch consumes too much gasoline, unlike a primus stove I had, and it was a pain in the ass to pour gasoline.

Robust 17-11-2004 14:03

Thanks friends, I’m thinking about adapting it for this purpose gas burner(a small can of hairspray type and all sorts of attachments for it, for example, I used it to tar my skis)

Bolotny 17-11-2004 17:59

1. Using an electric iron. We fix work surface up, crucible on it, lead in crucible, preferably tablets on lead charcoal- three packs.

2. We make a pallet from galvanized sheet metal, put asbestos on the pallet, and a heating element from an electric stove on it. 220 is supplied through a thyristor power regulator 220V*1KW (I have a homemade one, now they sell electrical goods in the store). We put the crucible in the pan and fasten everything together. The stand is a regular Taganka tripod.
3. No one forbids the unfortunate owners of gas stoves from buying an electric single-burner stove. But it is necessary to use a thyristor regulator, it gives a smooth power adjustment, and the installed bimetallic ones simply turn the heating element on and off, maintaining an AVERAGE temperature, but you need a STABLE melt temperature.

SVS1 17-11-2004 21:42

I have a 1000 W electric stove with flat element copes quite well.
Just don’t make a ladle out of galvanized steel. Until all the zinc comes off, it will take you a long time to scrape the crap out of the melt. Better made of stainless steel or just steel.

437 18-11-2004 12:28

I have gas stove. I melt under a powerful hood at night.
A lot of oxides are formed in an aluminum ladle. Switched to homemade ladle made of stainless steel, small in diameter but tall. Lead oxidation has decreased sharply. I adjusted the temperature of the alloy and it burns less.
Vladimir

HARD 27-11-2004 11:35

That's right. Ventilation is very important. Without it, my head hurts later. I melt either with a respirator or a mask for painters, but always with efficient ventilation. Lead tends to accumulate in the body. It is impossible to remove it and the result can be very serious.

NN 28-11-2004 02:50

quote: Originally posted by Men:
Option 4(safe)
Go to the garage, 2 bricks + blowtorch+ tin can (enough for 80-100 bullets)...
You can rent a lamp from your neighbors, and you can bring your own gasoline.

take a REGULAR IRON enamel MUG, narrow/bend the spout (on the upper edge of the mug) with pliers so that it meets at the very edge at an acute angle, place it by the handle with pliers on an 800-watt portable electric stove (which is placed on 2 bricks) and 3/4 you can load scrap lead into it - you will get a long-lasting, excellent iron crucible, remove it from the stove with the melt - use pliers by the handle - the spout, tapered to the edge, allows you to pour it into especially thin holes.

For example, I generally made bullets from a mixture of alabaster and cement - 1:2 - 1:4, approximately, in volume - cement - alabaster, a cut (ring) from a pipe with a diameter of an inch and a quarter is filled with it (up to 1 .5 inches) and a height of 1.5-1.8 cm - then the original bullet is pressed into it (strictly to the middle), the mixture around the pressed bullet is compacted, cleaned up flush with the edge of the pipe trim.

(it is convenient to grind the original ball bullet on grinding wheel(from a ball from a bearing, carefully measuring it with a caliper))

Coat the resulting form with the original bullet inserted halfway into it. thin layer solid oil (to avoid sticking of the two halves of the mold) and place a second such piece of pipe on top, aligning the walls with the lower half, then the same composition - alabaster-cement - is poured from above into the second half of the mold - flush with the cut of the pipe and also compacted . It is necessary to pour it when the mixture in the first half has almost completely (or completely) set.

During production, alabaster and cement must be mixed to a consistency almost like cottage cheese, otherwise the shape will turn out loose, it is better to take M400-M500 cement, mix it dry - alabaster with cement, after carefully sifting the mixture through a fine flour sieve or a fine tea strainer. After mixing the alabaster with cement in the required proportion, add water little by little to the mixture until it reaches the consistency of thick sour cream—cottage cheese.

It is necessary to prepare the mixture at a time only for one half of the mold - because... it dries and hardens quickly.

After hardening, a day later, 2 holes are drilled vertically in both halves in the area free from the imprint (on the same line through the imprint) - with a diameter of 3 mm - for centering (for precise alignment of the halves) pins-rods made of iron wire - - the resulting holes are thickly lubricated with grease to prevent the mold from chipping when inserting the pins.
Holes are drilled in the connected halves (perpendicular to the plane of their connection) and with the original bullet inserted into the bullet (with which it was molded) - in order to achieve precise alignment of the halves.

After unraveling the halves, in one of the sides of the mold, along the joint of the halves, a needle file is used to make a recess for pouring lead into both halves - in the shape of a funnel, with an extension to the outer edge of the mold.

