2. Palladium is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pd and an atomic number of 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal and was discovered by William Hyde Wollaston in 1803.
3. The largest PGM deposits are found primarily in: Russia (43%) – where almost of all the country’s palladium is produced by Norilsk Nickel as a by-product from nickel mining;
4. South Africa (41%) – the world’s largest producing region for platinum, where palladium is produced as a by-product;
5. And north America (11%) – where North American Palladium is one of only two primary palladium producers.
6.
7. Price of PalladiumPalladium is mainly an industrial metal although it is considered as a precious metal. Palladium prices are mostly responsive to economic supply and demand factors as other non-precious metals.
14. used in fine instruments such as watches and some surgical instruments
15. Extraction of PalladiumThe extraction is complex and only worthwhile since palladium is the basis of important catalysts in industry.
16. Step 1Preliminary treatment of the ore or base metal by product with aqua regia (a mixture of hydrochloric acid, HCl, and nitric acid, HNO3This gives a solution containing complexes of gold and platinum as well as H2PdCl4Pd+HCL+HNO3=H2PdCl4
17. Step 2The gold is removed from this solution as a precipitate by treatment with iron chloride (FeCl2).
18. Step 3The platinum is precipitated out as (NH4)2PtCl6 on treatment with NH4Cl, leaving H2PdCl4 in solution
19. Step 4The palladium is precipitated out by treatment with ammonium hydroxide, NH4OH, and HCl as the complex PdCl2(NH3)2. This yields palladium metal by burning. This is the extraction of Palladium.
20. Additionally, Palladium is also produced in nuclear fission reactors and can be extracted from spent nuclear fuel (see synthesis of precious metals) though the quantity produced is insignificant.
21. Impact of PalladiumHealth effects of palladium Palladium is regarded as of low toxicity, being poorly adsorbed by the body when ingested.
22. Environmental effects of palladiumPalladium is present at low levels in some soils, and the leaves of trees have been found to containg 0.4 ppm.
23. And Palladium is also beneficialfor environment when it’s used in auto-exhaust catalyst, it related to reduced vehicle exhaust to reducing environmental pollution .
24. All in all, along with the social development, Palladium is having a lot of applications and becoming increasingly important in our life.
