Fullmetal Posted May 7, 2005 Posted May 7, 2005 I know it has to do with electrolysis but I can't find detailed pictures with instructions on the web/google to take out sodium from . So how do I obtain Na? Afterwards, how do i contain it and keep it safe? I read somewhere if you use graphite *looks at tv* wow this pokemon movie is intense... anyways... i read that you get sodium hydroxide after using graphite electrodes on a brine solution? or was it dry? either way, i want to keep breaking down things until I get sodium. i can make hydrogen very simply using liquid plumr and aluminum foil. I think i read if i use some other way, i can get Na by using the tablesalt dry..
H2SO4 Posted May 7, 2005 Posted May 7, 2005 Well, you melt table salt (around 1200 degrees farenheight) and pass an electric current through it. Sodium wil form a one electrode, chlorine at the other. Although, here are some important factors. If you take the Na out of the thing it will catch on fire. Your not gonna get much sodium unless you keep this thing going for a long time. And why are you asking how to get Na and I out of salt. Salt is NaCl. If it says "Iodized" it means they add an aiodine compound to it to give you your dose of iodine. The amount they add is very minute. The only resonable way to get sodium by electroysis is to use NaOH instead of NaCl. NaOH has a much lower Mp. But, i tried this awhile ago and used a copper contianer i made to hold the molten NaOH why i electrolyzed ( i believe you use that term for elctroysis) it. It reactedwith the copper and didnt work. I didnt get as much as a hair of sodium. Plus, molten NaOH is extremely nasty stuff. NaOH in solution is bad enough. If i were you id ditch this whole thing right now becaus it doesnt work and it sucks. Plus your gonna need a blowtorch.
Fullmetal Posted May 7, 2005 Author Posted May 7, 2005 but if i put the Na in a different gaslike atmosphere would it not ignite? Or do i have to put it in an oil state atmosphere..
Borek Posted May 7, 2005 Posted May 7, 2005 ??? Table salt doesn't contain iodine - unless it is iodine enriched, but even then I doubt it makes sense to use it a iodine source... Add some chlorine water to convert iodide to iodine and some nonpolar solvent for extraction. Best, Borek -- Chemical calculators for labs and education http://www.chembuddy.com BATE - pH calculations, titration curves CASC - concentration conversions, solution preparation
Fullmetal Posted May 7, 2005 Author Posted May 7, 2005 still looking for detailed instructions. I'm a noob. I have instructions now to make the Iodine from a tincture. I'm just looking for a guide that shows all the simplest ways to obtain the elements with detailed instructions.
akcapr Posted May 8, 2005 Posted May 8, 2005 keep the newly made sodium (if u are able to make any at all) under kerosene or oil.
jdurg Posted May 8, 2005 Posted May 8, 2005 Making elemental Na from NaCl is not easy to accomplish without a great deal of chemistry experience, nor is it economical or safe. At the temperature needed to melt sodium chloride, any Na you create will be in the liquid form which will cause it to react VERY quickly and violently with the slightest bit of oxygen and/or water in the air. Also, chlorine gas is produced at the other electrode and unless you can keep the chlorine gas completely away from your sodium, you will wind up with a very nasty explosion due to the molten Na reacting again with the chlorine. (Not to mention that chlorine itself is a very nasty substance). In the industrial process for making sodium metal, they use the Down's Cell which you can easily look up in Google. However, if you are asking how to make sodium metal from sodium chloride, then you will most likely not have the experience or resources needed to make a 'Down's Cell'. (Christ, even if you do have a ton of experience you probably wouldn't have the resources available).
jdurg Posted May 8, 2005 Posted May 8, 2005 oh come on, it's not that difficult to make Well, if you have a dry box to prevent any and all moisture and oxygen from touching the molten sodium, and if you have an electrical heating source to melt the salt since an open flame would go against the dry box requirement, then yeah.
YT2095 Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 the easiest way is simple electrolysis with a Mercury cathode (NaOH is best), then when you have your sodium amalgam, displace it with Lithium metal of course you`ll have to get these materials 1`st, So close and yet so far! Muhahahahaaa :>
theMoose Posted September 21, 2005 Posted September 21, 2005 the single most important thing that i think you all probably know is that sodium MUST NOT be in an aqueous solution with H2O, as it will explode. NaOH is also not exactly the safest substance to play with. The reaction MUST be done with molten NaCl. In essence, this is really a reaction that should be left to the industrialists. However, some people enjoy the thrill of doing dangerous things. So follow this hyperlink: Sodium Extraction The only thing that they don't tell you is what to make the box out of, and what to use for the anode and cathode. The anode should be carbon, the cathode should be steel. as for the rest, you're on your own.
theMoose Posted September 21, 2005 Posted September 21, 2005 it is also important to add calcium chloride to the salt as it will lower the melting point and prevent the NaCl from boiling
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