On Youtube I found this video of some German guys making a kilo (!) of potassium metal. https://youtu.be/FPjpXiZ1rSY
It looks amazing, although safety measures are not always observed.
I don't have these professionally made equipment, but I tried it with my humble stainless steel retort doing the same (but not a kilo !).
I heated 13g K2CO3 + 7g Mg lathings to about 1000 C in a propane furnace and after five minutes I captured 3.6g of potassium metal in an oil bath.
Even simpler than using KOH.
Sir_Gawain - 5-9-2024 at 12:40
Fascinating! This does seem to be the easiest way to make potassium - I wonder if it would work with sodium. chloric1 - 5-9-2024 at 16:17
You know, I think it would be easier to get potassium carbonate to an anhydrous state. Second it has been shown magnesium reduces carbon dioxide as
well as potassium oxide and more than likely sodium oxide. BTW, where IS the carbon soot? Is the carbon dioxide being reduced or off gassed by
displacement? metalresearcher - 6-9-2024 at 00:21
BTW, where IS the carbon soot? Is the carbon dioxide being reduced or off gassed by displacement?
When I opened the retort after cooling, there was carbon powder in the upper section of the retort.
Before I heated the K2CO3 to remove any moisture, but it is far easier than from KOH.
[Edited on 2024-9-6 by metalresearcher]clearly_not_atara - 6-9-2024 at 11:22
Awesome find!metalresearcher - 18-9-2024 at 09:44
And now I made sodium using NaOH prills with aluminum lathings and I got Na metal ! I used the same method: distilling using a stainless steel retort
ending in a jar with mineral oil which did capture some small balls of Na metal. Precipitates - 18-9-2024 at 18:50
That's amazing! Aluminium is much more accessible than magnesium.
Sodium from supermarket supplies!
Random - 26-9-2024 at 05:40
Magnesium can be obtained from KUM pencil Sharpener
