Taking Advantage of Barium’s Physical Propertiesīarium, the name for the element of atomic number 56 on the Periodic Table of the Elements, comes from the Greek word “barys,” meaning “heavy.” Barium is a relatively heavy element because it has 56 protons in its nucleus (compared to chlorine, for example, which has only 17). It is also used in manufacturing aluminum alloys, in pigments and dyes and as a water softener. Other Roles for Barium Chlorideīesides being an important indicator chemical, barium chloride can be a starting chemical for barium and chlorine production. A chemical precipitate first turns a liquid cloudy and eventually, due to gravity, the cloudiness clears as the solid settles down to the bottom of the vessel. Because it is practically undissolvable in the liquid of the solution, the precipitate becomes visible. Presented with a water-based liquid of unknown chemistry, a chemist might add barium chloride to the solution and watch for the appearance of a thick, white “precipitate” of barium sulfate, indicating the presence of sulfate.Īlthough the term “precipitate” sounds as though it might be raining in a beaker, a precipitate is simply a solid that forms in a liquid solution as a result of a chemical reaction. The key to barium chloride’s role in tracking down sulfates is the simple fact that barium chloride dissolves in water while barium sulfate hardly dissolves in water at all. These negatively charged units are known as negatively charged ions, or anions. Barium Chloride: Sulfate Detectiveīarium chloride has several important functions, but one very familiar to chemists is the role of “sulfate detective.” Sulfate, SO4-2 is a negatively charged chemical unit consisting of a sulfur atom bonded to four oxygen atoms. This type of reaction is known as a double-replacement reaction. Notice that barium and hydrogen switch “chemical partners” between the reactants side and the products side of the equation. Barium chloride, another barium salt, can be manufactured by reacting barium sulfate with hydrochloric acid, HCl: The most common form of barium in nature is the salt barium sulfate, BaSO4, also known as the mineral barite. Due to their reactivity, barium and chlorine form compounds naturally. Sodium sulfate and magnesium sulfate are potential antidotes because they form the insoluble solid barium sulfate BaSO4, which is much less toxic.The chemical element barium is a heavy, soft, silvery-white metal that, like the element chlorine, always occurs combined in nature. When these two chemicals are mixed with a sulfate salt, a white precipitate forms, which is barium sulfate.īarium Chloride, along with other water-soluble barium salts, is highly toxic. Barium Chloride is also used (with Hydrochloric acid) as a test for sulfates. However, its toxicity limits its applicability. BaCl2 is also used in fireworks to give a bright green color. In industry, It is mainly used in the purification of brine solution in caustic chlorine plants and also in the manufacture of heat treatment salts, case hardening of steel, in the manufacture of pigments, and in the manufacture of other barium salts. It is commonly used as a test for sulfate ion. It is also hygroscopic.Īs a cheap, soluble salt of barium, Barium Chloride finds wide application in the laboratory. Like other barium salts, it is toxic and imparts a yellow-green coloration to a flame. It is one of the most important water-soluble salts of barium. Barium Chloride is the ionic chemical compound with the formula BaCl2.
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