That's it, the bullet gun is ready... the alabaster mold conveys the shape of the surface well, then after casting the ball bullets can be almost unprocessed (just bite off the protrusion on the resulting bullet at the place of casting).

Pouring lead is done as follows--

Connect the halves of the mold, insert metal centering pins into the holes and lightly clamp the connected halves of the bullet into a light vice or clamp, then pour lead into the funnel-shaped machined hole at the junction of these 2 cylindrical bullet molds.

The external metal sections of the pipes can be removed from the hardened alabaster after the bullet has hardened, or not removed.

You can pour it often, gypsum (alabaster) takes a long time to heat up, holds the temperature of liquid lead well (just over 300 degrees C), and does not crack (especially when mixed with cement - it is very hard and does not crumble).

Lead is easily extracted from old batteries.


Lead is a grayish-white metal, shiny when freshly fractured, located in group IV of the periodic system, with serial number 82, Clark lead 1*10v-4%. The molecular weight of lead is 207.21. Lattice parameter a0 = 4.9389 A.
Lead is soft, can be drawn with a fingernail, is fragile, can be rolled and forged well, but is difficult to draw into wire. At a pressure of 5 t/cm2, the solid metal goes into a fluid state.
Specific gravity of solid lead 11.35; ranging from 328 to 750° it specific gravity varies from 10.654 to 10.188.
Melting point 327.4°, boiling point 1750° (according to other sources 1525-1540°). Noticeable volatility appears at a temperature of about 900°.
The specific heat of lead at 18° is 0.029 cal, and that of molten lead is 0.034 cal. Latent heat of fusion 5.6 cal, latent heat of evaporation 230 cal.
The thermal conductivity of lead at 18° is 0.083 cal/cm*sec, or 7.5% of the thermal conductivity of silver.
Specific electrical resistance lead is equal to 20.68 mOhm/cm3 at 18°, or 7.77% of the electrical conductivity of silver.
Influenced humid air the lead surface is oxidized to form a Pb(OH)2 film. Under the influence of SO3 or CO2, lead oxide hydrate is converted into practically insoluble sulfate or carbon dioxide compounds.
Gases O2, SO2, H2, N2, CO, CO2 do not dissolve in lead.
Lead dissolves well in dilute nitric acid; in sulfuric and hydrochloric acids at room temperature it does not dissolve, since the resulting lead chloride and sulfate cover it with a dense insoluble film. Lead dissolves in these acids only when heated to 200-250°. Pure lead is also resistant to alkalis, ammonia, chlorine and chlorine-containing solutions, organic acids and oils.
The presence of impurities generally reduces the corrosion resistance of lead.
Lead easily alloys with many metals, but it does not alloy with iron, which makes it possible to process lead in iron equipment.
Below are the compositions of the most common lead-based alloys, %:

Lead is also part of low-melting alloys (transitioning into liquid state at temperatures below 100°) containing tin, cadmium, bismuth and mercury.
From chemical compounds of lead highest value the technology for its production includes sulfide (PbS), oxide (PbO), sulfate (PbSO4) and carbonate (PbCO3).
Lead sulfide PbS (natural mineral galena) melts at 1135° and intensively evaporates at 950°. The elasticity of its vapors at 1000° reaches 17 mm Hg. Art., while its elasticity of dissociation is 1.26 * 10v-1 mm Hg. Art.
The ignition temperature of sulfide particles 0.25 mm in size in the presence of atmospheric oxygen is 360-380°. Oxidation occurs with the formation of lead oxide and sulfate. Lead sulfide is soluble in metallic lead (Fig. 2). At 1040°, the homogeneous alloy stratifies, and its lower layer contains 19.4% PbS. In the solid state, Pb and PbS are mutually insoluble.
Lead oxide PbO melts at 883°, intensively volatilizes at 950-1000° (at which the vapor pressure is 1.8-3.7 mm Hg), boils at 1472° and, when heated, dissociates into lead and oxygen at 1100° the elasticity of dissociation reaches 1.3 * 10v-13 mm Hg. Art. PbO is insoluble in lead.


