Cobalt

27 58.9

Cobalt

Our Products Product Characteristics Application Areas Historical Background

Electrolytic cobalt
Producer	Principal applications	Product Form	Dimensions	Packaging
Kola MMC	Alloys and stainless steel production Chemical industry Electrical industry	Cut cathodes	Squares: 1ʺ х 1ʺ 2ʺ х 2ʺ 4ʺ х 4ʺ Strips: length ≤ 200 mm, width ≥ 20 mm	Description: Drums on a pallet

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, %
Element	Norilsk I Tech Specs 24.45.30-231-48200234-2017	Annual average 1H/2019	Norilsk II Tech Specs 24.45.30-231-48200234-2017	Annual average 2018	Norilsk III Tech Specs 24.45.30-231-48200234-2017	Annual average 2018
Co min	99.9	99.96	99.80	99.93	99.30	99.91
Al	0.0002	0.0002	0.0005	0.0002	–	0.0002
Si	0.001	0.0008	0.002	0.001	–	0.0010
Fe	0.005	0.0029	0.01	0.005	0.03	0.012
Ni	0.05	0.025	0.05	0.048	0.3	0.056
S	0.001	0.0005	0.004	0.0007	0.005	0.0005
Mg	<0.0002	<0.0002	<0.0005	<0.0002	–	<0.0002
Cu	0.005	0.0023	0.01	0.0053	0.03	0.003
C	0.01	0.006	0.02	0.008	0.03	0.008
Sb	0.0001	0.0001	0.0005	0.0001	–	0.0001
Cd	0.0003	0.0001	0.001	0.0001	–	0.0001
Sn	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0004	<0.0001	–	<0.0001
Mn	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0003	<0.0001	–	<0.0001
As	0.0005	0.0002	0.001	0.0003	0.002	0.0003
Pb	0.0003	0.0001	0.0005	0.0002	–	0.0002
Bi	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0004	<0.0001	–	<0.0001
P	<0.0003	<0.0003	<0.001	<0.0003	–	<0.0003
Zn	0.0004	0.0003	0.002	0.0004	–	0.0003
O	0.02	0.0010	0.03	0.007	–	0.008

Cobalt Sulphate
Producer	Principal applications	Product Form	Packaging
Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta	Battery industry Electroplating Additives & Catalysts	Powder	Description: Polypropylene bags on wooden pallet Bag weight: 20 kg Pallet weight: 960 kg Description: Polypropylene bags on wooden pallet Bag weight: 500 kg Description: Polypropylene bags on wooden pallet Bag weight: 1,000 kg

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, %
Element	Guaranteed specification	Annual average 1H/2019
Co	20.5	21.07
Ni	<0.005	0.0025
Fe	<0.0003	0.0002
Zn	<0.0003	0.0001
Cu	<0.0003	<0.0001
Pb	<0.0005	<0.0001
Cr	<0.0002	<0.0001
Mn	<0.0001	<0.0001
Cd	<0.0001	<0.0001
Mg	<0.001	0.0004
Al	<0.0002	<0.0001
Ca	<0.0003	<0.0001
Si	<0.0005	<0.0001
Na	<0.0015	0.0005
K	<0.0005	<0.0001
insH₂O	<0.01	<0.0010
TOC	<0.001	<0.0002

Physical and chemical characteristics
Latin name	Cobaltum (Co)
Group in Mendeleev’s periodic table	VII
Atomic number	27
Atomic weight	58.9332
Description	Silver-white metal with a reddish shade.
Density	8.90 g/cm³
Melting point	t 1,494 °С
Chemical activity	At usual temperature on air chemically racks.

Paints
Cobalt compounds are used to produce oil paints for artists and in ceramic production. Cobalt paints are highly resistant and durable in colour. Turkish green, or blue green paint, made by calcinating cobalt carbonate, chromium oxide and aluminium hydroxide, is employed to paint porcelain. When fused with glass or enamel, cobalt monoxide produces blue-coloured silicates and aluminosilicates, for example smalt, which is widely used in painting glass, enamels and other ceramic products. Cobalt oxides are used in tin enamels.

