Content

Introduction
Objective
Theory
Procedure
Chemical Reaction
Observation
Result
Bibliography

Introduction
Nickel
Nickel was first isolated by the Swedish chemist
Cronstedt in 1751. It is the twenty-second most
abundant element and the seventh most abundant
transitional metal with an atomic number of 28 in
the periodic table with an atomic weight of 58.71.
It has five naturally occurring isotopes. It is a
tough, silvery-white heavy metal and is highly
resistant to attack by air and water. It occurs in
igneous rocks, as a free metal and together with
iron; it is also a component of the earth core. Nickel
also occurs in living organisms, mainly in plants.
Nickel is hard, malleable, and ductile metal. It is of the
iron group and it takes on a high polish. It is a fairly good
conductor of heat and electricity. In its familiar
compounds nickel is bivalent, although it assumes other
valences. It also forms a number of complex compounds.
Most nickel compounds are blue or green. Nickel dissolves
slowly in dilute acids but, like iron, becomes passive when
treated with nitric acid. Finely divided nickel adsorbs
hydrogen.

Applications
The major use of nickel is in the preparation of alloys.
Nickel alloys are characterized by strength, ductility, and
resistance to corrosion and heat. About 65 % of the nickel
consumed in the Western World is used to make stainless
steel, whose composition can vary but is typically iron

with around 18% chromium and 8% nickel. 12 % of all the

nickel consumed goes into super alloys. The remaining
23% of consumption is divided between alloy steels,
rechargeable batteries, catalysts and other chemicals,
coinage, foundry products, and plating.
Nickel is easy to work and can be drawn into wire. It
resist corrosion even at high temperatures and for this
reason it is used in gas turbines and rocket engines.
Monel is an alloy of nickel and copper (e.g. 70% nickel,
30% copper with traces of iron, manganese and silicon),
which is not only hard but can resist corrosion by sea
water, so that it is ideal for propeller shaft in boats and
desalination plants.
Humans use nickel for many different applications. The
most common application of nickel is the use as an
ingredient of steal and other metal products. It can be
found in common metal products such as jewelry.

Occurance
Most nickel on Earth is inaccessible because it is locked
away in the planet's iron-nickel molten core, which is 10
% nickel. The total amount of nickel dissolved in the sea
has been calculated to be around 8 billion tons. Organic
matter has a strong ability to absorb the metal that is
why coal and oil contain considerable amounts. The nickel
content in soil can be as low as 0.2 ppm or as high as 450
ppm in some clay and loamy soils. The average is around
20 ppm. Nickel occurs in some beans where it is an
essential component of some enzymes. Another relatively
rich source of nickel is tea which has 7.6 mg/kg of dried
leaves.
Effects of nickel on health

Foodstuffs naturally contain small amounts of nickel.

Chocolate and fats are known to contain severely high
quantities. Nickel uptake will boost when people eat large
quantities of vegetables from polluted soils. Plants are
known to accumulate nickel and as a result the nickel
uptake from vegetables will be eminent. Smokers have a
higher nickel uptake through their lungs. Finally, nickel
can be found in detergents.
Humans may be exposed to nickel by breathing air,
drinking water, eating food or smoking cigarettes. Skin
contact with nickel-contaminated soil or water may also
result in nickel exposure. In small quantities nickel is
essential, but when the uptake is too high it can be a
danger to human health.
An uptake of too large quantities of nickel has the
following consequences:
- Higher chances of development of lung cancer, nose
cancer, larynx cancer and prostate cancer
- Sickness and dizziness after exposure to nickel gas
- Lung embolism
- Respiratory failure
- Birth defects
- Asthma and chronic bronchitis
- Allergic reactions such as skin rashes, mainly from
jewelry
- Heart disorders
Nickel fumes are respiratory irritants and may cause
pneumonitis. Exposure to nickel and its compounds may
result in the development of a dermatitis known as

nickel itch in sensitized individuals. The first symptom is

usually itching, which occurs up to 7 days before skin
eruption occurs. The primary skin eruption is
erythematous, or follicular, which may be followed by
skin ulceration. Nickel sensitivity, once acquired, appears
to persist indefinitely.
Carcinogenicity- Nickel and certain nickel compounds
have been listed by the National Toxicology Program
(NTP) as being reasonably anticipated to be carcinogens.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
has listed nickel compounds within group 1 (there is
sufficient evidence for carcinogenicity in humans) and
nickel within group 2B (agents which are possibly
carcinogenic to humans). OSHA does not regulate nickel
as a carcinogen. Nickel is on the ACGIH Notice of Intended
Changes as a Category A1, confirmed human carcinogen.

