Topic Archive:Health & Environment Applications

  • May. '07
    Copper-based Solar Cells:
    Good for the Environment, Good for the Consumer

    Copper has long been used in solar heating/hot water systems, where it is commonly used in heat exchangers. Now, it promises to become equally valuable in photovoltaic (PV) systems. These systems produce electricity through the action of sunshine on certain semiconductors, including so-called thin-film materials and the currently most promising material: copper indium gallium diselenide or CIGS.
  • Jun. '06
    Copper and Your Skin: Facelift In A Bottle
    A new rage has hit Hollywood — a chemical facelift! The ancient Egyptians applied perfumes and anointing oils to their body as early as 4000 BC. Even then, copper was a part of their cosmetics. The most popular colors were green and black. The green was originally made from malachite, an oxide of copper.
  • Jan. '06
    Copper and Nanotechnology
    According to experts in the field, nanotechnology will have an impact on the global economy of more than $1 trillion within a decade...While the role copper will finally play in nanotechnology is yet to be determined, the metal is already filling a number of notable applications. In addition, there are a number of recent technical developments that indicate promise for expansion of copper's role in nanotechnology.
  • May. '04
    Producing Copper Nature's Way: Bioleaching
    Bioleaching is the extraction of a metal from sulfide ores or concentrates using materials found native to the environment; namely, water, air and microorganisms. In other words, bioleaching is the commercialization of the ability of certain bacteria and archaea, found in nature, to catalyze the oxidation of sulfide minerals.
  • Jun. '02
    What's a Health Nut?
    Copper doesn't color pistachios green, but it does help make them nutritious.
  • Jun. '02
    Will Copper Sop Up Radioactive Pollution
    Copper is no stranger to nuclear waste. But spent fuel disposal is only one of the technologies in which copper can play a meaningful role. A recent article reports that copper may also help get rid of an equally hazardous form of radwaste: cesium-137.
  • Dec. '01
    A Case for the Role of Copper Deficiency in "Mad-Cow" Disease and Human Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
    It has recently been suggested that copper also affects a newly identified class of ailments known as prion diseases, particularly the case for scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow disease") in cattle.
  • Aug. '01
    How Hydrometallurgy and the SX/EW Process Made Copper the "Green" Metal
    Copper is traditionally known as the "red" metal after its natural color. However, it is also known as a "green" metal for the green patina that it acquires due to weathering. Indeed, patinized copper is the architectural focal point of many modern buildings for its natural look.
  • Aug. '01
    Phelps Dodge Morenci Has Converted All Copper Production to Mine-for-Leach
    In early 2001, the Phelps Dodge Mining Company's Morenci, Arizona operations were completely converted from a conventional mining, milling, smelting and refining operation to a system whereby ore will be mined exclusively for leaching.
  • Sep. '00
    Copper in Third-Generation Antifoulants For Marine Coatings
    New copper-based coatings offer improved properties while avoiding environmental hazards associated with tributyltin.
  • Jun. '00
    Medical Uses of Copper in Antiquity
    Beyond ordinary food supplements, your medicine cabinet may one day be stocked with copper-containing medicines for the cure of a variety of illnesses.
  • Jan. '00
    Copper Cleans Up
    A little copper goes a long way in combating the growth of unwanted organisms in the water.
  • Sep. '99
    Transformers Can Contribute to Global Warming Goals
    Increased attention is being focused on the savings energy-efficient transformers could make on a national scale in the US and Europe and their potential contribution to meeting internationally agreed goals for reducing global warming.
  • Jul. '99
    The Fate of Copper Released from the Vasa Ship Museum
    Look at changes in the corrosion and run-off rates of copper from the roof of the Vasa Ship museum in Stockholm and its effects on surrounding non-copper building materials.
  • Jul. '99
    The Swedish Program for Long Term Isolation of High Level Nuclear Waste in Copper Canisters
    Why copper was chosen as the primary barrier between radwaste and the environment in the Swedish program.
  • Jul. '99
    The Copper Motor Rotor: New Technology for High Efficiency Motors
    A look a the on-going research designed to take advantage of copper's high conductivity in such a way as to enable the creation of ultrahigh-efficiency electric motors being conducted by an industry-government consortium of which the Copper Development Association (CDA) is a member.
  • Jul. '99
    Copper's Role in Radioactive Waste Disposal III - The US Experience
    Trace copper's role in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) waste management program, looking at why copper and copper alloys made it to a "short list" of several viable materials and why metals other than copper were ultimately selected.
