gsd - 13-11-2005 at 05:51
As per my lead-Acid battery supplier's specs, the Chloride content of the electrolyte should be below 4 ppm.
The electrolyte is essentially 50 % H2SO4.
I have diluted the commercial grade 98 % H2SO4 to 50 % using distilled water which gives Chloride content of about 120 ppm.
Is there any way this can be reduced to 4 ppm ( Short of distilling off the acid!) preferably by chemical means ?
BASF - 13-11-2005 at 06:58
Maybe precipitation with AgNO3?
Why do you need such a low Cl-content?
neutrino - 13-11-2005 at 07:51
Have you tried heating the concentrated acid? The HCl formed from chloride + sulfuric acid should be driven out with heat without too much trouble.
(Remember that anhydrous HCl is a gas.) I'm not sure how low you could get the chloride content like this, but it's worth a try.
vulture - 13-11-2005 at 09:11
Adding AgNO3 won't work as the solubility of AgCl greatly increases in the presence of H+.
Chloride
MadHatter - 13-11-2005 at 09:50
I'll go with neutrino's suggestion on this one. It will drive out HCl. However, there will
be sulphate leftover, and hopefully, this is not a problem for you.
neutrino - 13-11-2005 at 19:49
>Adding AgNO3 won't work as the solubility of AgCl greatly increases in the presence of H+.
Unless I'm mistaken, that only happens with the salts of weak acids.
garage chemist - 14-11-2005 at 06:07
Even the tiniest bit of silver ions in the electrolyte of a lead- acid accumulator will kill it. It's been used as a method of sabotage for
vehicles!
Precipitating the chloride using silver would therefore be like fighting a house fire by blowing the house up.
Heating the commercial 98% sulfuric acid to over 200°C under reflux for some time and maybe simultaneously blowing filtered + dried air through it to
sweep out the HCl would be the most obvious solution, at least that's what I would try.
However, I don't know how the manufacturers of electrolyte grade sulfuric acid solve this problem. Contacting them would be a good idea (assuming
that the process isn't a secret).
[Edited on 14-11-2005 by garage chemist]