Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Calcium oxide purity?

tahallium - 28-6-2020 at 13:36

Hello again sorry for asking but I bought 10kg calcium oxide with some black stuff and 150g ammonium nitrate!! Finally
I want to get ammonium hydroxide using calcium oxide and calcium nitrate and add concentrated sulfuric acid to make nitric acid without distillation and calcium sulfate
But I'll use calcium oxide to destroy METHYL IODIDE and I'm freaking out cuz I'm not sure if there's anything like Mercury, arsenic, lead, thallium or any heavy metals and I really don't want to make any dimethyl Mercury....
I bought calcium oxide from the hardware store please help

[Edited on 28-6-2020 by tahallium]

Bedlasky - 28-6-2020 at 14:27

Why do you always suppose that in everything is mercury, arsenic, lead and thallium? These elements in calcium oxide? Nonsense. For Christ sake, use common sense and stop freaking out! Btw. dimethylmercury doesn't form only from mercury or mercury salts and methyl iodide.

How do you get ammonia from calcium oxide and calcium nitrate? This doesn't work.

Don't mix calcium oxide with concentrated sulfuric acid, this is really exothermic reaction and it's extremely dangerous!

When you mix calcium nitrate and concentrated sulfuric acid, you obtain white fuming nitric acid, which isn't chemicals for begginers, beleave me. It's extremely corrosive, worse than concentrated sulfuric acid for your skin. It burns like a hell.

Ubya - 28-6-2020 at 14:48

i think that he wants to add sulphuric acid to ammonium nitrate to make nitric acid and ammonium sulphate, and then add calcium oxide or hydroxide to ammonium sulphate to make ammonia

tahallium - 29-6-2020 at 02:45

Oh I'm sorry I meant adding calcium oxide TO ammonium nitrate and bubbling ammonia through water to make ammonium hydroxide I don't have flask or a condenser so I need calcium nitrate + sulfuric acid method

tahallium - 2-7-2020 at 10:25

So can I be sure calcium oxide has no heavy metals to add it to methyl iodide/ethyl iodide without making tetraethyl lead, dimethyl Mercury, triethyl arsine!? Cuz these compounds are verrryyyyyyyyyyyy toxic, Lethal of inhaled LETHAL IF TOUCHED

B(a)P - 2-7-2020 at 14:10

@Bedlasky already answered your question on methyl mercury.
Presuming you are not trying make something you intent to consume you will be perfectly safe following normal lab practices. Wear gloves, full length clothes, eye protection AND don't use your kitchen utensils:D.

Fluorite - 18-12-2020 at 08:42

When I make calcium nitrate or calcium chloride from calcium hydroxide bought from cement factory can I work WITHOUT gloves? And treat the solution as it's heavy metal free?? Like NOO GLOVES AT ALL?
I didn't find food grade CaOH that's annoying

Fluorite - 18-12-2020 at 10:00

The contents of seven heavy metals i.e., Cu, Pb, Hg, Cd,As, Mn and Cr in chalks were analyzed by ICP-MS. Correlation coefficients of detected elements range from 0.990-0.9999, limits of detection range from 0.08-0.56 μg/L and relative standard deviations range from 0.98-3.66 % for all elements. Results show that the heavy metal content of chalks is lower than road dusts, concentrations of Cu, Pb, Hg, Cd, As, Mn and Cr are 1.661, 0.649, 1.290, 0.043, 3.105, 11.775 and 0.819 μg/g, respectively. The data suggested that heavy metal pollution is not the main factor for chalk, but respiratory hazards should be paid more attention for teachers using chalk.
SO EVEN CHALK IS TOXIC

macckone - 18-12-2020 at 16:50

Yes, you should not breath chalk.
It isn't good for your lungs.

Heavy metals in chalk are not a major concern.
Similar in concrete, although you never know where the calacium carbonate and aggregte came from.
Stuff for household use is supposed to be low in heavy metals.
Ie. grout and concrete for homes is not likely to have significant heavy metals.

If you are that concerned you can buy high grade calcium chloride as a drying agent, get the white flakes.
And convert it to the hydroxide by disolving it in water and then adding a 50% lye solution.
You will get nice fine hydroxide with a small amount of carbonate.
Then heat it to 800C for a couple of hours and you have calcium oxide.

If you start with food grade calcium chloride (pickle crisp) and food grade lye (used in pretzel making),
you will have a food grade product.

As for destroying methyl iodide, get some lye and add to anhydrous ethanol. Then drip in the methyl iodide.
Distill off the methyl ethyl ether and excess alcohol and you are left with sodium iodide. You can use a copper still for the distillation. Everything doesn't have to be glass, even if it is chemistry.