Inorganic Chemistry

11 Uses of Barium Hydroxide Octahydrate in Daily Life

Barium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Ba and atomic number 56. Barium is the fifth element in Group 2 and is a soft and silver alkaline earth metal. Barium is never found in nature as a free element because of its high chemical reactivity. Barium has a melting point of 710 ° C and a boiling point of 1.500 ° C and it is silvery white.

Barium enters the air during mining, refining, barium compound production, and from the burning of coal and oil. Some barium compounds are easily soluble in water and are found in lakes or rivers. In the wild, barium elements are sulphate (barite) and less carbonate (witherite). The sulfate is converted to chloride and in the electrolysis of melamine barium chloride produces barium metal. This element easily reacts with halogen (halide), oxygen (oxide), and sulfide (sulfide). At high temperatures this element can react with nitrogen (nitride). In stable compounds, bariums are divalent and tend not to form complexes, this element was discovered in 1808 by H. Davy. (Read Uses of Barium in Daily Life)

Examples of crystalline Barium include Sulphate Barium (BaSO4) containing Barium, such as Barium Hydroxide (Ba (OH) 2). This substance has a natural isotope of 130,132, 134, 135, 136, 137  and 138. Examples of crystals produced by Barium include Barium Sulfate (BaSO4) and Barium Hydroxide (Ba (OH) 2).

In addition, there are many kind of Barium that we know, for example Barium Nitrat, Barium Carbonate and Barium Sulfate. Barium Sulfate is used as a medicine for people with digestive disorders. Meanwhile, Barium Carbonate is used in rat poison, while Barium Nitrate is used as a fireworks dye. (Read Fireworks Elements)

Barium hydroxide is white solid substance, soluble in water, the solution is called barite water, strong alkaline. Strong alkalines are the kind of simple compounds that can deprotonate very weak acids in acid-base reactions. Now since we already know the definition of Barium, so what is Barium Hydroxide Octahydrate ? (Read Uses of Alkaline Earth Metals in Dailylife)
Barium Hydroxide Octahydrate is an inorganic chemical compound that is one of the most dangerous chemicals used in the laboratory. Barium Hydroxide Octahydrate has the chemical formula Ba (OH) 2.8H2O.

Barium Hydroxide Octahydrate in the form of white or crystalline powder, has a density of 2.18g / cm3, water soluble and acid, toxic, can cause damage to the nervous system and digestive system. It has Melting point on 78°C. Water loss in 780°C crystal. It absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and then forms barium acrbonate.
Barium Hydroxide has another name, namely: caustic barite, barium hydrate. Barium Hydroxide has a molecular weight of 189.48. It is insoluble in acetone.

The properties of Barium Hydroxide Octahydrate are as follows :

The molecular formula Ba (oh) 2
Mass molars 315.46g / mol
Appearance Solid white
Density 2.18 g / cm 3 (16 ° c)
Melting point 78 ° c (octahydrate)
Boiling point 780 ° c
Water solubility 1.67g / 100 ml (0 ° c)
3.89g / 100 ml (20 ° c)
11.7g / 100 ml (50 ° c)
20.94g / 100 ml (60 ° c)
101.4g / 100 ml (100 ° c)
Solubility in other solvents Low
Brilliance (P k b) -2.02
Refractive index (N d) 1.50

Then what are the uses of barium hydroxide octahydrate? Here they are :

1. Make barium salts and organic compounds

In the laboratory barium sulfate is produced by combining aqueous barium ions and sulfate salts. Because barium sulfate is the most toxic salt of barium due to its insolubility, waste containing barium salt is sometimes treated with sodium sulfate to immobilize (detoxify) barium. Barium sulfate is one of the least soluble salts of sulfate. Its low solubility is utilized in qualitative inorganic analysis as a test for Ba 2+ ions as well as for sulfates. 

2. Used as an additive in the petroleum industry.

Barium hydroxide itself has a variety of properties, including alkali. It is used in the oil industry by making oil additives. In addition, such a perfect hydroxide manifests itself as an oil additive.

3. Barium hydroxide is used in analytical chemistry for weak acid titration,

Particularly inorganic acids. Clear aqueous solutions that are guaranteed to be free of carbonate, unlike sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, such as barium carbon, are not soluble in water. This allows the use of indicators of like fenolphthalein or thymolphthalein (with alkaline discoloration) without the risk of titration due to the presence of carbonate ions, which are much more fundamental.

4. Refining oil and sugar.

5. Used as material in medicine, plastic, glass, ceramic and rayon industrial manufacture.

6.Barium hydroxide is used in organic synthesis as a solid base, for example for the hydrolysis of ester and nitrile.

7. Boiler cleaners, in the sugar industry, fix animal and vegetable oils, soften water, make glasses, paint the ceiling.

8. Reagants for CO2 gas

9. Used for fat deposits and silicate smelting

10. Barite is often used as a ballast agent in an oil well drilling fluid and is used in rubber making.

11. It is used in laboratory to count the concentration of the Solution made from hydrated substances.
Hydrated substances in this case is Barium Hydroxide Octahydrate itself (Ba(OH)2.8H2O), Mn(NO3)2.6H2O, and etc. (Read List of Inorganic Water Pollutants

Absorb Heat / to explain Endhotermic reaction

Endothermic reactions (increase in enthalpy)
That is the heat transfer from the environment into the system, so the temperature of the curvature will decrease, so that ΔH is positive (+) (Read Chemicals Used in Ice Packs)
Example:

The decomposition reaction of copper (II) carbonate.
The reaction between the octahydrate barium hydroxide crystal and the ammonium chloride crystals.

When the barium hydroxide crystal octahydrate, Ba (OH) 2. 8H2O is mixed with ammonium chloride crystals (NH4Cl), an immediate reaction characterized by a decrease in mixed temperature and ammonia gas formation. Since the mixed temperature (system) becomes lower than the environment, then the heat will flow from the environment into the system until both temperatures become the same. Ba (OH) 2. 8H2O (s) + 2NH4Cl BaCl2.2H2O (s) + 2NH3 (g) + 8H2O (l)

In addition, there is also an example of a chemical phenomenon in which if ammonium chloride is reacted with barium hydroxide octahydrate, it will absorb heat from a very large or endothermic environment. That is until the ice-grains formed around the beaker. The temperature is also below 0° C.

Otherwise, Barium hydroxide can react with CO2  in the air forming BaO. The BaO oxide will cause reaction temperature becomes high, because BaO not soluble in the water (not formed Ba2+).

Beside that, we have to be careful in using barium hydroxide octahydrate. Barium hydroxide octahydrate is incompatible with acids, aluminum, zinc. Barium hydroxide reacts vigorously with strong acids. It corrodes aluminum and zinc.

That’s all the explanation of barium hydroxide octahydrate. Hope this article can be helpful and give adequate information of uses of barium hydroxide octahydrate in our dailylife.

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