  • Jun. '99
    Copper: The Durable Metal
    Look at home and industrial uses for copper based on its durability, recycleability and other properties.
  • Jun. '99
    ARI Adopts New Standard for Rating Direct Geoexchange Heat Pumps
    New standard adopted January 1999 to establish performance criteria for comparison of direct geoexchange thermal to other methods of geothermal heating and cooling.
  • Jun. '99
    Copper Increases Efficiency of Solar Cells
    Siemens Solar Group is testing the capabilities of a new thin-film photovoltaic module created by applying a fine film of copper indium diselenide (CIS) to a glass backing to product a less expensive semi-conductor.
  • Apr. '99
    New Research on Runoff from Copper Roofs
    First report on the progress of research on how copper comes to be found in lakes, streams, and other bodies of water by the University of Connecticut, in collaboration with the International Copper Association Ltd, Copper Development Association Inc., and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (Connecticut DEP).
  • Feb. '99
    New Life for Old Boards
    Review of how Hewlett-Packard and Micro Metallics Corp. (Micromet), a San  Jose-based computer recycling company and wholly-owned subsidiary of  Noranda Inc., of Canada, are creating an afterlife for discarded computer  products.
  • Dec. '98
    Copper's Role in the Safe Disposal of Radioactive Waste: Copper's Relevant Properties - Part I
    Background material on what radioactive waste is, how much exists, and what makes copper a good choice as a container for buried radwaste.
  • Dec. '98
    Copper and Aquatic Life
    All bodies of water that sustain life have copper present as a naturally occurring element. Look at why this trace mineral is vital to sustenance of plant and animal life.
  • Oct. '98
    Nebraska Calls for Changes in the "Lead and Copper Rule"
    How and why municipalities in Nebraska are attempting to gain relief from the burdens of complying with the Environmental Protection Agency's "Lead and Copper Rule."
  • Oct. '98
    Q & A with Hastings Utilities on Proposed Limits on Copper in Nebraska's Drinking Water
    Interview with Marvin Schultes, Manager, Hastings Utilities following meeting with EPA officials, Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., Rep. Bill Barret, R-Neb., and representatives of communities in Nebraska held a meeting in August 1998 to discuss problems with complying with the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule.
  • Oct. '98
    Newly Mined Copper: Why Do We Need It?
    Examination of why it is not feasible to meet all US copper needs through re-use of scrap copper.
  • Sep. '98
    Copper Water Tube: Good for Consumers, Good for the Environment
    Examination of why it is not feasible to meet all US copper needs through re-use of scrap copper.
  • Jul. '98
    Free-Cutting Brass: A Closed Environmental Loop
    A close look at the ease and thoroughness with which brass is recycled with emphasis on free-cutting brass (UNS/ANSI Alloy C36000).
  • Jun. '98
    Green Roofs for a Greener Environment
    Look at increased use of recycled copper as roofing material in US. Surge caused by aesthetics and ease of installation made possible by new technologies.
  • Jun. '98
    Trapping Sulphur
    How Outokumpu flash smelting technology lowers emissions and costs while increasing capacity.
  • Jun. '98
    Overview of Recycled Copper
    Walk through process of recycling copper, which accounts for almost half of all copper produced and sold in America every year.
  • May. '98
    Copper DX Geothermal Heat Pump Web Site
    The Copper Development Association (CDA) is sponsoring the creation of a web site designed to allow homeowners to compare the economics of heating and cooling their homes with copper direct exchange (DX) heat pump systems.
  • May. '98
    Direct Geoexchange Comfort Systems: Technology Increases Performance and Reduces Costs
    Review of technology advances since 1980 that simplify GeoExchange units, reducing installation and operating costs while increasing performance.
  • Apr. '98
    Best of Both Worlds: Helping to Create a Good Environment to do Business
    Review of technology advances since 1980 that simplify GeoExchange units, reducing installation and operating costs while increasing performance.
  • Feb. '98
    CDA Backs DX Geothermal Heat Pump R&D
    Look at research sponsored by the Copper Development Association to gain a better understanding of direct exchange ground coupled heat pumps (DX/GCHP) in order to make them a commercial success for home heating/cooling.
  • Dec. '97
    Direct Exchange Thermal Systems:
    The Wave Of The Future

    Heat pumps! While the term seems relatively new, Nicholas Carnot proposed the concept in 1824. While heat normally flows from hot to cold, Carnot reasoned that a mechanical device could be built to reverse the process and "pump" heat from a cooler region to a warmer region.
  • Nov. '97
    Traditional Pyrometallurgical Treatment of Concentrate
    Review of copper mining technologies past and a look at new technologies of present and future.