Effects of nickel on the environment

Nickel is released into the air by power plants and trash
incinerators. It will than settle to the ground or fall down
after reactions with raindrops. It usually takes a long time
for nickel to be removed from air. Nickel can also end up
in surface water when it is a part of wastewater streams.
The larger part of all nickel compounds that are released
to the environment will adsorb to sediment or soil
particles and become immobile as a result. In acidic
ground however, nickel is bound to become more mobile
and it will often rinse out to the groundwater.
We do know that high nickel concentrations on sandy
soils can clearly damage plants and high nickel
concentrations in surface waters can diminish the growth
rates of algae. Micro organisms can also suffer from

growth decline due to the presence of nickel, but they

usually develop resistance to nickel after a while.
For animals nickel is an essential foodstuff in small
amounts. But nickel is not only favorable as an essential
element; it can also be dangerous when the maximum
tolerable amounts are exceeded. This can cause various
kinds of cancer on different sites within the bodies of
animals, mainly of those that live near refineries.
Nickel is not known to accumulate in plants or animals.
As a result nickel will not bio magnify up the food chain.

Objective

The aim of this project is to

determine Nickel content in
chocolates.

MATERIAL Required
Test tube
Dilute Hydrocloric acid
Ammonium chloride
Ammonium hydroxide
Dimethyl Glyoxime
Spatula
Wash bottle

Theory
There are many types of locally made toffees and
chocolates available in the market at a cheaper
price than known brands. Out of these, only 60
70% have food labels listing ingredients on the
wrappers. The most common ingredients listed are
sugar, liquid glucose, milk solids, cocoa solids,
hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), vegetable fats,
malt extract, soya solids, permitted emulsifier,
salts, buffering agents, permitted stabilizer, sodium
bicarbonate, cocoa butter, wheat flour, edible
starches, vegetable oil, added flavour, soya
lecithin, yeast and flour improvers, etc. Out of the
above mentioned ingredients, milk solids, cocoa
solids, cocoa butter, hydrogenated vegetable oil,
vegetable fats, permitted emulsifier, buffering
agents and permitted stabilizer may be the source
of nickel, lead and cadmium contamination.

Toxicity of nickel

Nickel in chocolates made the news headlines in

the early 1990s. Nickel in various types of
chocolates and toffees was reported by Selavpathy
and Sarala Devi (1995) with a range of 0.153.55
mg/g with a mean of 0.88 mg/g. Nickel is the main
known contaminant resulting from the
manufacturing process of chocolate, when its
hardening is done by hydrogenation of unsaturated
fats using nickel as catalyst. Cocoa butter is
another important ingredient which may contain

high concentrations of nickel (Selavpathy and

Sarala Devi, 1995). Some other pathways for nickel
to toffees are raw materials, their processing and
canning for transportation and storage in nickel
containers (Melsallam, 1987). Nickel at trace
amount may be beneficial as an activator of some
enzyme systems (Underwood, 1977). At higher
levels, it accumulates in the lungs and may cause
bronchial haemorrhage. Other symptoms include
nausea, weakness, dizziness, etc (Nielson, 1977).
However, nickel compounds are not currently
regarded as either human or animal carcinogens
(WHO, 1984), but the possibility that Ni can act as
a promoter has been reported (WHO, 1991).
This work has been done in view of the toxic
effects of these heavy metals and their presence in
chocolates, which can be deleterious to children.
The present study reports concentration of lead,
nickel and cadmium in the chocolates and candies
available in suburban areas of Mumbai, India.

