Sciencemadness Discussion Board

did I really just find an OTC source for sodium metal!?

Pyro - 7-9-2013 at 13:11

I was scrolling through the products of: www.degoudenpluim.be
and found:
soda asch
soda in ristalvorm
sodium
sodium ditioniet
sodium nitriet

can it really be? or is it a mistake? I am going to go check next week, but maybe I should get my dad to do my bidding as the store owner might think i'm a kewl.

[Edited on 7-9-2013 by Pyro]

elementcollector1 - 7-9-2013 at 17:45

It's worth checking, but I'd be wary about the price. I would imagine that any OTC source would go out of their way to rip off kewls if they knew...

Pyro - 7-9-2013 at 17:47

well, its an art restoration shop. check out the other products!

elementcollector1 - 7-9-2013 at 17:55

My page isn't completely translated, but I see at least 3 listings for sodium hydroxide, one under 'caustic soda' and two under sodium hydroxide (one with misspelling).
Is this an online-only store or do they have retail? If it's online, I'd suggest avoiding it - their chemical list looks a bit odd to me.

Pyro - 8-9-2013 at 04:49

Its the website of a shop that is a ten minute walk from where I live, I have bought glycerine, HCl, iron oxide and KNO3 from him before, and he has a 1 inch thick catalog of all kinds of organic compounds

woelen - 9-9-2013 at 00:27

If I look at the list, then I can hardly imagine that he sells metallic sodium. I think it is an error. All other products have applications in some form of art (e.g. old photographic processes, certain etching processes, formation of dyes), but I see no such application for sodium metal. Just have a look at the list, starting with "natrium". This does not contain the element, only some salts of it (e.g. sulfite, dichromate, nitrite). I see no nitrate in the list, that most likely will have to do with the risk of selling nitrate to kewls who want a quick bang or a big smoke bomb.

Pyro - 9-9-2013 at 03:00

actually they do have KNO3 at 5eur/100g, KMnO4 for about 32 eur/kg
it's a great supply shop though!

phlogiston - 9-9-2013 at 03:31

Whoever made the list seems to have a limited understanding of chemistry, judging from the large number of misspelled and puzzling names (eg. '311. oxide zand' '168. ijzerperchloride 40%')
It is likely that they meant something different, maybe something containing a salt of sodium.

I first thought perhaps 'soda' (=sodium carbonate decahydrate), but this is the previous entry (also misspelled 'ristalvorm')

They offer a wide variety of materials though. If they are sympathetic to supplying chemicals to amateur chemists, who knows they might be willing to order it for you.

Browsing the list I find some other amusing/interesting/worrying entries:

104. drakenbloed ("dragon's blood")
235. mek- peroxide
284. o stop

But I seriously love old fashioned places like this. Beats boring modern shopping centres anytime, and very likely these people are extremely knowledgeable about artist materials and art restauration.

[Edited on 9-9-2013 by phlogiston]

Pyro - 9-9-2013 at 08:24

the man is very helpful. we have bought many things for non chem. applications.

he also has ferro-ferricyanide, concentrated NH3, bismuth nitrate, CaC2, chloor 50 ?, chromic acid, glycerol (hard to get, he verified it is glycerol) , hexane, heptane, Mg powder (hard to get locally), methylene chloride!, THF, xylene, conc. H2O2, extra pure H2SO4,...

what's special about dragons blood and o stop?

DraconicAcid - 9-9-2013 at 09:05

Quote: Originally posted by Pyro  
what's special about dragons blood and o stop?

Dragons are a protected species these days, so it's hard to find someone who is licensed to deal in any of their body parts.

Pyro - 9-9-2013 at 09:18

LOL, but seriously.
and o stop?

phlogiston - 9-9-2013 at 09:26


ooooooh!...... stop!

I just though it was funny. Maybe I have a different sense of humor :)

Pyro - 26-11-2013 at 08:38

I just discovered something great, they don't only have Na (way too expensive) but supply every organic chemical that can be bought at VWR. I asked the price of DCM and I got this: DICHLOROMETHANE-D2 99.8% DEUTERATION DEG 1 * 25 ml is 312euro - En 10ml 99.8% is 122.80€.

I will not be buying Na, but I am buying anh. AlCl3 and hexane (19eur/l)

chemrox - 26-11-2013 at 09:18

Since when is Na hard to acquire? Where do you live?

Pyro - 26-11-2013 at 09:23

It says where under my name, gent, belgium

It is hard to acquire as an individual who doesn't want to spend too much money.
(ebay works, but OTC is better)

adamsium - 28-11-2013 at 07:22

Quote: Originally posted by Pyro  
I just discovered something great, they don't only have Na (way too expensive) but supply every organic chemical that can be bought at VWR. I asked the price of DCM and I got this: DICHLOROMETHANE-D2 99.8% DEUTERATION DEG 1 * 25 ml is 312euro - En 10ml 99.8% is 122.80€.

I will not be buying Na, but I am buying anh. AlCl3 and hexane (19eur/l)


That is deuterated dichloromethane, mostly for NMR. Deuterated solvents are always going to be very expensive, and I might cry if you used them as regular solvents, anyway.

If they can get deuterated DCM, they can get non-deuterated DCM, they might just not know the difference :)

Random - 28-11-2013 at 07:40

O stop..

Do they have 100g of humour too?

Fantasma4500 - 28-11-2013 at 07:48

thats not very cheap for KMnO4..

http://www.artsuppliesonweb.com/restauratie-chemie/chemicali...

recall this as being in belgium aswell, belgium really just doesnt give a fuck when it comes to chemistry, very likely it is pure sodium metal you have found.. they sell nitric acid aswell, H2SO4 96% wouldnt be a trouble to find in belgium and im beyond sure you can find some NaClO3 based at most garden centers if you search for it

zed - 4-12-2013 at 16:02

Well, I traveled here from an era where Sodium Metal was about ten bucks a pound, so I find current prices shocking. Used to be, you could buy a can with pocket change, and treat yourself to a low-cost pyrotechnics display if you were in the mood.

Sodium is still cheap, if you buy it by the ton. I mean crap, it's made from table salt. Problem is, like most reagents, there is a huge screw-factor applied to the small buyer.

Blue Matter - 4-12-2013 at 18:25

Quote: Originally posted by zed  
Well, I traveled here from an era where Sodium Metal was about ten bucks a pound, so I find current prices shocking. Used to be, you could buy a can with pocket change, and treat yourself to a low-cost pyrotechnics display if you were in the mood.

Sodium is still cheap, if you buy it by the ton. I mean crap, it's made from table salt. Problem is, like most reagents, there is a huge screw-factor applied to the small buyer.


Everyone on SM should pool there money and buy a ton or so. :D

bismuthate - 4-12-2013 at 18:35

That should be posted on the bulk buys thread!