Ammonium Chloride Synthesis

[stanfield]

I tried to make some ammonium chloride (for smoke bomb) using HCl and NH3, go to :
<a href="http://stanfield.150m.com/ammoniumchloride/ammoniumchloride.htm" target="_blank">this web page</a> and give me your opinions to solve my problem...

thanx !

[Polverone]

Does your NH4Cl stink like HCl? Is that how you know it's full of acid? If so, the smell and the problem should go away once the crystals completely dry. NH4Cl is acidic in aqueous solution so testing with pH paper/meter won't help.

There's another way of making NH4Cl that can be faster if it doesn't need to be high purity (should work fine for smoke bombs): mix hydrochloric acid and a concentrated solution (or even pure prills) of NH4NO3. The NH4Cl isn't as soluble and you will obtain a considerable precipitate if the temperature isn't high.

[frogfot]

Solubility of NH₄Cl in 20^oC is 37,4g/100ml and 87,3g/100ml at 116^oC. So, by described procidure (if you chilled it to 20^oC) you lost 43% of NH₄Cl.

You just could boil off as much water as possible, to make it thick, and then pour on a plate in oven. Holding it at about 150^oC for some hour would remove the rest of water. Excess of HCl would probably evaporate away too (but this have already been answered).

[stanfield]

I boiled down most of the water then filtered out the product...
But I think the yield won't be famous, I didn't weighted it out yet but I fell it's not very good...

[rikkitikkitavi]

When I have made NH4 salts, I have always used a slight excess of ammonia. This way I can boil down the solution to dryness with a common stainless steel pot (for cooking :) , since many NH4 salts are very soluble at high temperatures, meaning trowing away the mother liquor (the solution in equlibrium with solids) lowers your yield.

It is only in the very beginning it smells of ammonia, it evaporates quickly when the solution is boiling. However, doing it inside is not recommended! With a tighter pH control of course you need less NH3 excess, thus less fumes.

I add the NH3 to the acid until the solution smells weakly of NH3. ( I start with measuring out the liquids aproxmemately )

However, most NH4 salts are very soluble, which means that at the end, you will have a sticky mess boiling and sputtering everywhere. So the last step , drying/boiling down a 50/50 mixture I usually do in a pyrex bowl in a oven.

Today I made 350 grams of (NH4)2SO4 from some polluted sulfuric with this method.

/rickard

[spydamonkee]

hmmm seems like NH4CL has a few uses that intrest me so i might just aqquire one of the 40kg bags i have seen laying around on a factory floor
nothing like having chems in bulk :D
Will sit next to my 10 Ltr's of 98% H2SO4 that i aqquired from the same place, free of course <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Wow that was real informative. :rolleyes:
Alen.

<small>[ March 01, 2003, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: ALENGOSVIG1 ]</small>

[megalomania]

Some may remember my recent problems in boiling down ammonium chloride in the kitchen. That's what I get for trying to save my heating mantle from extended heating operations. Once I moved the works back into the lab I had no trouble. Mine had an excess of HCl which did stink; I would prefer an excess of ammonia myself. I boiled the liquid nearly dry using a flask to minimize spattering (quite minimal with a small neck) and poured it out into a crystallization dish to finish the job with low heating.

[stanfield]

yeah, this stuff smell like hell when you're boiling down the solution...

NH4Cl with NH4NO3 and HCl ? interresting but what's the equation ?
HCl + NH4NO3 = NH4Cl + HNO3 ? right ?

see ya !

[Mendeleev]

Sort of old thread I stumbled upon, sorry, but your mix looked like white goo, stanfield, when I mix mine it looks like water, and just gives off lots of white fumes, I seem to get okay yields, why the disrepancies?