Nickel
Nickel (Ni), is a chemical element and ferromagnetic metal, Group 10 (VIIIb) of the periodic table. It is silvery white, tough, and hard, it is extremely resistant to oxidation and corrosion.
It is a familiar because of its use in coins, but it is important as a pure metal and in alloys, in particular in the manufacture of stainless steel for which over half of the worlds nickel is used. It is also used for nickel and copper alloys, as well as other steels, in nickel plating of iron and brass, and in coating chemistry equipment with a shiny metallic finish.
Nickel coated stainless was invented in the early 1900's and was used as a cladding material in a number of high profile buildings in the 20's and 30's, such as, quite early on, the Savoy hotel in London, then the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings in New York City in the 30's. The introduction of curtain walling as a modular construction method in the 50's continued to grow the demand for the use of nickel in stainless steel structural elements, including the Louvre pyramid in Paris.
For every ton of steel produced in 2018 an average of 1.85 tons of carbon dioxide were emitted, this equated to about 8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Steel and stainless steel however can and are recycled. Depending on end use, an average of around 85% of steel is recycled, whilst over 99% of steel from scrap cars is recycled, though the process does require energy, but it is less that for virgin steel.
As a compound, nickel also has a number of chemical uses; as a catalyst for hydrogenation, in cathodes for rechargeable batteries (for which demand has also increased dramatically), as well as in pigments. It is also an essential nutrient for some microorganisms and plants.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
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- Metal fabrication.
- Rust.
- Stainless steel.
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