There are two varieties of lead oxide, yellow amorphous lead oxide in powder form and crystalline litharge.
Lead oxide is an amphoteric oxide with more pronounced basic than acidic properties. Lite forms a number of fusible compounds with silica (silicates), as well as with oxides of calcium, magnesium, aluminum and iron.
With oxides alkali metals Lead oxide and peroxide form a number of compounds. Compounds of the Me PbO2 type are called plumbites, and compounds of the MePbO3 type are called ppyumbats. In turn, a distinction is made between Me PbO3 - metaplumbates and Me2PbO4 - orthoplumbates. Plumbats are weak connections.
Lead sulfate PbSO4 (natural mineral anglesite). Density ranges from 5.92 to 6.39; decomposes between 900 and 1000°, the melting point (according to various sources) varies from 1080 to 1170°, the heat of formation is 216200 cal. When heated, PbSO4 decomposes to form basic sulfate. 6PbO*5SO3, when calcined in an atmosphere of H2 or CO, forms a mixture of Pb and PbS with the release of SO2. When heated with coal to 700-800°, PbS, Pb and PbO can be obtained.
The formation of three main salts was established: 3PbO*PbSO4, 2PbO*PbSO4 and PbO*PbSO4. According to Schenk and Rosbach and Jaeger and Herms, who studied the fusibility diagram of the PbSO4-PbO system, the listed salts form a series of eutectics that melt at a temperature of about 950°.
Lead carbonate PbCO3 (natural mineral cerussite) dissociates when heated to form PbO and CO2. This reaction begins at temperatures below 200° and at 285° the elasticity of CO2 reaches 760 mm Hg. Art.
Basic lead carbonate, similar in composition to 2PbCO3*Pb(OH)2, is used as paint.
Name:*
Email:
A comment:

Add

25.03.2019

At the Algerian Qatari Steel enterprise, located in the village of Bellara, “hot” tests of a wire mill with a power indicator of approximately...

25.03.2019

Highest level Reliable electricity supply for responsible consumers can be achieved through the use of autonomous generators. Taking in...

25.03.2019

A complex of buildings and structures located on the border of several areas where services are provided customs clearance cargo, was called a temporary warehouse...

25.03.2019

IN last years The volume of production of plastic products has increased greatly, since it allows solving a large number of household as well as industrial problems....

25.03.2019

Not long ago, the metallurgical enterprise from Vietnam Hoa Sen Group, considered one of the largest manufacturers of steel raw materials in the state, accepted...

25.03.2019

After agreeing on the construction project and production of all necessary metal structures, another extremely important stage is coming - installation work on the...

25.03.2019

All cable production designed for a certain period of use and storage. After it ends, it is imperative to complete...

25.03.2019

Registered in the territory of the main settlement The UK corporation from Chile Antofagasta has officially launched a program aimed...

25.03.2019

Today you can purchase timing belts of various lengths from the World of Belts Belarus company. The company's office is located in Minsk, Republic of...

Lead is a soft, heavy metal of a silver-gray color, shiny, but quickly losing its shine. Along with and refers to elements known to mankind since ancient times. Lead was used very widely, and even now its use is extremely diverse. So, today we will find out whether lead is a metal or a non-metal, as well as a non-ferrous or ferrous metal, we will learn about its types, properties, application and extraction.

Lead is an element of group 14 of D.I. Mendeleev’s table, located in the same group with carbon, silicon and tin. Lead is a typical metal, but it is inert: it reacts extremely reluctantly even with strong acids.

Molecular weight is 82. This not only indicates the so-called magic number of protons in the nucleus, but also the large weight of the substance. The most interesting qualities of the metal are associated precisely with its great weight.

The concept and features of lead metal are discussed in this video:

Concept and features

Lead is a metal that is quite soft at normal temperatures and is easy to scratch or flatten. This plasticity makes it possible to obtain metal sheets and rods of very small thickness and any shape. Malleability was one of the reasons why lead began to be used since ancient times.

Lead water pipes Ancient Rome are well known. Since then, this type of water supply system has been installed more than once and in more than one place, but it did not operate for so long. Which, without a doubt, saved a considerable amount human lives, since lead, alas, with prolonged contact with water, eventually forms soluble compounds that are toxic.

Toxicity is the very property of a metal due to which they try to limit its use. Metal vapors and many of its organic and inorganic salts are very dangerous for environment, and for people. Basically, of course, the workers of such enterprises and residents of the area around the industrial facility are in danger. 57% is emitted with large volumes of dusty gas, and 37% with converter gases. There is only one problem with this - the imperfection of purification plants.

However, in other cases people become victims of lead contamination. Until recently, the most effective and popular gasoline stabilizer was tetraethyl lead. When fuel burned, it was released into the atmosphere and polluted it.

But lead has another, extremely useful and required quality– ability to absorb radioactive radiation. Moreover, the metal absorbs the hard component even better than the soft one. A 20 cm thick lead layer can protect against all types of radiation known on Earth and in nearby space.

Advantages and disadvantages

Lead combines extremely useful properties, turning it into an irreplaceable element, and downright dangerous ones, which make its use a very difficult task.

