Glauber's Salt - Structure, Properties, Uses with FAQs

The decahydrate form of sodium sulphate is known as Glauber's salt. Mirabilite is another name for it. Glauber's salt is written as Na₂SO₄.10H₂O in chemical formula. Glauber's salt is a vitreous mineral with a white or colourless appearance that forms as an evaporite from sodium sulfate-containing brines. This chemical is known to exist naturally around salty playa lakes and in the vicinity of saline springs. Glauber's salt is named after Johann Rudolf Glauber, a German-Dutch chemist and alchemist.

It's also worth noting that Glauber's salt is highly unstable when exposed to dry air. When exposed to such conditions, this chemical is known to rapidly dehydrate. Glauber's salt crystals are converted into a white powder with the chemical formula Na₂SO₄ when this happens. The term "thenardite" is used to describe this white powder. Furthermore, thenardite is recognized for its capacity to absorb water and then convert it to mirabilite. These articles discuss Glauber's salt , chemical name of Glauber’s salt , molecular formula of Glauber's Salt ,properties of Glauber’s salt , uses of Glauber’s salt or global salt etc.

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Structure of Glauber’s Salt

[Na(OH₂)₆]⁺ ions with octahedral molecular geometry are found in decahydrate crystals. The edges of these octahedra are shared. Eight of the ten water molecules are further connected to sodium, while the remaining two are interstitial, hydrogen-bonded, and coupled to sulphate. The hydrogen bonds between the resulting cations and the sulphate anions are formed. The Na-O distances are around 240 pm. Also, among the hydrated salts, the crystalline sodium sulphate decahydrate has a moderate residual entropy (entropy at absolute zero) of 6.32 JK1mol1. In comparison to most hydrates, this demonstrates its capacity to swiftly disperse water.

Properties of Glauber’s salt

Physical Properties

In water, sodium sulphate, often known as Glauber's Salt, has remarkable solubility qualities. The solubility of this chemical in water increases more than tenfold between 0°C and 32.384°C, reaching a high of 49.7 g/100 mL. The solubility curve transforms to a slope at this point, and the solubility becomes mostly independent of temperature. This temperature of 32.384°C, which corresponds to the release of crystal water and the melting of hydrated salt, serves as an accurate temperature with which to calibrate the thermometer.

Chemical Properties

Glauber's salt has a molar mass of 322.2 grammes per mole. It is known that this chemical crystallizes in a monoclinic system.

Sodium sulphate is an ionic sulphate that is electrostatically bound. The presence of free sulphate ions in the solution is reflected by the ease with which insoluble sulphates develop when these solutions are treated with Pb²⁺, Ba²⁺, salts, as shown in the chemical equation below.

Na₂SO₄ + BaCl₂ → 2 NaCl + BaSO₄

Most reducing or oxidizing chemicals have no effect on Glauber's salt. The carbothermal reduction (heating with charcoal, and more, at high temperatures) is used to convert it to sodium sulphide at higher temperatures, as shown in the chemical equation below.

Na₂SO₄ + 2C → Na₂S + 2CO₂

The Leblanc process, which is a defunct industrial route to sodium carbonate, used this chemical reaction.

The acid salt sodium bisulfate is formed when Glauber's salt combines with sulfuric acid, as shown in the chemical equation below.

Na₂SO₄ + H₂SO₄ ⇌ 2 NaHSO₄

Glauber's salt has a slight proclivity for forming double salts. In contrast to ammonium sulphate and potassium sulphate, which make several stable alums, only NaCr(SO₄)₂ and NaAl(SO₄)₂ are produced with common trivalent metals (unstable above 39°C). There are a NaAl few more alkali metal sulphates known as double salts, such the Na₂SO₄.3 K₂SO₄ that arises naturally in the same way as mineral aphthitalite. The generation of glaserite through the interaction of sodium sulphate with potassium chloride has been exploited to produce potassium sulphate, which is a fertilizer. NaF Na₂SO₄is another double salt.

Also, students can refer,

• NCERT solutions for Class 12 Chemistry Chapter 10 The S-Block Elements
• NCERT Exemplar Class 12 Chemistry Solutions Chapter 10 The S-Block Elements
• NCERT notes Class 12 Chemistry Chapter 10 The S-Block Elements

Production of Glauber’s salt

Glauber's salt, or sodium sulphate, is produced in about 5.5 to 6 million tonnes (Mt/a) over the world, almost entirely in the decahydrate form. In 1985, production was 4.5 Mt/a, with half coming from natural sources and the other half coming from chemical sources. While natural output climbed dramatically to 4 Mt/a after 2000 and remained consistent until 2006, chemical production declined to 1.5 to 2 Mt/a, resulting in a total of 5.5 to 6 Mt/a. Chemically manufactured sodium sulphate and naturally produced sodium sulphate are nearly interchangeable in all applications

Uses of Glauber’s salt

Sodium sulphate, often known as Glauber's salt, is a laxative that can be found in a variety of treatments. In addition, when used in overdose, this chemical is particularly effective at removing excess medications (such as paracetamol) from the body. Because of its high heat storage capacity, this compound is particularly effective for storing low-grade solar heat (particularly in space heating applications) when it transitions from solid to liquid phase. This compound can also be utilized in the manufacture of chill mats for laptop computers. It's also worth noting that Glauber's salt is widely used in the chemical industry for the manufacturing of a variety of commercially essential compounds.

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• NCERT Exemplar Class 11th Chemistry Solutions
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NCERT Chemistry Notes:

• NCERT Notes Class 11th Chemistry
• NCERT Notes Class 12th Chemistry
• NCERT Notes For All Subjects