What to Do with 20,000lbs of Sodium?

[mrjeffy321]

A significant portion of the recoved material could well be common table salt.

Where is all that Chloride coming from to form the NaCl?
I would think it would be much more likely for the Na to form NaOH in solution with the lake water. Then, over a long time, the lake water could absorb Carbon Dioxide from the air and slowly neutralize the NaOH by forming Sodium Bicarbonate, which is much less soluble than NaCl and would precipitate out of solution more easily.

The again, you could very well have some soluble Chloride salt in the water already which could easily form a very insoluble Hydroxide salt, thereby leaving the NaCl behind in solution, but making it slightly harder to recover.

 

[Integral]

Where is all that Chloride coming from to form the NaCl?
I would think it would be much more likely for the Na to form NaOH in solution with the lake water. Then, over a long time, the lake water could absorb Carbon Dioxide from the air and slowly neutralize the NaOH by forming Sodium Bicarbonate, which is much less soluble than NaCl and would precipitate out of solution more easily.

The again, you could very well have some soluble Chloride salt in the water already which could easily form a very insoluble Hydroxide salt, thereby leaving the NaCl behind in solution, but making it slightly harder to recover.

Thank you for a much better answer.

 

[Gza]

I like how these old movie reels all seem to have the same narrator