Inspired by u/Thescientiszt :)

My friend and I are planning to synthesize calcium oxalate using spinach (for oxalic acid) and eggshells (for calcium). Our plan is to first extract the oxalic acid from the spinach and then combine it with a calcium chloride solution. This will hopefully result in a precipitate of calcium oxalate.

After this, we want to filter and wash the precipitate to purify it. However, we're concerned that we might also get other oxalates, such as iron oxalate and magnesium oxalate (Fe and Mg originating from the spinach extaxt), which would contaminate our desired product.

Does anyone have any ideas on how we could separate and isolate the calcium oxalate from these other compounds?

Also: If anyone has any tips on how to improve this experiment or achieve large, clean calcium oxalate crystals, they would be greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: it's been half a decade since grad school, and I am pretty rusty on this.

I've got a batch of 12M HCl purchased from a supplier that I suspect has some issue due to some changes in reactivity that I won't (can't) specify.

We've assayed the HCl and it is exactly where it should be (something like 11.998M). We've also run a sample through ICPMS to look for metals, and there is nothing significant present (some Al, Fe, and other trace metals, but all are below 0.1 PPB).

I'm suspicious that there may be something making this HCl a little too strongly oxidizing, so I want to check for other more oxidizing chlorine species that may be present in my HCl: Cl2, ClO2^-, ClO3^-, ClO4^- . Does anyone have any advice on how to do that?

One other note: I have a "good" sample of HCl from an older batch, and can compare it to my "bad" sample.

Would an FTIR spectrometer do the job? What concentration range could I expect to get a signal for? Is some electrochemical test more likely to detect the issu? Any other advice?

I have reusable silica gel desiccant containers that are a little over 5x5 inches (a little under 1 inch thick). I also have a lot of other variations on reusable silica gel. I am looking for 1 or more reusable, resealable containers for long-term (> 10 years) storage of these desiccants in a room that reaches 70% relative humidity on a regular basis. The container also has to be able to withstand 300ºF (for a margin of safety) so that I can put the desiccants into the container straight out of the oven after drying them out. Ideally I'd put some molecular sieve in the container to keep the silica gel dry, too.

I'm hoping you can refer me to glass or steel lab containers, preferably with a square or rectangular clamp-on lid, that fit the bill. References to other Reddits or other places to look are welcome. Unfortunately, this is a very hard thing to search for because anything like "desiccant container" or "desiccant storage" turns up solutions for holding desiccants in something to be used for drying out something else.

Things I've considered and rejected:

• Mason Jars used for canning: these are perfect for the small packets, but I cannot find one that will accommodate the big cans. The biggest mouth I've found is 4.3".
• "Airtight" or "Waterproof" Plastic Containers: Correct me if I'm wrong, but my recollection is that these are not moisture proof, and past experience is that desiccants only last a few months in such containers.
• Stainless Steel Coffee Bean Jars: unfortunately, they all have "CO2 valves" that don't hold up well.
• Mylar bags: even though they have ziplock closures, they have to be heat sealed, so are not really reusable.
• Ammo Cans: I haven't fully rejected this option, but the ammo cans I've used in the past didn't seal well and were expensive. Also kind of an odd size, hard to store.

Hi there, My apologies if my question isn't appropriate for this subreddit. I have a hydroponics garden and use filtered well water. I have issues with precipitation after adding nutrients. Specifically after attempting to adjust PH using potassium carbonate PH UP products. My well water is high in what I suspect to be silicates as it burns up 10" anion resin cartridge after 100 gallons of product water. I suspected the typical CO2 but it seems to not be the case after utilizing a degassing setup.

All seems well until I attempt to adjust PH, it instantly clouds up when adding PH UP. Even when dilluted 5ml in 1 gallon DI water. a couple days later, my clear solution turns brown with iron colored particles suspended in the solution. Solution is 68 degrees fahrenheit.

Input water 410 ppm
Post RO 15ppm
Post Cation 6ppm
Post Anion 0ppm

Thank you kindly for any advice offered!

Does anyone know of any general chem II courses that are online and transferable to the UC's? I tried looking at UCSD extension but it's not accepted to UCSB and UCLA as far as I know. My main issue is I need it ASAP and most cc courses are already full or closed for spring. I saw somewhere that Barton college might have online chem courses but I can't tell if it is lecture only or labs as well?

