Author Topic: Calcium hypochlorite  (Read 80 times)

Happyman

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Calcium hypochlorite
« on: July 01, 2009, 09:45:07 AM »
Bleaching powder isn't that easy to find. Tried all the stores in the area. Pool cleaner is mostly calcium carbonate but there's other stuff too. I didn't want the other stuff! According to Wikipedia Calcium hypochlorite melts at 100°C. ABOUT THAT. Tried melting it so I could just pour and filter it off. That was a bad idea. Damn nearly killed me. Swim smells like chlorine. Conveniently for him that is all he can smell anyways. Any OTHER ideas?

Sedit

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Re: Calcium hypochlorite
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2009, 02:21:13 PM »
60-90% and very little other shit. H2O making up most of the remaining bulk with 0-5% of the rest being a mixture of the other junk.
http://whatsinproducts.com/information.php?brandNo=15-002-001&PHPSESSID=5259

Careful heating strong oxidisers such as this because you can kill yourself with ease. Read the MSDS on products before attempting to extract them and you will see that Ca(OCl)2 decomposes at its boiling point.
I can't stress enough the need to understand what happens in this case because A: Ca(OCl)2 releases nasty poison Clorine on decomposition and B: You don't want to see what happens when that Cl hits oxidisable material. I seen Chlorine hit Zinc coated steal and it scared the piss out of me.
God forbid it contacts an alcohol because best case senario is your telling the doctor at the ER few hours later what happened and the police why your hour burned down. You don't want to know the worst case senario here because organic hypochlorites are nasty. Look at You Tube for chlorine bombs and you will see a list of kids on fire from synthesising Isopropyl Hypochlorite(IPA+Ca(OCl)2) that exploads when light hits it or you fart in the wrong direction.

There is always the option of adding Clorine to a Calcium hydroxide solution to give pure Ca(OCl)2 but I would not suggest that at this point.

Ca(OCl)2 disolves something like 20-25 grams/100ml in H2O where as Calcium Carbonate hardly dissolves at all. This would give you a purer solution of Ca(OCl)2 after you filter out the Calcium carbonate.

Take it easy, and take care not to kill yourself. I remeber someone over at SciMad saying that when you smell Chlorine its the last time you will ever use that receptor again because it burns out the nerve ending.



If you don't mind me asking why do you need the Ca(OCl)2? There is possibilitys that the 47% or whatever is good enough or you may be able to substitute TCCA for Ca(OCl)2.
There once were some bees and you took all there stuff!
You pissed off the wasp now enough is enough!!!

xxx

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Re: Calcium hypochlorite
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2009, 10:19:04 PM »
Tomorrow I will let Cl2 hit Zn powder (pump the gas through a pile). What happens? :D Naturally, I will stand far away. I guess it goes on fire?

Happyman

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Re: Calcium hypochlorite
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2009, 10:41:36 PM »
I think it gives a lot of smoke. Yeah I remember learning that you can boil out hydrates. Wikipedia says that it doesn't decompose until its a gas but I probably should of double checked that because like the 3rd link down when its googled is like DECOMPOSES VIOLENTLY WHEN EXPOSED TO HEAT. Glad it didn't burn a hole in the pan. I was getting it for swim so he could use it in the toluene+calcium hypochlorite=benzyl chloride. As foolish as it was, that was the first major lab problem I've ever had so I think fine.  ;D

Sedit

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Re: Calcium hypochlorite
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2009, 12:26:22 AM »
Oy vay Hex.  :D

Well good luck with that and please start small. I did it on accident with only trace amounts I fear what Cl + Zn would look like but I think it would compair to the gummy bear into permagnate demonstration.

I was just testing my Hypochlorite for Cl generation so I took a small spice jar, added H2SO4 and caped it with a small piece of Galvinized tin. It got really yellow in the jar and then Snap Snap Pop Pop poppopopopopopppop..... Scared the shit out of me and the only thing I can think that caused it was the Zn coating on the steal comming in contact with the Clorine forming Zinc chloride..... Ever seen those Sodium in Chlorine experiments?

But your going to do it anyway so lemme know what a pile looks like ;D.  Put a small plastic jar over a pile of Zn and feed Cl into the jar. Stand back and report to me what happends. The only thing I could think that could set it off was the Zn so im thinking that Zn power reacting with Cl could give a nice firework demonstration.


@Happy.
If you generate the Cl by mixing your hypo with H2SO4 and feed it into the toluene it will be fine to use your concentration of Ca(OCl)2 as the rest of the ingrediants will not hinder the production of chlorine. If you are going to perform it insitu by mixing the hypochlorite with the toluene and heating till reflux with heat... then you would be best to use TCCA since you can get that with ease at 99% purity and it has a higher chlorine content.
« Last Edit: July 02, 2009, 12:32:34 AM by sedit »
There once were some bees and you took all there stuff!
You pissed off the wasp now enough is enough!!!

Happyman

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Re: Calcium hypochlorite
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2009, 01:09:40 AM »
Wouldn't TCCA give a chance for Phenacyl chloride? The thing about doin' it with Calcium Hypochlorite is Calcium hydroxide is the by-product & insoluble. TCCA would give somethin' krazy that I can't figure out. I'm assuming a hydrocarbon & somethin' else.

Happyman

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Re: Calcium hypochlorite
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2009, 01:21:32 AM »
Or worse, Cyanogen gas another possibility?

Sedit

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Re: Calcium hypochlorite
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2009, 01:50:29 AM »
Its one of the standard ways amatures make Benzyl Chloride you will be fine. Worrying weather or not the by products is soluble or not is a non issue since your product needs to be distilled to remove the over chlorinated side products.

http://127.0.0.1/talk/index.php/topic,29.20.html
^ We have a nice threed here discussing the synthesis in question. Side products are discussed.
« Last Edit: July 02, 2009, 01:55:52 AM by sedit »
There once were some bees and you took all there stuff!
You pissed off the wasp now enough is enough!!!

xxx

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Re: Calcium hypochlorite
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2009, 10:11:00 PM »
Sedit: I figured it would be fairly violent - violent reactions being a speciality here! I had the impure Zn (some oxidizers mixed in, I had it marked dowm for sisposal after realizing I had accidentally spilt some chlorates into it). So I made a heap of the powder in a card tube and pumped in some Cl2 by the HCl and KMnO4 reaction. It was indeed fairly fiery! I had planned on a kilo but then common sense kicked in, so I mixed it with sulphur to mahe that godawful rocket fuel. I burned it off in small little bits, which was VERY fun :)

ANYWAYS... Bleaching powder is not too hard to find in France, if anyone wants a kilo or two I can buy it there next week.