Technical glass painting
Glass capable of absorbing and transmitting rays of a certain colour is employed in photography, signalling, and colorimetric analysis. Glass coloured with cobalt oxide is very transparent, and adding a small amount of copper enables it to retain some rays in the red and violet parts of the spectrum. Photochemical studies often use cobalt and ruby glass, which retains yellow and orange rays. Cobalt oxide gives a stable dark blue colour to porcelain and enamelled products.

Magnets
Cobalt steels and alloys are the best magnetic materials because they show resistance to demagnetisation, temperature impact and vibrations, can be machined and used in the production of magnetic bearings, generators and electric motors with permanent magnets, parts of magnetic recording equipment, electric motor and transformer cores. Cobalt magnetic devices are used in automation, electrical, radio engineering, rocket and space technology.

Medicine
Cobalt salts are vital for a living organism since they participate in the synthesis of B12 vitamin: its deficiency may lead to pernicious anaemia. A radioactive isotope of cobalt is used to irradiate tissues affected by cancer: a therapeutic gamma-ray device (“cobalt machine”) contains cobalt-60, which emits the most uniform radiation equivalent to 400 g of radium in its activity. This helps to treat tumours located deep in the body.

Professional equipment
Radioactive cobalt is a source of radiation in flaw detectors — devices that scan through metal items in order to reveal cracks and other defects. Equipment like the medical “cobalt machine” have industrial applications, e.g. to monitor the level of a solution in devices operating at high temperatures and pressures. Irradiation facilities sterilise medical instruments and food, stimulate the yield of crops and vegetables, and the growth of fish and bird embryos, disinfect and treat industrial and domestic sewage, and solid waste of various industries.

Metal engineering
Solid cobalt alloys called stellites are an excellent material for metal cutting tools. In metal engineering, cobalt is an important component of high-speed steels as it boosts wear resistance of steel cutters and makes an excellent material for mills and drills. Solid cobalt-based alloys are welded on the surface of parts that are exposed to severe wear during machinery operation. This alloy can increase the service life of steel parts by 4–8 times.

Aviation and space industry
Cobalt alloys are heat-resistant and effective in high-temperature engines. Aircraft turbines use cobalt-chromium alloys, which feature high resistance to hot corrosion and need no protective coatings. Cobalt alloys are also more shock-resistant. Magnetic cobalt alloy improves the efficiency of spacecraft engines.

Chemical industry
In the chemical and petrochemical industry, powdered cobalt and its oxide are used as a catalyst in the hydrogenation of fats, synthesis of petrol, production of nitric acid, soda and ammonium sulphate. Cobalt is also one of the elements in a vast variety of acid-resistant alloys. The metal is used in the electrolytic coating of measurement gauges, cylinder walls, piston rings and valve stems to give them corrosion-resistant properties.

Electronics
Cobalt silicide is used in high-efficiency thermoelectric generators. Cobalt-silver compound is employed in batteries, while lithium cobalt oxide is used as a highly efficient positive electrode in the production of lithium batteries. Cobalt-based magnetic alloys are employed to produce cores of electric motors, they are used in transformers and other electrical devices.

The name of the metal is derived from the German word Kobold meaning “goblin”. Compounds of cobalt were known and were applied from the remotest antiquity. The discovered Egyptian glass jug that is painted using cobalt salts and blue vitreous bricks containing cobalt are dated to the XV century BC. In ancient Assyria, and also in Babylon cobalt was used to create a lazurite glaze for stoneware.

Safety Data sheet

Safety Data sheet (Cobalt cathodes) PDF, 0.1 MB
Safety Data sheet (Cobalt Sulphate) PDF, 0.1 MB

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