Oil or Air? How to store Elemental Calcium metal turnings?

[akabigfoot]

Hello,

 

As an amateur element collector I have been given a few grams of elemental Calcium metal turnings.

 

 

I know Ca is not as reactive as the Alkali metals so was hoping to store them in air, within a tightly closed small glass lidded container? Or is it common practice to store Ca under mineral oil?

 

Advice would be very welcome.

 

 

Many thanks,

 

BF

[John Cuthber]

The best answer is to ampoule it.

How good are your glassblowing skills and do you have some test tubes and a blowtorch?

[akabigfoot]

The best answer is to ampoule it.

How good are your glassblowing skills and do you have some test tubes and a blowtorch?

 

Thanks for the reply. Glassblowing and creating an Ampoule are not options at the moment! Besides, a big part of my interest in Element collecting is to actually see, feel and handle the material in its raw form, so i would like to store it in as assessable way as possible. (when i eventually get hold of 10g of pure Au, i will throw the packaging and certificate away!)

 

I just want to know if it would be safe to store Ca carefully in a small jar without mineral oil.

 

 

Many thanks,

 

BF

[elementcollector1]

Thanks for the reply. Glassblowing and creating an Ampoule are not options at the moment! Besides, a big part of my interest in Element collecting is to actually see, feel and handle the material in its raw form, so i would like to store it in as assessable way as possible. (when i eventually get hold of 10g of pure Au, i will throw the packaging and certificate away!)

 

I just want to know if it would be safe to store Ca carefully in a small jar without mineral oil.

 

 

Many thanks,

 

BF

 

Surprisingly enough, yes. For a few years at least. I had some lumps of Ca myself, and I kept them in their original plastic container (not filled with argon or anything) for about half a year, and they were just as shiny as ever. The main thing is to keep them dry and safe from reactive gases. Eventually, I ampouled my Ca anyway.

Now, turnings could be somewhat more reactive than lumps, so a tight container with not much air space is recommended until you get an ampoule and a good torch or Bunsen burner. Good ampoules can be made from disposable glass pipettes. Be careful, though: Molten glass is not friendly. Use gloves and eye protection, and wear long clothing to avoid being burned too badly. If you're worried about your turnings, yes, I would store them in oil too. But mineral oil, at least in my case, has the annoying tendency to escape its container and give the surface an oily film. So, wrap it in a paper towel or something, and keep the vial upright.

 

10 g of pure Au? That's a fairly large amount. Where's it coming from (and who's paying for it)?

[chilled_fluorine]

Thanks for the reply. Glassblowing and creating an Ampoule are not options at the moment! Besides, a big part of my interest in Element collecting is to actually see, feel and handle the material in its raw form, so i would like to store it in as assessable way as possible. (when i eventually get hold of 10g of pure Au, i will throw the packaging and certificate away!)

 

I just want to know if it would be safe to store Ca carefully in a small jar without mineral oil.

 

 

Many thanks,

 

BF

Well, personally, I ampoule all my alkalis and alkalines, as well as my uranium and other reactive stuff. My glassblowing skills are quite good. And I have lots of test tubes... I always flush my tubes with neon first, I had an incident with a rather thin walled tube where all the air inside was consumed, a near vacuum was created, and the thing burst. Neon stops that problem. Argon and helium are also fine. Lighter than air gases create an entirely new problem, however (flying containers of liquid caesium, lol). I hate having that greasy juice all over my good metal, and it's hard to get it off without exposing to air or water. Acetone works okay for cleaning, but then you have to get the acetone off. Of course you can safely store it in a small mineral oil jar! Really, why not? Remember, eventually air can and will diffuse into the oil, causing corrosion to the metal. This is more of a problem for the extremely active elements, such as caesium and rubidium. Even then it would take years to be noticeable. An inert gas is the best way to go. Go ahead though, use your mineral oil. It'll work more than good enough. Just remember to keep the lid airtight, or make a double airlock of sorts. I'm sad, I ran out of rubidium

 

Surprisingly enough, yes. For a few years at least. I had some lumps of Ca myself, and I kept them in their original plastic container (not filled with argon or anything) for about half a year, and they were just as shiny as ever. The main thing is to keep them dry and safe from reactive gases. Eventually, I ampouled my Ca anyway.

Now, turnings could be somewhat more reactive than lumps, so a tight container with not much air space is recommended until you get an ampoule and a good torch or Bunsen burner. Good ampoules can be made from disposable glass pipettes. Be careful, though: Molten glass is not friendly. Use gloves and eye protection, and wear long clothing to avoid being burned too badly. If you're worried about your turnings, yes, I would store them in oil too. But mineral oil, at least in my case, has the annoying tendency to escape its container and give the surface an oily film. So, wrap it in a paper towel or something, and keep the vial upright.

 

10 g of pure Au? That's a fairly large amount. Where's it coming from (and who's paying for it)?

I get my au from thrift shops. I just dissolve and refine. I managed to get 50 grams after refining for about as many dollars.

Edited September 25, 2012 by chilled_fluorine

[akabigfoot]

Thanks guys, some great advice. It is still early days for me so ampouling is a little beyond my current skill set, but one day...

 

I'm afraid to say the Au is just an aspiration at the moment! - But I am very curious about reclaiming from old jewels etc.