Strontium Nitrate from Strontium Carbonate

[aj47]

I have a fair amount of Strontium Carbonate i'm willing to experiment with and was wondering whether it could be used as a starting point to give Strontium Nitrate

 

My first thought was to react the Carbonate with Acetic acid to give Strontium Acetate, which in turn could be reacted with Kno3 to give Strotium Nitrate. However looking up solubilities, the values for Strontium Acetate/Nitrate and Potassium Nitrate are all quite similar so I can't think how one would easily to seperate the products. Any of you have any ideas?

[encipher]

Well, there's another option. Reacting Strontium Carbonate with Nitric acid, that would give you Strontium Nitrate and the Carbonic acid would break down into CO2 and H2O.

[Darkblade48]

Well, there's another option. Reacting Strontium Carbonate with Nitric acid, that would give you Strontium Nitrate and the Carbonic acid would break down into CO2 and H2O.

 

This is probably the easiest way, I was going to suggest this method as well.

[woelen]

It is the easiest way, if you have nitric acid. But that acid is not that easy to get your hands on in many places of the world.

 

Another good way is to mix it with excess ammonium nitrate (from fertilizer) and gently heat. Ammonia, carboin dioxide, and water are driven off, strontium nitrate remains behind. A single recrystallize then purifies the strontium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate dissolves in water MUCH better, so they are easy to separate.

 

Ammonium nitrate can be made from the impure fertilizer, containing 75% NH4NO3 and chalk, simply by dissolving all and letting all insoluble stuff settle.

[aj47]

Thanks for the replies. I'm off tomorrow to buy my Christmas tree at the garden centre so i'll look out for the ammonium nitrate. Failling that would dilute nitric acid work. I seem to remember you can quite easily buy 30% as 'p.h. down' for soil.

[encipher]

Im pretty sure that PH Down is Phosphoric acid, not Nitric acid.

[woelen]

Depends on the country where you are living. Indeed, in some countries (e.g. UK) nitric acid is sold as pH down, IIRC at concentrations of 38%. Over here in NL, nitric acid is sold OTC at 52% concentration.

[YT2095]

it`s sold here also as nitric OR phosphoric, the nitric is 38% the phosphoric is 80%.

 

beware with your Sr carbonate tho, it will contain Sulphide also if you got it where I Think you got it from