Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Posted: **Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:46 pm**

Good day! I would like to ask the following questions that need immediate answers, if that's fine with you. I am still stuck with my preliminary work, and I haven't finished it yet.

Will calcium nitrate decompose/melt if it is subjected to heat or boiled? Rather, how can I extract solid calcium nitrate from a calcium nitrate solution (calcium nitrate in water) without destroying calcium nitrate itself?

What should be the color of an eggshell once it has been subjected to very high temperatures, eg 900 degrees Celsius? Should the color of the product be pure white (because CaCO3 --> CaO + CO2, and I need CaO which is white) ? Or is it okay to have some black parts in the product?

Thank you so much and have a nice day!

Posted: **Sat Oct 03, 2009 5:42 pm**

Hi,

Calcium nitrate forms a hydrate that melts below the boiling point of water. It also forms an anhydrous form with a relatively high melting point. If heated much above the anhydrous melting point it will decompose. Certain metals salts will catalyze the decomposition at temperatures near the melting point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_nitrate

http://books.google.com/books?id=i9nyvT ... re&f=false

http://sciencemadness.org/library/cano3.html

As far as the eggshells are concerned, pure Calcium oxide should be white. Black contamination could be carbon, which might be inert for your purposes, but I can’t guarantee that.

Hope this helps.

Barrett Tomlinson

Posted: **Sun Oct 04, 2009 12:11 am**

thank you so much!

Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Can't move on with my preliminary work: Chemistry

Can't move on with my preliminary work: Chemistry

Re: Can't move on with my preliminary work: Chemistry

Re: Can't move on with my preliminary work: Chemistry