Despite the elimination of lead from many consumer applications in recent years, due to health and environmental concerns lead is still an important metal with many uses in several industries.

1. The use of lead in the chemical, oil and gas,
electronics and other industries
Lead remains an important metal in industrial processes.
Despite the elimination of lead from many consumer applications in recent years,
due to health and environmental concerns lead is still an important metal w ith many
uses in several industries.
Lead Pipes are used to transfer corrosive materials, lead pow der is used as a
lubricant and in the semiconductor industry and lead alloys have a wide variety of
applications.
This article will provide information on the uses of lead in industrial manufacture as
well as information about Nuclead Inc. a manufacturer of lead products and related
services.
Lead Pipes in Industry
For many centuries lead pipes were used to supply wate r to households, most
famously during the Roman Empire. In fact the term plumber derives from the Latin
word for lead.
More recently though, due to health problems associated with lead, lead pipes have
been banned for use in the home, except for some vent and drainage systems.
Lead pipes are still used in industry today because of the properties of lead that
include malleability, flexibility and resistance to corrosion. Typical applications
include chemical plants, paper manufacturing plants and Hydro and plating
applications.
Lead Pipe for these applications is made f rom either chemical Pure lead or up to 6%
Lead Antimony Alloy.
Lead pipes are used in pulp and paper industry in cooling systems which use sulf ur
dioxide gases and in transporting the bleaching stock which uses hydrogen peroxide
or zinc hydrosulphite and for draining the discharge from the pulp digesters
Other applications for Lead Pipes are for Soil Waste, Ventilating, and telephone and
telegraph underground piping, pressure tubes (coppe r lead) and cable sheathing.
Lead Powder in Industry
Lead powder either as pure lead, lead oxide or litharge lead (Litharge is one of the
natural mineral forms of lead oxide) find multiple applications in many industries
including:

2. Oil and gas exploration, Rad iological Medical protective clothing, Industrial X-ray
shielding, Golf club manufacturing and anti-friction products.
Powere d lead, pow dered Babbit (see below) and lead oxide have been used in
lubricating grease, to reduce or eliminate wear. Lead powder is also used as the
basis for some corrosion resistant paints. Lead oxides are used in producing fine
"crystal glass" and "flint glass" of a high index of refraction for achromatic lenses.
Lead Pow der is still used in the electronics industry even though one major use of
lead for solder has been all but eliminated due to environmental concerns. For
example, high density, polycrystalline photoconductors can be made by hot -pressing
powdered lead monoxide. Such photoconductors will exhibit increased absorption of
radiation, increased signal-to-noise ratios, and improved spatial frequency responses
Lead Pow der is also used for the preparation of pressed and bonded sputtering
targets and in Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) systems
Lead Alloys
As with most metals, lead casting (heating the metal to its liquid form and then
pouring into a mold) is a common method of creating the basic or complex shapes
used in numerous applications.
Because lead is very soft and ductile, it is often melted with other metals to creat e
lead alloys with specific required properties, commonly with Antimony, Tin, Arsenic,
Bismuth, Copper, and Zinc
Lead antimony alloys provide additional hardness to the lead and are often used in
storage battery grids, sheet lead and pipe castings. Antimony contents of lead-
antimony alloys can range from 0.5 to 25%, but they are usually 2 to 5%.
Lead arsenic alloys are also used to increase hardness; arsenical lead is used for
cable sheathing and is important in the production of round dropped lead shot.
Tin adds ductility and strength to lead. Lead alloyed w ith tin, bismuth, or other
elements, either alone or in combination, forms alloys with particularly low melting
points. Some of these alloys are referred to as fusible alloys; in particular lead tin
alloys are used in lead solder and historically as pewter.
Several lead based alloys are referred to as Babbitt metal, lead Babbitt or bearing
metal, and are used in the bearing surface on bearing. The name Babbit is named for
its inventor Isaac Babbitt from Taunton, Massachusetts, USA, who first formulated a
tin based bearing alloy in 1839. Today a several varieties lead based Babbitt alloys
exist, including:
Lead antimony (80% lead, 15% antimony, 5% tin)
Lead Tin (75% lead, 10% tin)
Copper-lead based Babbitt (76% copper, 24% lead)

3. Copper-lead-tin based Babbitt composed of (67% copper, 28% tin, 5% lead)
Originally used as a cast in place bulk bearing material, it is now more commonly
used as a thin surface layer in a complex, multi metal structure.
Lead Rod and Lead Wire
Lead Rod has been used in a many industrial applications including electrical
interconnection in computers, lighting equipment, motor leads, heating and cooling
equipment, harness fabrication and automotive.
Lead wire in highly pure form is commonly used in the semiconductor industry in
chemical vapor Deposition (CVD) and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) processes
including Thermal and Electron Beam (E-Beam) Evaporation, Low Temperature
Organic Evaporation, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), Met allic-Organic and Chemical
Vapor Deposition (MOCVD).
It is also used in gas detection and thermometry equipment. Lead w ire or round
extrusions, are also used were any lead round diameter is required for turning or any
other fabrication purposes. It can be used for lead weights or when flexibility of the
metal is needed.
Lead ribbon
Most lead ribbon is rolled for use in coating and thin film Chemical Vapor Deposition
processes that are part of the creation of fuel cells and solar energy arrays.
Conclusion
Despite the elimination of lead in many consumer applications, most notably in
plumbing, lead continues to be an extremely useful metal in a very wide range of
industrial applications.