- Bleaching powder, also known as calcium oxychloride (Ca(OCl)₂), is produced by the reaction of chlorine with slaked lime (calcium hydroxide).
- Water Purification: When added to water, bleaching powder releases chlorine, which reacts with water to produce highly reactive atomic oxygen. This oxygen effectively disinfects water by oxidizing and destroying harmful microorganisms.
- Ca(OCl)₂ + H2O → Ca(OH)₂ + Cl₂
- Cl₂ + H₂O → 2HCl + [O]
- Other Uses:
- Bleaching Agent: used as a bleach in the cotton and paper industries to whiten fabrics and paper products.
- Oxidizing Agent: in the production of dyes, and in sanitation procedures for swimming pools and spas.
Plaster of Paris is hydrated calcium sulphate (a white powdery chemical compound)
- Obtained from calcining gypsum.
- Also referred to as gypsum plaster.
- Chemical formula – CaSO4·1/2H2O.
- Plaster of Paris is manufactured by heating gypsum at 373 – 393 K or 150° C/300° F.
- CaSO4·2H2O + heat → CaSO4·0.5H2O + 1.5H2O (discharged as steam)
- USES-
- Setting fractured bones in hospitals.
- In dentistry to make casts.
- Making toys, decorative materials, cheap ornaments, cosmetics, blackboard, chalk, and casts for statues.
- For protection as fire-proofing material.
- Sealing air gaps in apparatus in labs.
- Used in building materials.
- For frescoes or mural paintings.
- Making the interiors of the houses.
EXTRA- Plaster of Paris forms anhydrous calcium sulphate at 473 K. This is sometimes known as the dead burnt plaster of Paris.
