Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Unexpected OTC chemicals. Your thoughts?

chloric1 - 17-6-2023 at 07:29

Browsing one of my suppliers for their price on fluorspar and I stumbled onto their listing for arsenic trioxide for $50 a pound! No mention of restrictions or liability just put there to add to your cart. I have bought from then for 20 years so they are not some clandestine sting operation. Honestly, I’m a little concerned that I could lose this supplier due to some legal troubles from someone who is careless or nefarious that obtains a WHOLE ASS pound of arsenic trioxide. Any thoughts?

Admagistr - 17-6-2023 at 07:36

Quote: Originally posted by chloric1  
Browsing one of my suppliers for their price on fluorspar and I stumbled onto their listing for arsenic trioxide for $50 a pound! No mention of restrictions or liability just put there to add to your cart. I have bought from then for 20 years so they are not some clandestine sting operation. Honestly, I’m a little concerned that I could lose this supplier due to some legal troubles from someone who is careless or nefarious that obtains a WHOLE ASS pound of arsenic trioxide. Any thoughts?


So write to the dealer and tell him your concern,He will sell it to you if he knows you and can only sell it to reliable customers that he knows won't have a problem,he won't sell it to new customers.I would write to him...

chloric1 - 17-6-2023 at 07:55

Yes of course but I verified the lethal dose for arsenic trioxide and decided I don’t want to mess with it. I am curious about Paris green, arsenates and arsenites but I don’t have a legit need for it. Some of the other stuff I buy from them I make paints, patina solutions, and fluxes for soldering,brazing or casting . The arsenic oxide would really just be a lab curiosity so not deemed worthwhile considering safety and cleanliness protocols that would have to be put in place.

[Edited on 6/17/2023 by chloric1]

Admagistr - 17-6-2023 at 09:49

Quote: Originally posted by chloric1  
Yes of course but I verified the lethal dose for arsenic trioxide and decided I don’t want to mess with it. I am curious about Paris green, arsenates and arsenites but I don’t have a legit need for it. Some of the other stuff I buy from them I make paints, patina solutions, and fluxes for soldering,brazing or casting . The arsenic oxide would really just be a lab curiosity so not deemed worthwhile considering safety and cleanliness protocols that would have to be put in place.

[Edited on 6/17/2023 by chloric1]


The paradox is that arsenic is perfectly legal to buy in our country if you are over 18 years old.You can easily oxidize it and make something out of it, but arsenic itself is not toxic, but in the body it turns into its toxic compounds.Similarly, all beryllium compounds are banned, but you can buy the mineral beryl everywhere, and it is considered completely non-toxic.A skilled chemist can process it.

chloric1 - 17-6-2023 at 11:59

[/rquote]

The paradox is that arsenic is perfectly legal to buy in our country if you are over 18 years old.You can easily oxidize it and make something out of it, but arsenic itself is not toxic, but in the body it turns into its toxic compounds.Similarly, all beryllium compounds are banned, but you can buy the mineral beryl everywhere, and it is considered completely non-toxic.A skilled chemist can process it.[/rquote]

I remember I’ve read where beryl mineral is fused with a chloride salt to exchange the ions separating of beryllium chloride and leaving insoluble silicate behind. I believe that it was barium chloride but cannot be sure. Heck the only legitimate use I know of for beryllium is making beryllium copper. Casting copper allows has its own challenges, I can just imagine throwing in beryllium into the molten alloy. Geesh!

Admagistr - 17-6-2023 at 14:11

Quote: Originally posted by chloric1  
[/rquote]
I remember I’ve read where beryl mineral is fused with a chloride salt to exchange the ions separating of beryllium chloride and leaving insoluble silicate behind. I believe that it was barium chloride but cannot be sure. Heck the only legitimate use I know of for beryllium is making beryllium copper. Casting copper allows has its own challenges, I can just imagine throwing in beryllium into the molten alloy. Geesh!


This is a very interesting method-I dont know this probably new method...Another interesting use of beryllium compounds is the synthesis of emerald,alexandrite and other gemstones.These gems are harmless and very beautiful.Alexandrite changes colors in the daytime it is emerald green and at night,in the light of a light bulb it is purple,like amethyst and has a high hardness and does not fade in the sun,as amethyst does.Actually it is a perfect ecological disposal of beryllium oxide,to make emerald from it;-)

chloric1 - 17-6-2023 at 15:54

Wow! How fascinating! I don’t know hardly anything about beryllium chemistry as it’s always been inaccessible to me. It mind as well he Francium or Astatine as far as I’m concerned. About the only way would be obtaining beryl mineral.

I do know that the atom is smaller hence would be even less basic than magnesium and in fact beryllium oxide is amphorteric.

SplendidAcylation - 18-6-2023 at 04:33

Beryllium metal is quite easy to obtain on eBay, at least it was the last time I checked!
Ahh it is actually really expensive...

It is used for X-ray windows, and it also has a legitimate use as a neutron moderator in homemade fission reactors :P

I once read that the ceramic insulators in microwave oven magnetrons are made of beryl, not sure though.

Admagistr - 18-6-2023 at 05:39

Quote: Originally posted by chloric1  
Wow! How fascinating! I don’t know hardly anything about beryllium chemistry as it’s always been inaccessible to me. It mind as well he Francium or Astatine as far as I’m concerned. About the only way would be obtaining beryl mineral.

I do know that the atom is smaller hence would be even less basic than magnesium and in fact beryllium oxide is amphorteric.


The chemistry of beryllium is very interesting,it is a metal from the group of alkaline earth metals,but it shows an anomalous behavior within the periodic law and it is diagonally related to aluminum.It is amphoteric and in many of its properties it resembles to aluminum.BeO is even as hard as sapphire,that is,it has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. BeO is rarely found in nature as the mineral Bromellite,for example in Sweden,and is a rare gemstone.A similar exception to the periodic law is lithium,which belongs to the alkali metal group,but shows a diagonal relationship to magnesium from the alkaline earth metal group.