It has been suggested that drying agents can be collected after an experiment an
ID: 491759 • Letter: I
Question
It has been suggested that drying agents can be collected after an experiment and the hydrated salt heated in an oven to drive off the water. The recycled drying agent can then be used again for another experiment. Is this a good idea? Give advantages and disadvantages of this proposal. Cite advantages and disadvantages of using the following drying agents: sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, sodium carbonate, and potassium carbonate. It is absolutely essential that all reagents, solvents and glassware used in this preparation be exceptionally dry. (Why?) If you hadn't bothered to flame-dry your glassware or used a drying tube, what byproduct would have formed? List three techniques used to initiate a Grignard reaction that fails to start spontaneously.Explanation / Answer
Answer 1)
Advantages of using recycled Drying Agents:
a) Drying agents needed to be used in highly pure states as many a times they are used in drying important drugs.
Purification techniques and required degree of purity is needed to be maintained in drying agent. This makes drying agents expensive.
b) If we can recycle these drying agent it will reduce the cost of manufacturing of important drugs.
c) Drying in oven will restore the chemical structure of drying agent to normal state and hence there will be no much change in H2O holding capacity of drying agent.
Disadvantages :
a) Overheating of drying agent in oven may change the chamical (crystal structure which is responsible for water holding) structure. This may render it to less effective dryer or may it's chemical property change due to changed crystalline state.
b) As it has been once used as drying agent there are chances of contamination of the drying agent itself with unwanted organic molecules which are not removed even on heating.
Recycling of drying agent is good idea provided the possible chemical and structural changes on heating are avoided.
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