The advantages from the point of view of the national economy include:

  • fusibility and malleability - this allows you to form metal products of any degree of complexity and any subtlety. Thus, for the production of sound-absorbing membranes, lead plates with a thickness of 0.3–0.4 mm are used;
  • lead is able to form an alloy with other metals (including, etc.) which, when normal conditions do not fuse with each other; its use as a solder is based on this quality;
  • metal absorbs radiation. Today, all elements of radiation protection - from clothing to the decoration of X-ray rooms and rooms at testing sites - are made from lead;
  • The metal is resistant to acids, second only to noble gold and silver. So it is actively used for lining acid-resistant equipment. For the same reasons, it is used to produce pipes for the transfer of acid and for wastewater in hazardous chemical plants;
  • The lead-acid battery has not yet lost its importance in electrical engineering, as it allows one to obtain a high voltage current;
  • low cost - lead is 1.5 times cheaper than zinc, 3 times cheaper than copper, and almost 10 times cheaper than tin. This explains the very great benefit of using lead rather than other metals.

The disadvantages are:

  • toxicity - the use of metal in any type of production poses a danger to personnel, and in case of accidents - an extreme danger to the environment and the population. Lead belongs to substances of hazard class 1;
  • Lead products should not be disposed of as regular waste. They require disposal and sometimes it is very expensive. Therefore, the issue of metal recycling is always relevant;
  • Lead is a soft metal, so it cannot be used as a structural material. Considering all his other qualities, this should rather be considered a plus.

Properties and characteristics

Lead is a soft, malleable, but also heavy and dense metal. The molecular lattice is cubic, face-centered. Its strength is low, but its ductility is excellent. The physical characteristics of the metal are as follows:

  • density at normal temperature 11.34 g/cm3;
  • melting point – 327.46 C;
  • boiling point – 1749 C;
  • resistance to tensile load – 12–3 MPa;
  • resistance to compressive load – 50 MPa;
  • Brinell hardness – 3.2–3.8 HB;
  • thermal conductivity – 33.5 W/(m K);
  • The resistivity is 0.22 ohm-sq. Mmm.

Like any metal, it conducts electric current, although, it should be noted, it is much worse than copper - almost 11 times. However, the metal has other interesting properties: at a temperature of 7.26 K it becomes a superconductor and conducts electricity without any resistance. Lead was the first element to exhibit this property.

In air, a piece of metal or a product made from it is quickly passivated by an oxide film, which successfully protects the metal from external influence. And the substance itself is not prone to chemical activity, which is why it is used in the manufacture of acid-resistant equipment.

Paints containing lead compounds are almost as resistant to corrosion. Due to their toxicity they are not used indoors, but have been used successfully in painting bridges, e.g. frame structures and so on.

The video below will show you how to make pure lead:

Structure and composition

Over the entire temperature range, only one modification of lead is isolated, so both under the influence of temperature and over time, the properties of the metal change completely naturally. No sharp transitions were noted, when qualities change radically.

Metal production

Lead is quite common, forms several industrially important minerals - galena, cerussite, anglesite, so its production is relatively cheap. pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical methods. The second method is safer, but is used much less frequently, since it is more expensive, and the resulting metal still needs final processing at high temperatures.

Production using the pyrometallurgical method includes the following stages:

  • ore mining;
  • crushing and enrichment mainly by flotation method;
  • smelting for the purpose of obtaining crude lead - reduction, furnace, alkaline, and so on;
  • refining, that is, purifying black lead from impurities and obtaining pure metal.

Despite the same production technology, the equipment can be used in very different ways. This depends on the metal content in the ore, production volumes, product quality requirements, and so on.

Read below about the use and price per 1 kg of lead.

Application area

The first - the manufacture of water pipes and household items, fortunately, dates back to quite a long time ago. Today, metal enters a home only with a protective layer and in the absence of contact with food, water and humans.

  • But the use of lead for alloys and as solder began at the dawn of civilization and continues to this day.
  • Lead is a metal of strategic importance, especially since bullets began to be cast from it. Ammunition for small arms and sporting weapons is still made only from lead. And its compounds are used as explosives.
  • 75% of the world's metal production is used for manufacturing lead acid batteries. The substance continues to be one of the main elements of chemical current sources.
  • The corrosion resistance of the metal is exploited in the manufacture of acid-resistant equipment, pipelines, and protective sheaths for power cables.
  • And, of course, lead is used in the equipment of X-ray rooms: cladding of walls, ceilings, floors, protective partitions, protective suits - everything is made with the participation of lead. At testing sites, including nuclear ones, metal is indispensable.

The cost of metals is determined on several world-wide exchanges. The most famous is the London Metal Exchange. The cost of lead in October 2016 is $2087.25 per ton.

Lead is a metal that is in great demand in modern industry. Some of its qualities—corrosion resistance, the ability to absorb hard radiation—are completely unique and make the metal irreplaceable despite its high toxicity.

This video will tell you what happens if you pour lead into water:

Share