The edscottite discovery -- named in honour of meteorite expert and cosmochemist Edward Scott from the University of Hawaii -- is significant because never before have we confirmed that this distinct atomic formulation of
iron carbide mineral occurs naturally.
An alternative catalyst material we have been exploring at the University of Birmingham is
iron carbide ([Fe.sub.3]C), which is abundant, naturally occurring and cheap.
Carbon precipitation as graphite nodules is required at the start of freezing to ensure the carbon does not take the
iron carbide form as edge chill.
High temperature plasma H will diffuse into
iron carbide and combine with carbon to form tiny pockets of C[H.sub.4] at internal surfaces like grain boundaries and voids.
In experiments reported in May in the journal Science, the researchers, based in the United States, Mexico, and Europe, partly filled some multi-walled carbon nanotubes with minuscule wires made of iron and
iron carbide. They then blasted the tubes with a beam of electrons.
The tubes simultaneously acquired crystalline cores of iron, cobalt, or
iron carbide, a compound that hardens steel.
Also a variety of iron intermediate in composition and properties between wrought iron and cast iron (containing between 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent of carbon) and consisting of an alloy of iron with an
iron carbide. Steel, unlike wrought iron, can be tempered and retains magnetism.
in nodular iron, the graphite is in spherically shaped nodules, which are surrounded by an
iron carbide shell, which don't have the same cracking behavior as the flakes in gray iron.
If implemented, they would see the establishment of a 2m tonne per year
iron carbide plant at Sishen in the barren Northern Cape, which would feed 40% of its output to a 1.2m tonne per year steel plant in the Eastern Cape.
The best current example of this phenomenon is
iron carbide, which is now being commercialized - not coincidentally - by Nucor to feed its mini-sheet plants.