Chemical and Materials Engineering 200 Quick and Dirty Research 101” Chemical and Materials Engineering 200 How can I find basic information quickly? (otherwise.

Chemical and Materials Chemical and Materials Engineering 200Engineering 200How can I find basic information quickly?

(otherwise know as):

“Quick and Dirty ResearchQuick and Dirty Research 101”101”

07 September 2010Randy Reichardt – Science and Technology

Libraryrandy.reichardt@ualberta.ca

http://www.ualberta.ca/~science3/cme200-10.pdf

Outline of PresentationOutline of PresentationOutline of PresentationOutline of Presentation

• Cameron Science and Technology LibraryCameron Science and Technology Library• Chemical and Materials Eng library resources

– examples from chemical/materials encyclopedias– locating information basic information on chemical and

materials engineering and industries– locating chemical info: properties, data, uses, etc– locating industrial safety and hygiene information,

toxicity data

• Using the web in your research– evaluating web sites: why you need to use cautionevaluating web sites: why you need to use caution– Web Site Examples: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

• Ways to Contact me– e-mail, Facebook

Science and Technology Science and Technology Library Library (Cameron - floors 1-4)(Cameron - floors 1-4)

• Houses print journals and books on chemical and materials engineering (third floor).– First floor of Cameron now includes a

satellite branch of Edmonton Public Library and a Starbucks Coffee Shop

• Use your ONECardONECard to borrow material• U of A Libraries are part of the NEOS

Libraries Consortium– 49 libraries in 17 library systems in and

near Edmonton

Library Resources for Library Resources for Chemical and Materials Chemical and Materials

EngineeringEngineering• Many different sources and formats

– Journals, conference publications, databases, monographs, encyclopedias, handbooks, government and technical reports, manuals, product directories, web sites, patents, standards…

• Online resource guides for chem and materials engineering on the library web site:

Online chat service (when

I’m available) – otherwise I can be reached via

Facebook or email

List of suggesteddatabases

Kirk-Othmer and Ullmann’s are the two most important encyclopedias in

chemical engineering

Ullmann’s: One of many good sources to use to find information

on chemical production, uses,properties, etc

You can browse by title

or topic

To search by Keyword within Ullmann’s, choose

“Advanced Product Search”

Entries oftenavailable in

HTML or PDF

format

Flow sheetsavailable

Flow sheet for malt production

of beer

References, figures and charts are linked:

Complete citation information provided: authorand title of article, journal or publications title,

volume, year, and pages on which the article appears

The important encyclopedias in materials engineering are on the Materials Science &

Engineering guide

ChemicalsWhere to Find Properties, Uses,

Health and Safety, Toxicity?

• The chemical engineering resource guide include lists of resources to help you find chemical and materials properties, uses, toxicity data, and more

• These include handbooks and manuals in print and available online.

• Knovel Library – excellent starting point!

Knovel Library has a large sectionon safety and

industrial hygiene

The Knovel Library is an exampleof a full-text handbook db

Three excellent resources to use to search for

toxicity information on chemicalsare:

Patty’s, Sax’s, and Sittig’s.

Entry for Boron from Sax's Dangerous

Properties of Industrial Materials

(11th Edition)

1.4 Toxic EffectsThere have been no reports of toxicity in humans. Since the element is very insoluble, the dust should be treated as such, with a respirable dust limit applied.

1.4.1 Experimental Studies  1.4.1.1 Acute Toxicity The mouse oral LD50 for presumably amorphous boron was reported to be 2000 mg/kg by Stokinger (193), who recommended that it should be controlled at the “nuisance” dust level of 10 mg/m3.

1.4.1.2 Chronic and Subchronic Toxicity Elemental boron inhalation studies in the mouse were done by Stokinger (193). No effects were seen at air concentrations of 72.8 mg/m3 over a 30-day period of 7 h/day, 5 days/week. However, boron concentrations in the lung were 792 mg/g; in the kidney, 252 mg/g; in the liver, 106 mg/g; and in the GI tract, 73 mg/g. The elemental boron studies in humans by Keil and Miller (192) and the inhalation study in the mouse emphasize the ability of the respiratory tract to absorb highly insoluble substances; solubility of elemental boron is 0.72 mg/mL in water and 1.3 mg/mL in plasma.

1.4.1.3 Pharmacokinetics, Metabolism, and Mechanisms It is assumed that once elemental boron goes into solution, the boron will be in the form B(OH)3 and thus will be absorbed, distributed, and excreted as boric acid. See toxicity information about boric acid above.

Entry for Boron in Patty’s Toxicology

• Of course not!• It is a good place to start for

finding background info and for exploring new ideas…

• BUT ALWAYS USE CAUTION!

Is The Internet Useless For Finding Is The Internet Useless For Finding Relevant or Reliable Information?Relevant or Reliable Information?

• What to watch for when browsing and evaluating web sites?

–Accuracy, bias, authority, scope, currency, purpose, plagiarism, usability.

What are Volatile Organic Compounds?

Source: Yu, Ming-Ho. 2000. “Volatile organic compounds.” In: Environmental Toxicology: Biological and Health Effects of

Pollutants, Chapter 11. 2d ed.

How found: a search on CRCnetBASE, a full-text handbook db on UA Libraries’ web site.

Not available via a Google search.

Source: US Environmental Protection Agency. Air. Indoor Air Quality. “An introduction to indoor air quality. Volatile organic compounds

(VOCs).” http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html <accessed 27 August 2010>

How found: Search on Google for

“volatile organic compounds”

What are Volatile Organic Compounds?

Agencies, associations, etc, responsible for this

report are listedon the cover

World Trade Center study:freely available on the

web. Is it credible?

Authors ofeach chapter

are given

Authors’ credentials,affliliations listed

“SoCal city falls victim to Internet hoax, considers banning items made with water”

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. Sun, Mar. 14, 2004

- City officials were so concerned about the potentially dangerous properties of dihydrogen monoxide that they considered banning foam cups after they learned the chemical was used in their production. Then they learned that dihydrogen monoxide - H2O for short - is the scientific term for water.

"It's embarrassing," said City Manager David J. Norman. "We had a paralegal who did bad research.“ The paralegal apparently fell victim to one of the many official looking Web sites that have been put up by pranksters to describe dihydrogen monoxide as "an odorless, tasteless chemical" that can be deadly if accidentally inhaled.

As a result, the City Council of this Orange County suburb had been scheduled to vote next week on a proposed law that would have banned the use of foam containers at city-sponsored events. Among the reasons given for the ban were that they were made with a substance that could "threaten human health and safety.“

Excerpt from entry by Amy Fry, Association of College & Research Libraries blog, 11 Sept 2008

From Washington Post article by Frank Aherns, Tuesday 09 Sept 2009

UA iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad App

Win an iPad

Contact Info

• Randy Reichardt, Chemical and Materials Engineering Librarian– Office phone: 780-492-7911– Email: randy.reichardt@ualberta.ca– you can also reach me via Facebook –

just be sure you send the message to the correct “Randy Reichardt”!

– in ECERF 7-029 from 13:00-15:00 every Tuesday beginning 14 Sept 2010

• http://www.ualberta.ca/~science3/cme200-10.pdf