Author Topic: Iodine Crystals From Seaweed  (Read 76 times)

llamabox

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Iodine Crystals From Seaweed
« on: March 23, 2009, 05:56:11 PM »
You will need:
Bunsen burner and asbestos square (or a hot plate)
Tripod and tin lid
Beaker, 250 ml
Separating funnel 100ml
Evaporating dish

Hydrogen peroxide 20 volume
Tetrachloromethane or dichloromethane
Distilled water
1M solution of Sulphuric acid
Supply of ribbon seaweed(Laminaria) - that you can
obtain a a biological supply store or from the
sea shore

Procedure
(You must work at a fume cupboard)

1-Collect and dry about a dozen 50cm lenghts of the
seaweed and heat them strongly on a tin recipient
until they are reduced to ash; probably it will
reduce a quite small quantity, about a spoonful.

2- Add to the ash 20 ml of distilled water
in a beaker, and heat the suspension until it boils.

3 - Filter the suspension

4 - Acidify the filtered with Sulphuric acid solution

5 - Add then the hydrogen peroxide solution
You will observe the formation of a brown color due
the iodine liberation from the iodine ions present

6- Transfer the mixture to a separating funnel

7 -Extract the Iodine with tetrachloro methane or other
solvent. The result is an organic solution of iodine.

8 - In order to obtain crystals , the solvent may be
allowed to evaporate at room temperature, by
placing it in an evaporating dish in a fume cupboard.
It will result crystals of iodine or rather gray-
black brilliant flakes.

Vesp

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Re: Iodine Crystals From Seaweed
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2009, 11:17:55 PM »
Nice, yet another reason why I want to live by the ocean - cheap iodine.

Do you know anything about the yields or how much it would take to make a few grams of iodine?
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llamabox

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Re: Iodine Crystals From Seaweed
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2009, 11:51:34 PM »
Not a thing. Just something I stumbled across doing research.