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Alum Crystals: Synthesis Of Aluminum

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SYNTHESIS OF ALUM CRYSTALSSYNTHESIS OF ALUM CRYSTALSSYNTHESIS OF ALUM CRYSTALS

Billy Neal | Chem1211L | 11/2/2016
Introduction
The purpose of this experiment is to synthesize crystals of the alum, KAl(SO4)2·12H2O , hydrated potassium aluminum sulfate, from an aluminum soda can.synthesize crystals of KAl(SO4)2·12H2O (hydrated potassium aluminum sulfate); this is commonly referred to as alum. You will begin by synthesizing alum from an aluminum soda can.Aluminum is the most abundant metal found in the earth's crust. Although it comprises 8.3% of the earth's crust, aluminum is never found in the free elemental state in nature. It normally exists as bauxite, an aluminum ore with the formula Al2O3·3H2O. The extraction of aluminum from the earth …show more content…

It normally exists as bauxite, an aluminum ore with the formula (Al2O3·3H2O). The extraction of aluminum from the earth is very energy intensive. Aluminum's durability and corrosion resistance adds to its valuable metallic properties of being ductile, malleable, and conductive. The useful physical properties, including its low density, make it worth the effort to extract the metal from the ore. The aluminum is dissolved in a solution of 4 M KOH. During this reaction, the hydrogen gas escapes into the …show more content…

The table shows how Aluminum can be reused to obtain additional resources. The product weighed more than the reactant because the product is a compound of the 25 ml of sulfuric and 50 ml of potassium hydroxide plus the reactant. We found that the overall yield for the reaction 1862.44 % to be very high. This may be due to an intrinsically high reaction-efficiency, which was not expected because in order to synthesis Alum requires four separate reactions which are energy intensive and time consuming. Although Aluminum is the most abundant metal found in the earth's crust is never found in the free elemental state in nature less energy intensive methods should be developed. The useful physical properties, including its low density, make it worth the effort to extract the metal from the ore. The aluminum is dissolved in a solution of 4 M KOH. During this reaction, the hydrogen gas escapes into the atmosphere. We hypothesized for future research that reducing the amount of energy needed to synthesize Alum we could develop Alum as a plentiful

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