Enviornmental impact
What environmenal pros or cons are there to using this element or its compounds?
PRO: Iodine in the air is absorbed by plants which humans and animals eat. Iodine is needed in the diet for good health.
PRO: Iodine doesn't stay unstable very long so the dangerous, unstable iodine does not have a great impact.
PRO: The tincture of iodine is a compound found in most disinfectants. Using the iodine this way does not affect the environment.
CON: Humans add iodine to the air when burning coal and fuel for energy, creating pollution of too much is released. Too much could make iodine radioactive.
CON: Iodine is used in nuclear power plants and a great amount of the only dangerous form is released when they have accidents. This form has a long life making it very harmful to the enviornment.
-This unstable form is Iodine -131
Where is it found? Is it mined?
Iodine is found in kelp/seaweed, seaswater, sea animals, most living things (essential for good health), sodium iodate/calcium iodate; trace impurities in deposits of the Chilian Saltpeter.
PRO: Iodine in the air is absorbed by plants which humans and animals eat. Iodine is needed in the diet for good health.
PRO: Iodine doesn't stay unstable very long so the dangerous, unstable iodine does not have a great impact.
PRO: The tincture of iodine is a compound found in most disinfectants. Using the iodine this way does not affect the environment.
CON: Humans add iodine to the air when burning coal and fuel for energy, creating pollution of too much is released. Too much could make iodine radioactive.
CON: Iodine is used in nuclear power plants and a great amount of the only dangerous form is released when they have accidents. This form has a long life making it very harmful to the enviornment.
-This unstable form is Iodine -131
Where is it found? Is it mined?
Iodine is found in kelp/seaweed, seaswater, sea animals, most living things (essential for good health), sodium iodate/calcium iodate; trace impurities in deposits of the Chilian Saltpeter.
- How is your element extracted from the environment? How is is purified into a more usable form?
1. Dissolved in boiling water
2. Solution cools and forms white crystals
3. Solution is divided into 2 parts
4. Sodium hydrogen sulfate is added to 1st iodate rich soil. This changes the iodate ions to iodide ions
5. Sodium carbonate is added to stop the reaction.
6. The new iodide solution is mixed with the second iodate solution. The iodate ions convert the iodide ions to pure iodine.
7. It is now a solid (80% pure) and is washed with water, pressed into blocks, and heated to remove excess water.
NATURAL BRINES (SALT WATER)
CA, Indonesia, northern Italy
1. Filter the brine to remove impurities (clay, sand)
2. Water is passed through containers with bundles of copper wires
iodine reacts with copper- forms copper iodide (Cu^2 I^2)
3. The copper iodide is separated from solution by filtering
leaving solid copper iodide behind
4. After the copper iodide is washed, it is finely ground and heated with potassium carbonate
produces potassium iodide
5. The free iodine is obtained
Reacting potassium iodide with chlorine gas
SEAWEED/KELP
Britain, France, Japan
1. Plants are shredded and mixed with water.
2. The solution is filtered and leaves solid rich iodide ions
3. Chlorine gas is bubbled through the water
Chlorine molecules take electrons from iodide ions to form chlorine ions
Iodide ions lose the electrons and form solution of elemental iodine
4. Iodine is separated by boiling the solution in a closed vessel
Iodine vaporizes, cools at the top of the chamber and condenses to form solid iodine
- List specific chemical reactions involving the purification of your element.
-Sodium hydrogen sulfate is added to iodate rich soil and produces iodide ions
-Sodium carbonate is added to stop the reaction
NATURAL BRINES:
-Water is passed through containers with copper wires which the iodine forms copper iodide
-The ground copper iodide is is heated with potassium carbonate which produces potassium iodide
The iodine is obtained by reacting potassium iodide with chlorine gas
SEAWEED/KELP
-Chlorine molecules take electrons from iodide ions to form chlorine ions
-Iodine vaporizes, cools at the top of the chamber and condenses to form solid iodine
- Overall impact
EX: iodine in air combines with water particles and is absorbed into the soil when it rains. The plants absorb this iodine as do the animals that eat the plants. This is good because iodine is essential for the metabolism.
EX: Too much iodine could be radioactive but most iodine compunds have short lives and become stable ions very quickly. There is only one form of iodine that is harmful to the environment because of its long life. This harmful iodine enters the air through nuclear power plants when they have an accident.