Charcoals

Adsorption may in principle occur at all surfaces its magnitude is particularly noticeable when porous solids, which have a high surface area, such as silica gel or charcoal are contacted with gases or liquids. Adsorption processes may involve either simple uni-molecular adsorbate layers or multilayers the forces which bind the adsorbate to the surface may be physical or chemical in nature. 

TC. Colourless gas obtained from elements in presence of a catalyst (charcoal or Pt) or from Bra, red phosphorus, and H2O (HBr... 

C]2Hi50]2. Colourless needles m.pr. 286-288°C. When heated it decomposes into pyro mellitic anhydride, water and CO2. Occurs as the aluminium salt (honeystone) in some lignite beds. Prepared by oxidation of charcoal with concentrated nitric acid. 

Neutral refractory materials include graphite, charcoal, coke, chromite and various carbides. 

Fig. XI-11. Relation of adsorption from binary liquid mixtures to the separate vapor pressure adsorption isotherms, system ethanol-benzene-charcoal (n) separate mixed-vapor isotherms (b) calculated and observed adsorption from liquid mixtures. (From Ref. 143.)...

One hundred milliliters of an aqueous solution of methylene blue contains 3.0 mg dye per liter and has an optical density (or molar absorbancy) of 0.60 at a certain wavelength. After the solution is equilibrated with 25 mg of a charcoal the supernatant has an optical density of 0.20. Estimate the specific surface area of the charcoal assuming that the molecular area of methylene blue is 197 A. ... 

Dye adsorption from solution may be used to estimate the surface area of a powdered solid. Suppose that if 3.0 g of a bone charcoal is equilibrated with 100 ml of initially 10 Af methylene blue, the final dye concentration is 0.3 x 10 Af, while if 6.0 g of bone charcoal had been used, the final concentration would have been 0.1 x Qr M. Assuming that the dye adsorption obeys the Langmuir equation, calculate the specific surface area of the bone charcoal in square meters per gram. Assume that the molecular area of methylene blue is 197 A. ... 

The above methods for obtaining D, as well as other ones, are reviewed in Refs. 3-12, and Refs. 7-9 give tables of D values for various adsorbents. For example, D is close to 3 for the highly porous silica gels and close to 2 for nonporous fumed silica and for graphitized carbon black coconut charcoal and alumina were found to have D values of 2.67 and 2.79, respectively [7]. 

Thus D(r) is given by the slope of the V versus P plot. The same distribution function can be calculated from an analysis of vapor adsorption data showing hysteresis due to capillary condensation (see Section XVII-16). Joyner and co-woikers [38] found that the two methods gave very similar results in the case of charcoal, as illustrated in Fig. XVI-2. See Refs. 36 and 39 for more recent such comparisons. There can be some question as to what the local contact angle is [31,40] an error here would shift the distribution curve. 

Fig. XVI-2. Comparison of the pore volume distribution curves obtained from porosimeter data assuming contact angles of 140° and 130° with the distribution curve obtained by the isotherm method for a charcoal. (From Ref. 38.)...

Fig. XVII-29. Nitrogen isotherms the volume adsorbed is plotted on an arbitrary scale. The upper scale shows pore radii corresponding to various relative pressures. Samples A, Oulton catalyst B, bone char number 452 C, activated charcoal F, Alumina catalyst F12 G, porous glass S, silica aerogel. (From Ref. 196).

Carbon monoxide forms addition compounds. With chlorine in sunlight or in the presence of charcoal in the dark, carbonyl chloride... 

This was formerly manufactured by passing sulphur vapour over white hot coal or charcoal. An equilibrium was established and the carbon disulphide vapour was condensed, allowing the reaction to proceed ... 

This is formed when arsenic burns in air (cf. phosphorus which gives P4O10). It can exist in two crystalline modifications the stable one at room temperature, which also occurs naturally as arsenolite, has an octahedral form. Solid arsenic(III) oxide is easily reduced, for example by heating with charcoal, when arsenic deposits as a black shiny solid on the cooler parts of the tube. 

Sulphur dioxide is oxidised by chlorine in the presence of charcoal or camphor to give sulphur dichloride dioxide sulphuryl chloride), SOjCl ... 

In the presence of charcoal, chlorine and hydrogen combine rapidly, but without explosion, in the dark. A jet of hydrogen will bum in chlorine with a silvery flame and vice versa. 

For this reaction, charcoal is a catalyst if this is omitted and hydrogen peroxide is used as the oxidant, a red aquopentammino-cobalt(lll) chloride, [Co(NH3)jH20]Cl3, is formed and treatment of this with concentrated hydrochloric acid gives the red chloro-p0itatnmino-coba. t(lll) chloride, [Co(NH3)5Cl]Cl2. In these latter two compounds, one ammonia ligand is replaced by one water molecule or one chloride ion it is a peculiarity of cobalt that these replacements are so easy and the pure products so readily isolated. In the examples quoted, the complex cobalt(III) state is easily obtained by oxidation of cobalt(II) in presence of ammonia, since... 

Decolorisation by Animal Charcoal. It sometimes hap pens (particularly with aromatic and heterocyclic compounds) that a crude product may contain a coloured impurity, which on recrystallisation dissolves in the boiling solvent, but is then partly occluded by crystals as they form and grow in the cooling solution. Sometimes a very tenacious occlusion may thus occur, and repeated and very wasteful recrystallisation may be necessary to eliminate the impurity. Moreover, the amount of the impurity present may be so small that the melting-point and analytical values of the compound are not sensibly affected, yet the appearance of the sample is ruined. Such impurities can usually be readily removed by boiling the substance in solution with a small quantity of finely powdered animal charcoal for a short time, and then filtering the solution while hot. The animal charcoal adsorbs the coloured impurity, and the filtrate is usually almost free from extraneous colour and deposits therefore pure crystals. This decolorisation by animal charcoal occurs most readily in aqueous solution, but can be performed in almost any organic solvent. Care should be taken not to use an excessive quantity... 

Sometimes termed activated or decolorising charcoal, to distinguish it from wood charcoal, which absorbs gases. 

Students should distinguish carefully between the animal charcoal used for decolorisation, and the wood charcoal which is used for absorbing easily liquefiable gases, and which is therefore used in gas respirators and also, when chilled in liquid air, for obtaining high vacua. 

Animal charcoal has a further use. Occasionally, when recrystallising a crude product, it is found that the hot solutioi contains a very fine suspension of an insoluble impurity. This suspension may be so fine... 

Dissolve 5 g. of aniline hydrochloride in 120 ml. of hot water contained in a 200 ml. conical flask and then add 4 g. of potassium cyanate. Heat the solution on a water-bath for 30 minutes, adding about 1-2 g. of animal charcoal towards the end of the heating if a slight turbidity has developed. Now bring the solution quickly to the boil over a gauze, and filter it at the pump, using a Buchner funnel and flask which have been preheated by the filtration of some boiling distilled water. The clear... 

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