Research Paper On Zinc

Zinc is a naturally-existing metal that can be found throughout the world. The material is common enough to be found in organic matter, not just rocks and soil as other metal ores. Zinc is used in agriculture to fertilize land to increase harvests. Zinc is mined throughout the world, with the extraction procedures primarily used that avoid strip mining. Thus, it minimizes the environmental damage typically caused by the mining and extraction methods practiced for other metals. In this regard, zinc becomes a more sustainable alternative to other mined metals. During smelting, processing plants need less energy to process zinc than they would need for other metal counterparts due to its relatively low melting point. Additionally, because zinc has been repeatedly used in Europe and Asia for construction for centuries, the recycling and re-use of the metal can add to the sustainability and ease of access for architectural design and construction.
The durability of zinc is augmented by the material being a non-ferrous metal. Therefore, zinc does not face the same rust and corrosion issues found in the likes of steel and iron. The material itself requires little maintenance. Zinc’s own patina renews itself throughout its own aging and will heal scratches and imperfections without the need to paint over. As an uncoated metal, other issues like fading, …show more content…
The use of alloys can help make specific coloring and finishes possible as well. Some manufactures offer a “pre-patination,” which allows control on the specific coloring along with facilitation perforations to form patterns through the surface for design purposes, all without the susceptibility to rusting and corrosion thanks to the chemical reaction that the zinc patina has to water (it repels and forms a barrier insoluble in water that prevents oxygen from reaching the zinc, thus effectively eliminating the chance of