Making Salt

[langstonwf2]

Is it possible to make salt NaCl by combining pure sodium and chlorine gas?

[battousai]

Yes, but the reaction is very exothermic (gives off heat). You can see this here. Also, I don't know if you are just inquiring or thinking of this reaction, but if you are, I HIGHLY suggest staying away from chlorine gas.

[frosch45]

Do you have access to sodium and chlorine? Not to be rude or anything, but I think that this is just a homework question, correct? Were you planning on trying it? There are many easier ways to make sodium chloride.

[langstonwf2]

of course im trying it! i got about a gram of sodium i made and its not that hard 2 make Cl2 with HCl. What other ways do you have in mind?

Edited August 20, 2008 by langstonwf2

[John Cuthber]

What did you make the sodium from?

[langstonwf2]

Molten NaOH

[frosch45]

Well, I was just going to suggest something like [ce] HCl + NaHCO3 --> NaCl + H2O + CO2 [/ce] and that will probably yield a more pure product....

 

but it looks like you're looking for the expierence

 

Good luck, just do it outside when theres a light breeze in case something goes wrong, but there are many more dangerous things that you could be trying.

[hermanntrude]

Is it possible to make salt NaCl by combining pure sodium and chlorine gas?

 

I have done this reaction myself, and I plan to do it as a demonstration for my class this year. It's very exciting, and if you do it carefully you can see the salt form on the surface of the metal before the flames and explosions start

[John Cuthber]

OK so you took the trouble to make Na from NaOH and you are thinking about making Cl2 from HCl.

Then you ask what other way there might be of making salt?

Did you really not think about just dissolving the NaOH in water and neutralising it with the HCl?

I know this site is full of people doing things the hard way, but they usually know that that is what they are doing.

[hermanntrude]

it is a fairly roundabout way to make salt, but it's also a very fun way if you're very careful.

 

before you start, read these:

 

MSDS for sodium

 

MSDS for chlorine gas

 

then watch this video... the video is at the bottom of the page... dont be put off that it's in german. the video is self-explanatory, i think

 

LINK

[jdurg]

Also, be smart and don't try and eat the NaCl that is made. From my own experience, it's a bit difficult to get the reaction going. Typically, you need to put a tiny drop of water in there to get everything running. So if you do that, you'll have a little bit of NaOH (Not a lot, but some) in there as well as various other compounds thanks to the oxide layer on top of the sodium.

 

While we usually don't have to tell people not to eat the end result of their reactions, it never hurts to do it.

[hermanntrude]

very true. Good reasoning there, jdurg.

[jdurg]

Hmm. The coloring on that video seems to be a bit off. The flame looked more like a Sr color than the regular yellowish color you typically expect.

[hermanntrude]

Hmm. The coloring on that video seems to be a bit off. The flame looked more like a Sr color than the regular yellowish color you typically expect.

 

probably just because it's digital video under non-sunlight