Sample preparation and analysis

A total of 69 different brands of chocolates and
candies were procured from the different suburban
areas of Mumbai. Two different batches of the same
brand of chocolates packed on different dates were
purchased to observe the variation in the
elemental contamination levels of the products. All
the chemicals used were AR grade. Standard stock
solutions were prepared from lead nitrate
(Pb(NO3)2) for lead, from nickel sulphate for nickel,
and from cadmium sulphate for cadmium,
dissolved in nitric acid. These stock solutions were

standardized with the primary standard Certified

Reference Material (Hay V-10). Demineralized
water from Millipore Elix-3 was used for all dilutions
and preparation of solutions.
After weighing (milk and cocoa based 5 g and
sugar based 10 g) the chocolates were taken for
wet digestion with mixture of nitric acid (HNO3)
and perchloric acid (HClO4) in the ratio 3:1 for
decomposition. After gentle heating for 16 h,
colourless solution was obtained which was
evaporated to near dryness. On completion of
digestion and adequate cooling of residues,
solutions were made up to 10 mLwith 0.04
mol/Lnitric acid. All the chocolates/candies samples
were processed and digested in triplicate. The
variation among the elemental content in these
replicates was within78%. One blank was always
prepared with each batch. Quality assurance of
trace metals analysis was done by analysing
Certified Reference Material (CRM) Hay V-10,
supplied by Analytical Quality Control Services
(AQCS), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The results agree within 77% of the certified values
(Table 1).

The determination of elemental concentrations by

Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer model GBC
(Avanta PM) in all the digested solutions was made
in triplicate and percentage of relative standard
deviation (%RSD) in the concentrations of
analytical replicates was 72%. All
the measurements were made under optimization
of the parameters mentioned in Table 2.

The range and arithmetic mean concentrations of

cadmium, nickel and lead in the different types of
chocolates and candies are given in Table 3 as
averages of three replicates of the individual
chocolates/candies.

From a preliminary survey of a small group of

children, it was found that cocoa-based chocolates
are their first choice and that they eat daily 23
chocolates. The weight of chocolates varies from 4
to 40 g, but the majority of the chocolates weight
about 20 g. As chocolates are not a regular food
item, ingestion rate of 20 g/day is taken for all the
metal intake estimation in this study.
Chocolates were divided into three categories,
namely cocoa- , milk- and sugar-based candies, on
the basis of their ingredients and labelling name.
The range and average concentrations of lead,
nickel and cadmium in all three types of chocolates
are given in Table 3.
Lead has been a well-known contaminant in all
types of food items from the early phase of food
industrialization in different parts of the world. A
possible association between increased lead
content in blood and reduced intelligence quotient
has been substantiated and a lower threshold
could not be set (FAO/WHO, 1993).
Thus, the nickel intake from chocolate can be
considered as less harmful. Processing of

chocolates is done in steel containers from which

nickel contamination is possible in addition to the
contamination from the catalyst used in
preparation of the HVO.

Conclusions

The concentrations of all analysed elements were

highest in the cocoa-based chocolates followed by
milk-based and sugar- and fruit flavour-based
chocolates. The higher concentration of these
elements in the chocolates is due mainly to their
higher contents in the raw materials such
as cocoa beans, cocoa solids, and cocoa butter.
The daily intake of cocoa-based chocolates must be
reduced to keep the PTWI for lead and cadmium
within the prescribed limits. Raw materials having
lower content of these elements should be used to
decrease the concentrations of these metals in
chocolates.
ARTICLE IN PRESS

Procedure
v Take a small piece of the
chocolate and crush it into fine
powder. Put it into a test tube and

add prerare its original solution and

a little hydrochloric acid .
v To the solutions obtained, add
ammonium
chloride
and
ammonium hydroxide.
v Now take a little amount of the
solution
and
pass
hydrogen
sulphide gas through it using kipp's
apparatus . Formation of a black
colour indicates the presence of
group four cations.
v Now to the filtrate, add small
amount of dimethyl glyxime. If a
rose red coloured precipitate is
obtained in a scarlet red solution,
then presence of Nickel (Ni2+) i s

confirmed.

Chemical reaction

OBSERVATIONS

S.NO. Name of chocolate

1. Dairy milk

Inference
Nickel absent

2.

Melody

Nickel present

3.

5 star

Nickel absent

4.

Munch

Nickel absent

5.

Bar one

Nickel absent

Result

Nickel is found in melody.

Bibliography

1. Comprehensive practical
chemistry
2.