I'm looking to purchase a water purifier for a lab that needs ultra pure (18.2 megohm) and another lab that needs purified water (10-15 megohm). One of the water purifiers on the market which can do both is the Thermo Fisher Smart2Pure 6 unit.

Since this is for a self-funded academic laboratory, operating costs play an outsized role in what I purchase. As such I was planning to connect the unit to the house-supplied Culligan DI water to extend the life of the consumables. Less conductive material in the water should mean a longer lasting RO membrane and resin bed in the water purifier, right?

The reason I'm asking is I had someone tell me that connecting the water purifier to the Culligan DI water would shorten the lifespan of the RO membrane. Can someone explain this to me?

The same individual also expressed concern that the DI water could negatively impact the inlet solenoid valve. This at least potentially makes sense if the solenoid is made of metal (I don't know what material the solenoid is made of). Still, DI water from a Culligan system isn't so pure that it would cause an issue with a metal solenoid valve, right?

Edit: also posted on r/labrats

Hello people! I'm really interested in learning chemistry, i'm brand new and only know the absolute basics. Any ideas on how could i get started? Thanks!

My first MOF!!

I have no idea how this molecule is called, and can't find it on Google lens.

Anyone had this issue before? I was able to save all of my photometric results but it will not let me export to USB in any way shape or form. I get the error "It failed in the access to the file". This export system has worked perfectly for years but now it is not working. It won't even allow me to export data from the previous week which I was able to export at the time.

So I am fairly new to a position where I handle a chemical stock room for a chemistry department for context, as in only my supervisors have access without me. A faculty member is wanting me to store their reagents with a test tube scotch/packing taped to the bottles to hold dirty disposable pipettes. Am I reasonable for refusing to store materials in that state?

Hello, I need help with a purification process. The compound I want to purify is cellobiose that has been phosphorylated at carbon 6, but I have impurities such as diammonium phosphate and urea. I've tried washing the solid because I know urea is soluble in ethanol, and through the washes I hoped the phosphate would somehow be carried away, but I haven't managed to purify the compound. So, an idea has occurred to me, and I need some feedback on it. The idea: I know that urea and cellobiose are soluble in DMSO, but diammonium phosphate is not. So, my goal is to filter out the diammonium phosphate, and then perform a liquid-liquid extraction to separate the urea with another solvent where it is more soluble, and finally evaporate the DMSO using a rotary evaporator.

Hi,

I am a DIY maker, I have my own DIY lab. I am succesfully producing cellulosic foam 10x10x5cm.

Now I want to move to bigger blocks and dry it in a vacuum oven.

Target: 20x20x40cm block which contains 1000ml of water. Ideally drying <100°C for 4h... so around 250g.h-1 water

I have a Hearcleus vacuum oven. ✅️ Now I need a second hand pump (and maybe a cold trap?) below 1000euro if possible.

I found a EDWARD E1M18 refurbished for 750euro. Max pressure full gas-ballast - 6.5 x 10-1 mbar Maximum water vapour pumping rate- 0.65 kg h-1 Maximum water vapour inlet pressure - 50 mbar

https://www.marshallscientific.com/v/vspfiles/specs/E1M18%20E2M18%20Specs.pdf

Would that work for my purpose?

Otherwise, which type of pump could work for my purpose?

I need some ideas for some eye catching relatively simple experiments for an event my university is hosting. I do have some in mind already but more shouldn't hurt🙂. I'd appreciate if measurements or concentrations of reagents are provided

Hello everyone I created a group for AS and A level students, for me to help you ( i am an A level student with 4A’s in AS level in PCBM) and you all to help yourselves when in doubt or when having any sort of questions. Please feel free to join the community. Lets grow the community together.

Heyy everyone!  

I’m looking to feasibly extract Pure Silicon (preferably 6N, semiconductor grade) from Silica (98%). I researched on the methods and equipments myself, but I couldn’t figure out possibly the best way to do it.  

Would you geniuses have some information to share about the extraction process? It would help greatly!  

Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know of an ASTM method (or similar) for testing the viscosity of aqueous gels? Or where I should be looking for one?

I was wondering if you could soak an item of clothing in dipropylene glycol, distill that and then add additives and long lasting polymers to make a scent that smells like the original item of clothing?

Recently got some stuff for free from a guy closing down his lab, which for whatever reason included a selection of unopened PFAs. This included this little bottle, and I tried searching for a SDS or similar to figure out the composition, but unfortunately didn’t manage to find anything, so maybe someone of you is more successful.