1145climber

so there's not really a practical way of decomposing large batches of CaCO3 into CaO, is there? my oven doesn't go up to 825°C...

The first step of NaHCO3 being converted to Na2CO3, CO2 and H2O is easy. the second step is amazingly difficult and not of any practical use. In order to decompose Na2CO3 to Na2O and CO2 you'll need temperatures of 1000 C or even more, not something you easily achieve at home. Even with a propane torch, directly blowing on the Na2CO3 at full blast you will not even come near the required temperature.

 

No, this is not a decent way to make NaOH.

 

One way to make NaOH could be to use CaO or Ca(OH)2 with Na2CO3. When both are dissolved, then CaCO3 precipitates and NaOH remains in solution. This method was known a long time ago already. Making CaO can be done by strongly heating CaCO3 (plain chalk). CaCO3 decomposes more easily than Na2CO3, although that still requires quite some heat.

sweet, thanks so much...

out of curiosity, at what temperature does the complex decomposition of CaCO3 occur?

I was wondering if the following set of reactions would be a cheap way to obtain sodium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide solution... If it would work, then I could use my nearly endless supply of cheap sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to make NaOH, which is a little harder/more expensive to obtain

2NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 + H2O + CO2 (at 200° C)

Na2CO3 → Na2O + CO2

Na2O + H2O → 2 NaOH

Would this work? Why or why not? I'm only in honors chem, so I don't fully understand what's required to make a reaction happen or not, but this seems plausible... and in addition, I found mention of it on wikipedia at the below links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate#Thermal_decomposition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_oxide

Any comments?

Hey. I just got an ultraviolet flashlight for realll cheap off ebay, and have been playing around with it recently... i can tell it's a piece, but it works for most things...

anyway, ive been wondering, is there anyway to print in ultraviolet ink? like, using a computer printer? i think it'd be so incredibly cool to print out full messages or pictures from the computer that only show up under blacklight/UV...

so far, the only idea ive had is to buy one of those refillable ink cartridges... and buying a few ounces of ultraviolet ink (availible in a few places online), and filling the ink cartridge with that ink... of course, the UV ink isnt meant for printer cartridges, so i dont know if it'd work or not... but its an idea...

anyone know of a way to print in UV ink that's usually invisible to the naked eye?

P.S. - sorry if this is in the wrong forum, i had no idea where to put it...

yeah, doesnt sound likely. waterjet cutters are a whole different animal, using a thin stream if incredibly high pressurized water to cut through or etch glass or other materials. the glass your friend used probably wasnt glass, and instead maybe some sort of special clear material that he might have bought as a magic trick or something. yeah.

that book looks good, maybe ill buy it on amazon or ebay. thanks for the advice people.

Hey all. Im in 9th grade, currently taking physics. Chemistry isnt until junior year, and thats a while. i dont want to wait two more years. so...

does anyone know of a website that has like an online cirrculum that teaches basic chemistry? ive seen some cool sites that go through physics, chapter by chapter, just like our textbook, but i havent found any for chemistry. Im a smart kid and a quick learner, as well as being interested in the subject. so, any tips on where/how i could start learning chemistry? thanks for any ideas.

Yes, Its called 'ebay'.

hahahahhaha, yeah. but i was looking for some scientific educational value in it.... wow, never thought i'd say that.

and the making of chlorine, and then turning it into iodine sounds aright... can i get some more info on that?

cool.... so i guess this process isnt as simple as i hoped.... is there no other process, maybe an easier one, to get sodium through methods other than electrolysis??

but anyway, i liked jdurgs's analogy:

"So it can be done, but it's not an easy 'baking soda + vinegar' process"... lol

while we're on the topic, are there any "baking soda and vinegar" experiments that i could do, even totally unrelated to sodium, just so that i could learn more about chemistry and get more experience?

Hey all. First post! Looks like a cool forum board, happy to be here. Anyway...

ive been wondering, is it possible to obtain pure sodium from table salt (nacl)? the process ive been researching includes melting the table salt in a pan until it starts to melt. Then, electricity is applied to it in an electrolysis-like manner through 2 electrodes (copper? carbon?). At the negative electrode, sodium will gather, and at the positive electrode, chlorine should be given off as a gas (obviously shouldnt be breathed).

so is this a plausible process? I am a high school student, and am new at this (chemistry) but im really interested in learning more, so i would appreciate any comments. and yes, i am aware of all the implications of salt and the cautions that should be used around it... we have experimented with it in school. so? any comments? thanks. - adam.