Make Calcium Carbide

[Agentoxedo07]

Holy-Terrorist:>*=* Is a good idea to mix calcium[Ca] metal with carbon[C] in fine powder or not in fine powder to not have explosion in the pyrex glass or ceramic bottle to not have failure in process for have 90% of production of calcium carbide[CaC2] to making acetylene[C2H2] quality of is dropped in water?

[Agentoxedo07]

Holy-Terrorist:>*=* It good idea to big heating calcium carbonate[CaCO3] and mix carbon[C] and heating to make calcium carbide[CaC2]?

I speak french and little english.

[98JMA]

@Agentoxedo07

No, as you would have to heat to over 2000*C.

Non, parce que tu vais s'échauffer il à 2000*C

[Agentoxedo07]

@98JMA Holy-Terrorist:>*=* Ok!

[Agentoxedo07]

@98JMA Holy-Terrorist:>*=* Bad traduction, is [Non, parce que tu devrais l'échauffer à 2000°C]!

[98JMA]

@Agentoxedo07

Thanks, but is that at all relevant?

[mcwario13]

what about calcium carbonate and carbon?

[myst32YT]

@mcwario13 Sure... but you have to heat it to 2000C.

[elementguy27]

I used magnesium and silicon (but otherwise the same process) to make magnesium silicide. When thrown into hydrochloric acid, it produces silane, which is pyrophoric (at just above room temp.), so you don't have to worry about lighting the bubbles. Plus, magnesium is a lot cheaper than calcium.

[ScienceHideout]

Nice vid! But can I use Calcium oxide rather than calcium?

[Chaoschemiker]

@ScienceHideout for using CaO you'll need far more energy to get the reaction going. Like in an electric arc furnace. But it's really really unhandy to try to make this small scale. I tried it with a welding trafo, graphite electrodes in a graphite crucible filled with mixture of CaO and powdered charcoal. The yield was pretty low, but there was some carbide in there.

[endimion17]

@Chaoschemiker It's still cheaper than going from calcium and carbon. The larger the scale, the cheaper it gets.

This is obviously just to show a neat reaction. It could be the first video of this reaction on the Web ever.

The coolest thing to do would be a fairly robust arc furnace stuffed with quicklime and homemade coke.

[myst32YT]

@endimion17 Correct.. If you wanted to make large amounts, this is not the way to go. It is an interesting reaction... and a fun one at that. But if you had to make 500g of the stuff I would go with an ark furnace.

i think it would make a great chemistry demonstration as it is easy and making it and reacting it both involve an open flame. ;-)

[endimion17]

@myst32YT It would be the best to make a pile and let the arc do its job in its middle. It's not something to look at... without heavy shields. :)

The carbide production with electrical arc is actually an experiment that was intended for regular elementary school curriculum in socialist Croatia. I have no idea whether it was ever replicated, but nevertheless, it was in the book. Loads of fun with old textbooks.

[AlChemicalLife]

earlier when i red all the comments saying phosgene i was going to say u messed up but i was at school and i couldnt post a comment

[TinyFloyd]

just a question...where is the phosphorous located? (i mean if you started with more or less pure carbon and more-er than less pure calcium in a borosilicate tube...) was the carbon polluted or...

[TinyFloyd]

@TinyFloyd p.s. if you wanna laugh a bit go fullscreen and start pressing 0:44 XD "tube"

[myst32YT]

@TinyFloyd Odds are there is no phosphine, or hydrogen sulfide being formed in my sample... The only reason I bring it up is to make sure others know.. because people do try these experiments.. that it "can" form dangerous gases (if impure starting materials are used). Consider it full disclosure of all possible risks. ;-)

[TinyFloyd]

@myst32YT spoken like a true chemYst XD

in fact most lower grade bought metal carbides have that metals phosphides,nitrates and sulfides that liberates PH3 NH3 and/or H2S when presented to water/acids...well done and keep up the good work :-)

[DJFamou5]

@myst32YT ahhh, okay, yeah i wish too. My lab is outside, so its very cold, at winter, when i work, but i hope i find another place for my lab.

[myst32YT]

@DJFamou5 No, that is a picture of Thomas Edison's Lab. I wish I had a lab that big.

[myst32YT]

@Chaoschemiker They probably don't... it is just a possibility. I just note it for safety.

[Chaoschemiker]

Pure Acetylene got almost no odour. Quite interesting, that your reagents here contain relevant impurities of phosphorus at all. Did you compare it to commercial available calcium carbide?

[japanesepoptart]

@Chaoschemiker

Pure acetylene does have a garlic like odor.

You must be thinking of another gas.

[Chaoschemiker]

@japanesepoptart not like garlic at all I bet. I guess it should smell like a very weak fragrance of sweet (not got to smell it pure yet). The garlic like odour is related to the phosphine formed by water & calcium phosphide (video explanation) (a byproduct of the industrial process of calcium carbide due to traces of phosphorus in the used minerals (Calcium carbonates with, source depending, amounts of phosphates) That's why the industrial carbide is available as mole-poison.

[myst32YT]

@mraiford Sorry I meant Phosphine not Phosgene... Thanks for catching that...

[MrLol333]

@mraiford I believe he meant phosphine

[mraiford]

OK, So, my question is how is the phosgene being generated? I don't see any chlorine in the reaction, which reagent contains the Cl? the calcium or the carbon?

[DJFamou5]

0:17 is that your lab in the background?

[davagain]

He said phosgene gas may be generated. Look up phosgene. It is poisonous and has been used as a chemical weapon.

[arneanka74]

Probably acetylene gas

[stevenliang96]

What exactly are the 'dangerous gas'? Can you name them?

[insomniac1893]

So cool! Thank you for the great videos =) I wish I could do some of the reactions but the majority of this stuff is impossible to get where I live :P oh well! Keep up the good work =D