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Author: Subject: Make barium hydroxide from spent sparklers
Doktor Klawonn
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[*] posted on 19-1-2015 at 14:03
Make barium hydroxide from spent sparklers


Playing around with sparklers on new year and the day after brought about this experiment.


Material

erlenmeyer flask, mortar, filter paper, funnel, spent sparklers, destilled water


Caution

barium hydroxide is corrosive, wear safety goggles


Experimental

Some freshly spent sparklers are ground in a mortar. Water is added and the resulting slurry is filtered to give a clear colorless solution of barium hydroxide. The solution can be used as is for a gas test of carbon dioxide. If carbon dioxide is present the solution will turn clowdy.


Explanation

Sparklers contain barium nitrate. On burning it decomposes to barium oxide, nitrogen and oxygen.

2 Ba(NO3)2 --> 2 BaO + N2 + 5 O2

Barium oxide remains in the ashes and reacts with water to barium hydroxide. The barium hydroxide can be extracted with water.

BaO + H2O --> Ba(OH)2


Pictures

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Grindig spent sparklers and adding water: the slurry is strongly alkaline.

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Filtering and the resulting barium hydroxide solution.

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Gas test for carbon dioxide is positive.

Video:

<iframe sandbox width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jgMtxlJ4BLc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>





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Hawkguy
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[*] posted on 19-1-2015 at 15:17


Ay man but dude there's a lot of other stuff too.... The kind I know of would get you some Mg(OH)2 as well
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j_sum1
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[*] posted on 19-1-2015 at 16:40


Don't barium compounds show a pale apple green in flame tests? On this basis, I rather suspect that there is more Mg than Ba in the sparklers I have encountered.
And as for the gas test with CO2, won't all group two hydroxides behave in the same way?

[disclaimer]
I have not actually looked up the composition of sparklers. I like this idea though. Sounds like fun.
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nezza
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[*] posted on 20-1-2015 at 01:12


To get a decent green from Barium you need a chlorine donor in the mix. Barium nitrate alone does not give much colour to pyrotechnic mixes.
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Doktor Klawonn
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[*] posted on 20-1-2015 at 11:20


Afaik there is no magnesium in the sparklers, but aluminum and iron. And then Mg(OH)2 is not really soluble in water so it would remain in the filter.



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Artemus Gordon
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[*] posted on 20-1-2015 at 12:56


Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  

And as for the gas test with CO2, won't all group two hydroxides behave in the same way?

I would recommend calcium hydroxide for CO2 tests, so you don't have toxic Barium to dispose of.
If you have a mexican supermarket nearby, go to the spices section and buy a package of "Cal". This is food grade Ca(OH)2, used to turn dried corn into hominy. You can also go to any building supply store and buy builder's lime, but who wants 50 lbs. of the stuff. Supposedly garden lime can also be Ca(OH)2, but all I have ever seen is calcium carbonate.

[Edited on 20-1-2015 by Artemus Gordon]
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