They also occur as compounds with other transition metals (copper, iron, mercury, nickel, and silver), post-transition metals (bismuth, lead, and tin), metalloids (antimony, arsenic, and tellurium), and nonmetals (selenium and sulfur).įrom 1900 to 2011, approximately 14,200 metric tons of PGEs was produced, and roughly 95 percent of that production (13,500 metric tons) took place between 19. More than 100 different minerals have one of the PGEs as an essential component. Today, the average grade of PGEs in ores that are mined primarily for their PGE concentrations varies from 5 to 15 ppm, although the concentration of PGEs in hand-picked ore specimens may range from tens to hundreds of parts per million. PGEs are among the rarest metals Earth’s upper crust contains only about 0.0005 part per million (ppm) platinum.
Platinum, palladium, and rhodium in the form of coins and bars are also used as investment commodities, and various financial instruments based on the value of these PGEs are traded on major exchanges. Platinum alloys are an ideal choice for jewelry because of their white color, strength, and resistance to tarnish. Platinum, for example, is used in medical implants, such as pacemakers, and PGEs are used in cancer-fighting drugs. In the electronics industry, PGEs are used in computer hard disks, hybridized integrated circuits, and multilayer ceramic capacitors.Īside from their industrial applications, PGEs are used in such other fields as health, consumer goods, and finance. PGEs are used by the glass manufacturing industry in the production of fiberglass and flat-panel and liquid crystal displays. Alloys of PGEs are exceptionally hard and durable, making them the best known coating for industrial crucibles used in the manufacture of chemicals and synthetic materials. In the petrochemical industry, platinum-supported catalysts are needed to refine crude oil and to produce aromatic compounds and high-octane gasoline. The chemical industry requires platinum or platinum-rhodium alloys to manufacture nitric oxide, which is the raw material used to manufacture explosives, fertilizers, and nitric acid. They are used in catalytic converters to reduce carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and nitrous oxide emissions in automobile exhaust. The United States net import reliance as a percentage of apparent consumption is about 90 percent. The availability and accessibility of PGEs could be disrupted by economic, environmental, political, and social events.
PGEs are indispensable to many industrial applications but are mined in only a few places. Email: platinum-group elements (PGEs)-platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium-are metals that have similar physical and chemical properties and tend to occur together in nature.
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