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I am trying to make some Potassium Chlorate (KClO3) by reacting bleach (NaOCl) with Potassium Chloride (KCl). I got this idea from this site:
http://www.fryingcolors.com/kclo3.html
I am trying to do the first method using the NaOCl and KCl.
I have followed the steps, kind of, and ended up with a dark browish percipitate. this is odd, since the reaction for this should yeild Potassium Chlorate, a white powder.
NaOCl (aq) + KCl (aq) --> NaCl (aq) + KClO3 (aq/s?)
add Potassium Chlorate to boiling/almost boiling bleach and get sodium chloride and Potassium Chlorate.
to save you some reading on the linked site, i'll tell you how it should be done, and then how I did it.
How it should be done:
-bring bleach to almost boiling (instructions say 1 gallon)
-add the Potassium Chlorate (instructions say 63 grams)
-continue to let it react until you get it to a specific gravity of around 1.3 (as measured by a hydrometer)
-let it cool, put in refrigerator and let the Potassium Chlorate crystalize
-filter out the crystals
-repeat steps again with remaining liquid to be sure everything reacted
-then add the stuff you get out of the filter to distilled water (instructions say 56 grams/100 mL water)
-boil new solution
-evaporate the water, and collect the Potassium Chlorate
How I did it:
before I started, I decided to work out this reaction on paper, and the theoretical amounts of each substance i needed, so i based my figures on that, but even if i don't get a compleate reaction, i should still get something
-bring bleach to almost boiling (I used just over 1 liter of 6% bleach)
-add the Potassium Chlorate (i don't know any more how much I used)
-continue to let it react until you get it to a specific gravity of around 1.3 (well I had a hydrometer, but I don't think it is very accurate, so i let it sit there for a long while, until I was pretty sure it had reacted all it was going to do, but the number [approx.] I was getting on my hydrometer was 1.15)
-let it cool, put in refrigerator and let the Potassium Chlorate crystalize
-filter out the crystals
-repeat steps again with remaining liquid to be sure everything reacted
I am currently at this step, I haven't gone this far yet
-then add the stuff you get out of the filter to distilled water (instructions say 56 grams/100 mL water)
-boil new solution
-evaporate the water, and collect the Potassium Chlorate
I don't know how much of a diference these last 3 steps will make, but I doubt that they will take my dark brown stuff and make it into good 'ol Potassium Chlorate, (unless I am wrong, i don't know)
also, the vapor that is comming off this liquid solution while boiling and going out the exhaust suction, some of it is condensing around the grill plate and it is becomming a whitish powder, but then when I go to wipe it up, it looks much more yellowish on the paper towl I use, what is this stuff, in theory the only thing to evaporate in this reaction is water which last time I checked won't leave a residue behind.
I just though that maybe someone here could offer me insight into what is happening and, what should be happening.
just so you guys arent worried (to much) about my safety while doing this [this seems to always come up when I do something dangerous (thermite)] I will tell you that I know what Potassium Chlorate is capeable of, and I am doing the boiling with a ventalted exhaust near by, I won't be eating any of this either.
http://www.fryingcolors.com/kclo3.html
I am trying to do the first method using the NaOCl and KCl.
I have followed the steps, kind of, and ended up with a dark browish percipitate. this is odd, since the reaction for this should yeild Potassium Chlorate, a white powder.
NaOCl (aq) + KCl (aq) --> NaCl (aq) + KClO3 (aq/s?)
add Potassium Chlorate to boiling/almost boiling bleach and get sodium chloride and Potassium Chlorate.
to save you some reading on the linked site, i'll tell you how it should be done, and then how I did it.
How it should be done:
-bring bleach to almost boiling (instructions say 1 gallon)
-add the Potassium Chlorate (instructions say 63 grams)
-continue to let it react until you get it to a specific gravity of around 1.3 (as measured by a hydrometer)
-let it cool, put in refrigerator and let the Potassium Chlorate crystalize
-filter out the crystals
-repeat steps again with remaining liquid to be sure everything reacted
-then add the stuff you get out of the filter to distilled water (instructions say 56 grams/100 mL water)
-boil new solution
-evaporate the water, and collect the Potassium Chlorate
How I did it:
before I started, I decided to work out this reaction on paper, and the theoretical amounts of each substance i needed, so i based my figures on that, but even if i don't get a compleate reaction, i should still get something
-bring bleach to almost boiling (I used just over 1 liter of 6% bleach)
-add the Potassium Chlorate (i don't know any more how much I used)
-continue to let it react until you get it to a specific gravity of around 1.3 (well I had a hydrometer, but I don't think it is very accurate, so i let it sit there for a long while, until I was pretty sure it had reacted all it was going to do, but the number [approx.] I was getting on my hydrometer was 1.15)
-let it cool, put in refrigerator and let the Potassium Chlorate crystalize
-filter out the crystals
-repeat steps again with remaining liquid to be sure everything reacted
I am currently at this step, I haven't gone this far yet
-then add the stuff you get out of the filter to distilled water (instructions say 56 grams/100 mL water)
-boil new solution
-evaporate the water, and collect the Potassium Chlorate
I don't know how much of a diference these last 3 steps will make, but I doubt that they will take my dark brown stuff and make it into good 'ol Potassium Chlorate, (unless I am wrong, i don't know)
also, the vapor that is comming off this liquid solution while boiling and going out the exhaust suction, some of it is condensing around the grill plate and it is becomming a whitish powder, but then when I go to wipe it up, it looks much more yellowish on the paper towl I use, what is this stuff, in theory the only thing to evaporate in this reaction is water which last time I checked won't leave a residue behind.
I just though that maybe someone here could offer me insight into what is happening and, what should be happening.
just so you guys arent worried (to much) about my safety while doing this [this seems to always come up when I do something dangerous (thermite)] I will tell you that I know what Potassium Chlorate is capeable of, and I am doing the boiling with a ventalted exhaust near by, I won't be eating any of this either.
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